Uganda media practitioners have been advised to create a distinctive line between activism and journalism in order to preserve their credibility.
Wilson Akiiki Kaija, a media and communications specialist also an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Makerere University was presenting a paper on media ethics during a capacity building training for journalists and community facilitators on philanthropy. The training which ended on Friday aimed at promoting an increased ethical coverage on acts of charity in Uganda and was organized by a consortium of local non governmental organisations under their umbrella, the Uganda National NGO Forum held in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb.
Kaija noted that many journalists in Uganda have diverted from the ethical Journalistic practices as they try to push personal interests and narratives. He asked journalists to be clear and let the public know when they are reporting or promoting warning that “promotion is activism”.
He highlighted the key responsibilities of a journalist during the process of reporting as informing, to analysing and questioning “instead of cheerleading”.
Mercy Nakazzi, a city journalist with Tiger FM radio in Kampala told Scribe that the time journalists started working for financial gains from their sources is the moment media ethics died. She attributed the common practice of activism on politicians and organisations that exploit journalists by taking advantage of their poverty plight.
Carol Alyek Beyanga a media consultant and Head of Mentorship, Partnerships and Monetisation at the Daily Monitor in Uganda noted that unethical practices make the journalist risk loose an audience along the way.
Zadock Amayisa a journalist with the Daily Monitor shared that “the difference between journalism and activism is very slim in a sense that both areas share an intersection space called advocacy. Even when journalists don’t intend it, they find themselves doing a big deal of pushing for equal rights and sounding drums of accountability. In such a scenario, it is up to the journalist to ensure that they are not swallowed up in the activism maze. Journalists need to keep in their space to avoid rising suspicions of bias from their product consumers”.