Stick to ethics, Minister advises scribes
GOVERNMENT is aware that there are some individuals and institutions that want to put aside journalism ethics just to pursue their personal agenda, says North Western Province Minister Nathaniel Mubukwanu.
Speaking in Solwezi yesterday during commemoration of World Press Freedom Day, Mr Mubukwanu appealed to journalists in the country to exercise selfrestraint by avoiding sensational reporting.
‘’This does not help us build the country. As journalists you need to be able to give people objective information that they can use to make decisions,’’ Mr Mubukwanu said.
He also noted that with the coming of social media there has been a lot of abuse by a number of people.
Mr Mubukwanu some people with ill motives were abusing the platform to their own individual advantage and to the disadvantage of many people who are written negatively about.
‘’We would like you the owners of the profession to claim morality, we would like the owners of the profession to claim the right ethics and be able to stand by them so that these people who pose as self-proclaimed journalists do not dent the noble image and the integrity of you the men and women of the pen,’’ he said.
He said social media had become a tool which has been used to circulate falsehood.
‘’We know of certain media institutions that are more inclined on even quoting unverifiable sources as their sources of news, and they take pride in that,’’ he said.
He noted that if the journalists were not going to be mindful of their sources of the news and information, they risked planting a seed of discord and disunity in the country.
‘’But by and large we are now seeing social media trying to divide us, and they are dividing us not based on facts but on falsehood,’’ he said.
He said journalists have a noble duty to inform the innocent citizens on what is happening.
And North Western Province Press Club president Jackson Mapapayi appealed to government to strengthen press freedom and protect journalists from possible harassment by political party cadres.
‘’As scribes, we are concerned with the continuous insatiable appetite by political party cadres to attack journalists in their line of duty,’’ he said.