Leading the National Development Conversation
Are the mass media the thermometer or the thermostat of the society? It is one question that gets asked in various ways but which has not been satisfactorily answered. Some will contend that the media should be a thermometer — they should only report what the society is thinking, saying and doing. Yet many will argue that the media should be a thermostat — they should, through agenda setting, help us shape what the society is thinking, saying and doing. A thermometer informs you of the temperature; a thermostat regulates the temperature for balance. How should the media play?
It is not uncommon for the media to be blamed for heating up the polity — raising the temperature, as it were. Some reports should not be published at all, it is argued, because they are capable of undermining national peace, security, cohesion and development. Some commentators and historians blame the media for the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967, maintaining that the reporting of the killing of Igbo in the North in the aftermath of the January 1966 coup inflamed passions and aggravated tension. Should the media have blacked out the killings? Would a coverup not have put more people, unaware of harm’s way?
The other side of the coin, though, is that with the graphic reporting, emotions were roused and this might have contributed in some way to the outbreak of the war. In this sense, many will argue that for security reasons, the media should not have reported the gruesome events. As a thermometer, the media should have sensed the repercussions and possible reprisals. By looking at the bigger picture and acting “responsibly”, the media, many argued, could have helped in averting the war. This school of thought is very popular in government circles.
There is a merit to the two sides of the argument. However, I think that the power of the media is often exaggerated. People do not get all their information from the mass media. If the killings went unreported, people would still get to know one way or the other. Riots have been started by mere word of mouth, irrespective of media reporting. I do not take away the massive influence the media can have on events, but information has its way of escaping the traditional channels. In this age of social media and information anarchy, the traditional channels could one day end up on the margins.
I do not always seek to defend the media because it is a diverse world with the situation, in diverse values. The diversity means we look at issues from different mindsets and biases. Religion, ethnicity, ideology, culture and politics shape our mindsets. Two journalists can report the same facts from different angles. It is practically impossible to prescribe a solution to this; the mitigation is, I would say, striking a balance that adheres to the journalism ethos of fairness and balance, not forgetting accuracy and fidelity to the facts.
Journalists should be conscious of the implications of how they choose to report. It is very important for us to know that we too are critical stakeholders in security and development. We need both to thrive. The central question is: how then do we, as journalists, fit into the national development conversation? This could be the determining factor of whether to be a thermostat or a thermometer. We do more than report; we also set the agenda. We choose what to keep on the front page and what to hide in the inside pages.
As Daily Trust celebrates 20 years of journalism, it can take pride in the fact that it has added different dimensions to the Nigerian media landscape. It has demonstrated loyalty to issues of national development, devoting tremendous resources to investigating and analysing education, healthcare and general infrastructure. The newspaper has consistently sought to promote good governance, excellently exposing what should be exposed and presenting the hard facts both in word and graphics.
I would conclude, therefore, that the media can be both a thermostat and a thermometer by leading the conservation on national development, as Daily Trust has consistently over the years. We cannot go wrong putting national development at the core of our being.
Kolawole, former editor of THISDAY (2007-2012), is the Founder and CEO of Cable Newspaper Limited, publishers of TheCable.ng. He wrote this piece to commemorate Daily Trust at 20