Trained Media Practitioners Should Be Reliable Source Of Information To Public – KLM

By Babalola Gafar

ABEOKUTA – A Member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kolawole Lawal (KLM) representing Yewa South/Ipokia Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Abuja has enlightened the public to rely on media practitioners for a veritable source of information that the public can turn to for facts about vital issues affecting their lives.

The lawmaker who was represented at the event by Alhaji (Hon.) Adejumo Adewale Alani stated this in his address at the 2020 Lecture and Award Night organised by the Federated Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Ogun State Council held at Continental Suites & Hotels, Ibara Abeokuta on Friday, December 18, 2020.

Hon. Kolawole spoke on the topic :#Endsars protests exposed significant challenges and sad security implications which we must addressed as a nation.

His words, “the need to critically analyse the roles the media played or failed to play in the events before, during and after the :#Endsars protests.
“It will be recalled that the protests started peacefully, but quickly progressed to the sad, unfortunate and fatal event it turned out to.

“One specific point from the protest, if anything, the advent of social media has changed the dynamism of news reporting. It is a fact that genuine news now constantly engage in a battle of wits with fake news globally.

“However, in the midst all these, the trained media practitioners should continue to be a reliable and veritable source of information that the public can turn to for facts about vital issues affecting their lives.”

KLM continued, “Against this backdrop, it is pertinent and right that we examine the role of the media in curbing fake news in our society.

“However despite these plethora of roles, and the significance of media practice in our society, it’s unfortunat that the public level of trust and appreciation of journalists remain sadly and disturbingly low.

“Their role as independent practitioners must remain consistent, otherwise, cautioned that the biases in journalism towards a certain ideology, political party, individual or even towards a social issue will have detrimental effects and polarise the society.

“So importantly, exploring a new route to trace the connections between journalists, their sources of information, the stories they cover and the consequences of how they report the stories in an impartial and unbiased manner is sacrosanct.”

The lawmaker stated further, “It is of utmost importance that Media practitioners must not forget the principles of professional ethics: Adherence to the highest standards of professional conduct, ensuring impartiality and objectivity when dealing with others, open and honest communication with colleagues and customers, maintaining confidentiality in professional relationships, fulfilment to commitments in a reliable, responsive and efficient manner.

“I enjoin Federated Chapel to constantly provide a platform – such as this – for critical and objective discussions on the role of media practitioners in the promotion of peace, dispute resolution and particularly in being an unbiased umpire in the midst of politics.

“I also encourage you to develop a framework that will facilitate the concept of balance, fairness and accuracy in news reporting”.