As we all might know, elections are the foundation stone of any democracy, and the media has a very important role to play on that. Through informing the public about what political parties and their candidates are promising, telling the political parties and candidates what ordinary citizens want, or do not want, and in ensuring that the polls are “free and fair”.
Good election coverage by journalists is that one reported in a non-partisan way, where by journalists suppress their own political views in order to allow the public to make up their minds solely on the basis of what the various candidates are offering.
Basing on this crucial role of the media in promoting the culture of democracy and good governance, journalists needs the necessary support from the media houses they represent and other like minded friends to enable them to play their role efficiently and correctly.
It is very unfortunately that this kind of support has not been forthcoming from some of the media houses they represent. The majority of journalists (about 80%) are freelancers, they are not paid till they file a story and only if that story gets space.
And when they are paid they are paid less the amount incurred to process the story, hence journalists have turned to news sources who can facilitate them in terms of paying for costs incurred in search of the stories
As the President of the Union of Tanzania Press Club (UTPC), I would love to hear objective comments from you guys on how the media has performed in past general elections. Iam eager to hear your comments on this question.
Good election coverage by journalists is that one reported in a non-partisan way, where by journalists suppress their own political views in order to allow the public to make up their minds solely on the basis of what the various candidates are offering.
Basing on this crucial role of the media in promoting the culture of democracy and good governance, journalists needs the necessary support from the media houses they represent and other like minded friends to enable them to play their role efficiently and correctly.
It is very unfortunately that this kind of support has not been forthcoming from some of the media houses they represent. The majority of journalists (about 80%) are freelancers, they are not paid till they file a story and only if that story gets space.
And when they are paid they are paid less the amount incurred to process the story, hence journalists have turned to news sources who can facilitate them in terms of paying for costs incurred in search of the stories
As the President of the Union of Tanzania Press Club (UTPC), I would love to hear objective comments from you guys on how the media has performed in past general elections. Iam eager to hear your comments on this question.
- Did the media assist citizens in making an informed decision?
- If journalists are to observe ethical standards during election coverage what need to be done?
- What is your comments on the saying that "It is not always that knowledge is eaqual to practice". Meaning that, sometimes people behave differently despite the fact they are knowledgeable on the subject matter. E.g most people are aware that if they practice unsafe sex they will contract STIs including HIV, but still some people go on having unsafe sex. Or most journalists know that incentive can affect objectivity but still they go on accepting incentives from sources.
- What should be done to make knowledge align to practice?
Looking forward to hearing from you
Cheers
Cheers
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