Sierra leone News

Responsible Media (Journalism) in Sierra Leone:A national agenda for peace and development

Written by David Tam Baryoh

Thursday, 23 April 2009 18:14

A Paper presented at the Theological College, Freetown

Introduction

Academic staff of the Theological College, Principal, Deans, Students, Ladies and Gentlemen!I must admit and express how happy I am to be chosen to give this lecture since I understand that you had the opportunity to choose, perhaps a better and eloquent personality, from among many that are my contemporaries. However, as always, I am certain that I will not disappoint you and that by the time we leave here, and perhaps after a fruitful exchange of ideas on the issue under discussion, we would have again raised the relevance of the local and international media. If not for my seventeen years within the Sierra Leonean Media, but also because I have had some opportunity in doing just what you have asked me to do in both local and international fora over the recent few years.

Background

More often than not, when non media people demand to know about the role of the fourth estate in governance and peace issues, there is the tendency to attempt to believe that it is already known and that the question is infact mundane and redundant. This is because many a non media persons observe and take the media for just what they know it to be; namely, to report on daily and historical happenings.

However, modern media studies that have categorised media into various facets, including their respective functions, have realised that multi media practice cannot be restricted solely to these traditional nomenclatures and functions of media. Having had time to write and pass on the Gospels as observed and dictated by the activities of their mentor and teacher, wouldn’t we be closer to the truth if one were to posit the thesis that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were among the first journalists of ancient times?

If journalism, among other things, includes reportage and chronicling of events; irrespective of the method and pyramid style recounting of activities as taught by traditional journalistic methods and schools of thought, then one could not be far from the truth that these disciples of Jesus were actually reporters. Only that they added to their being reporters the aspect of observing and following the event-maker (Jesus), with a view to making sure that his message continues after him. In the study of Christology, you would say, they were to report and practice what they observed.

May be this is the difference between the reporters of Jesus and the journalists of today. In today media practice, the journalist is encouraged to de-link from the story she/he reports. I am not bound to practice the lives of those I report on.

Why do you think Peter the disciple was rebuked when he denied Jesus? Because having lived and listened to the leader, and knowing what the man stood for, he (Peter) was expected to live, work and die for this great event maker. This analogy would not stand the test of time if we were to apply it to the role and functions performed today by media practitioners, with special reference to enhancing peace and stability of society. The followers and chroniclers of the events of Jesus; those we know today as the Gospel writers, reported on the conflict between the traditionalists and Jesus.

The difference between the two groups of journalists we are discussing here; those who were with Jesus in his immediate environment and those of today, is that, the former, had one focus; namely, to learn and live the life of a great man, and the latter, today report on society with a view to using quality information to enhance socio-economic and other developments. Nevertheless, the commonality between them is in the reality and not the nature, of reportage.

The Sierra Leone Media today

We would be jumping the gun perhaps, if we attempt to discuss the role of the media in peace building and governance issues if we do not ask the question: WHICH MEDIA?

According to the Independent Media Commission of Sierra Leone, IMC, there are some fifty six radio stations registered and another fifty newspapers operating as electronic and print media outlets in the country. There are some five land and cable TV stations registered but three are operating. Several websites and blogs with Sierra Leone bias also exist.

In the light of the above, we will be discussing the role of these traditional media in governance and peace building issues, reference to the stability and development of the Sierra Leonean society.

In certain countries, cellular phone operations are part of national multi media concessionary. In that light, there are six registered wireless phone companies, though only four are actually operational in Sierra Leone at the moment.

In this media market for Sierra Leone today are some 500 practitioners, mainly self-trained. As to which sector of the media belongs to which socio political or religious school of thought, is a matter of opinion. Apart from saying the ‘We Yone’ newspaper belongs to the ruling APC, and that the defunct Unity newspaper was an organ of the opposition SLPP, or the ‘the rising sun radio and Unity radio respectively belonging to the two major political parties, it would be unfair to ascribe political ownership and bias to any media without logical and documentary proof.

Peace Building and Good governance

From a personal point of view, any time I am faced with the issue of discussing these contemporary concepts, I am more at liberty to starting with the issues of governance before peace building.

This is because it is my studied view that it is the existence (or absence of it?) of good governance that will help damage or engender and build peace in society.

Thus I pledge your indulgence that I start with the issues of good governance in our society, Sierra Leone, vis-à-vis, the role of the media in attaining same.

Good Governance

The upholding of the rights and duties of citizens, as well as the embodiment of the roles and duties of democratic governance and institutions, go, to a large extent, to clearly give us an idea about what we often mean when we talk of good governance.

While it is the role of established and elected authorities to provide goods and services for their citizens, the good use and payment for such utilities and services will entail certain elements of good and responsible governance.

The lack of equitable justice for yearning people, better living standard for citizens, education and better health facilities; all these impinge on the sane health of good governance. We sincerely should not be talking of good governance if the national leadership’s responsibility to provide basic necessities of life for the citizenry, is not matched with the capabilities, duties and responsibilities of citizens to pay their taxes as well as offer responsible care for such provided goods and services. I say capability to pay taxes because if governments, through mismanagement and irresponsible handling of national resources, impoverish their own people, then they should not turn around to ask such people for fair share of such problems. Good governance entails fair share of responsibilities between governments and their people.

The people are first empowered through education, good health and fair job facilities and in return, they pay fair taxes to enable the government take better decisions in providing necessary amenities for a higher living standard. Though no tax is usually enough, external funds received on behalf of the people must be judiciously utilised in the service of the people. It is a better realisation of this symbiotic relationship between the people and their elected authority that can pave the way to achieving good governance.

Role of Media in setting the peace and development agenda

The media, in collective term, are usually seen as information vehicles. They inform, educate and entertain the people.

