Kebba Ansu
John Charles Njie, chairman of the civil society organisations (CSO) in The Gambia has called on journalists to adhere to the cardinal principles of responsible reporting of events and issues as the nation heads to the December 4th, 2021, Presidential election.
He made this appeal at the opening ceremony of a three days training of Gambian Journalists on Human Rights and Covid-19 reporting anchoring on the theme: Mobilizing Media to Fighting Covid-19.
“It is important that as journalists you need to be very much aware and well equip to be able to disseminate information responsibly. One of the challenges of our time is there is so much sentimentality in what we do, people want the up-to-the-minute news, people want to be the first to take break the news,” he said.
He added: “I believe where we are in this country at this time in this election year, we need responsible journalism. Responsible journalism is to ensure that whatever you report the rights of the people are protected.”
Chairman CSO urged journalists to take vigilance in reporting matters associated with children and minors, adding that journalists must also take into consideration the rights of individuals especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Don’t just be journalists that just want to be the one to take out the hottest news, what if the hottest news is going to bring chaos to the society? Think about the rights that are going to be violated as a result, let’s all your reports have human rights protection angle that will help us” Chair Njie told journalists.
He added: “We are into election year and as the leader of the civil society organisations,(CSO) I want to urged you (journalists) to be responsible in your reporting. Don’t be like this (jungular journalists or mercenary journalists) that just want news anyhow, anyway and take it out anyway, that will not help us.”
Njie commended the Gambia Press Union (GPU) for the numerous trainings offer to numbers of journalists in the country, while urging Gambian journalists to support the union for the benefit of the common good.
Speaking at the event, Vice President of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), Muhammed S Bah, called on the participants to take the training seriously, noting that the training will go a long way in widening the scope of journalists in reporting on human rights and Covid-19. GPU Vice President also challenge journalists to expand on their reporting on Covid-19, noting that Covid-19 reporting must not entirely centred on the numbers of deaths but also the social and economic impact affecting individuals and the communities.
Suma S Jadama, Principal Producer, Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) and Bekai Njie, Editor-In-Chief, The Point Newspaper are the lead trainers for this three days training organised by Journalists for Human Rights, a Canadian based human rights organisation.