To do this traditional job, it is expected that practitioners will be mature, trained, professional, and ethically balance. One must never expect an everlasting stance and relationship of peace and harmony between the media and governments. But for the avowed mutual interest of peace and development in our society, media and political leaders may have nothing in common, safe for all claiming to work for the people.In our Sierra Leonean experience, vis-à-vis our ten years of war, many writers and those who have cared to interpret the Sierra Leonean media and its assumed strength of being a peace-vehicle, have bravely opined that the Sierra Leone media was part of the ten year-war. Fighting with pens and a few microphones, the journalists killed more rebels than there actually were. Using what someone called ‘wishful media’, Foday Sankoh, for example, was killed many times before the actual end of the war in November 2001.

Conversely, this wishful reportage to see the war ended and peace returned to the country, turned to be viewed by local and national political leadership of the country as war mongering and acts of sabotage. In 1998, the Kabbah government, with Julius Spencer as Information minister, had to establish media guidelines with regard to reporting on the war. Many journalists fell casualty to these guidelines. In April 2000, a senior government authority, now dead, courtesy of the Special court, not happy with the type of reportage that were coming from the front lines of the civil war, said in Kenema that Sierra Leonean journalists were infact rebels.

In the light of that, the media found itself awkwardly positioned between the democratic civil authority and the rebels. According to the Committee for the protection of journalists, CPJ report in 2001, Sierra Leone got the unenviable position of being the worst country to be journalist. While government was arresting and detaining journalists, rebels were busy hacking to death the few they could lay hands on; Eddy Smith, Conrad Roy, etc. lost their lives during this tense period of our media history.

It is good to have a grasp of this piece of information because it would lead you to answer the question: How can the media be party to peace and development if its very existence is threatened by legislative and other anti media ills?

Responsible Media: at what cost?

Many a concern citizens have raised doubts about the professional and ethical standards of the local media. Some have also argued that there have been times when the local media have been very irresponsible to the needs, development, stability and peace of the country.

Even when politicians are winning and dinning with opponents, and preaching peace, we have continued, for example, to see under-current media attacks at such state and political party authorities, to the extent that while not doubting the utterances and peace overtures of such politicians, their media allies continue to be on-the-loose against opponents of their financial mentors. This, when viewed intellectually and professionally, would seem to mean that the media were again being put to another use, other than its traditional peace mission.A media that invests in chaos and anarchy is a media in the hands of a mindless and uneventful brain. A media in the hands of an untrained and irresponsible practitioner is like an AK-47 riffle under the commands of an unscrupulous and rebellious soldier.

For the media in Sierra Leone, the SLPP government of Tejan Kabbah did very many good things to enhance and maintain media freedom and plurality. Apart from setting up legislative instruments to monitor abuse and enco8urage professionalism, the Kabbah/SLPP government allowed even suspicious opponents such as the APC to set up media outlets to educate and inform their followers. It was a pity, that these gestures turned into a national plague during the last few months; leading to the closures of the two political radio stations for the stability of the society.

Responsible Media, Peace and Development

There are some media practitioners who take the preaching of peace by a media outlet as a sign of media weakness and cowardice.

To such colleagues, and even non-practitioners, not to constantly attack is to mean that one has lost his/her steam. They forget that society is dynamic. Things can never be too bad forever. Even hopeless situations in Baghdad, Mexico, Afghanistan etc, cannot be intrinsically ever worse. For better, for worse, things continue to evolve. If they were better under a previous political dispensation, some bad leader in the future could make them worse, or vice-visa.

On behalf of the people, the journalist continues to monitor society and admonish, criticise, report and inform the generality of his/her audience, with a view to effecting change.

A journalist, who takes pride in mere criticism without the wish and reality of effecting change for the better, is not much of a difference from being an arm-chair philosopher. It is not every media that criticises war that believes in peace. You do not need to be a media content analyst before you realised that some journalists criticise certain commonly and popularly held opinions just to attract attention; Cheap attentions that endear them to the spirit of notoriety.

To be able to speak the minds and intentions of the generality of society, with a view to drawing the attention of authority to such problems that distress and dehumanise citizens, a media practitioner must clearly and properly understand her/his society and have command over his/her medium of communication. I do not expect to be able to articulate and report to authorities, the wishes and aspirations of members of the Russian society, if I do not have grasp and command knowledge of the Russian culture, economy and socio-political lives of the Russian people.

To be able to propose sequential benefits and protégés of peace in Sierra Leone, it would be sad for one to profess being a Sierra Leonean journalist in such a fight, if one had no knowledge of the country’s culture; languages, , politics, economy and life of the Sierra Leonean people.

The issues of advancing arguments for, and enticing the proceeds of peace and development in a society, using

traditional and acceptable responsible media, would be better articulated, using the commonly understood languages, being mindful of the culture’s and sensitivity of the people. A good journalist can actually be very controversial without getting into trouble with his/her audience.

Command knowledge of your society’s cultures and aspirations is one big trick.For example, a mature, trained and ethically qualified media practitioner would rarely babble into issues of great cultural and moral sensitivity of a society or community, without being mindful of the peace and development dividends of such topic. How many journalists today in Sierra Leona can freely and willingly delve into sensitive cultural issues of rape, tribalism, secret societies and religious bias without arousing war sentiments? And yet, few have done it professionally without making society and themselves casualties.

So if you ask me, a responsible media can actually be the agenda setter for peace and development of a country, provided professionalism and the love of one’s country’ development and peace programs form part of our individual aspirations in life.

But if we put individualism before country, then even the most qualified media personnel cannot be of much good to advance peace and development of society.

I thank you all.