Journalists should strive to build trust with the public in South Sudan
By Emmanuel Malual Makuach, Nairobi, Kenya
May 11, 2016 (SSB) —- Journalists are often referred to as professionals, but this term needs to be unpacked in the context of journalism. Unlike other recognized professionals such as doctors, engineers and lawyers, journalists do not have specific clients or tribes which is very common in south Sudan media industries and media practitioners. Their clients are members of the general public who buy newspapers, listen to few radio station, watch television and access news and other stories online. Unlike doctors and lawyers, engineers. They do not charge their clients individually.
Professionals are expected to have specialized knowledge and skills of a certain and certifiable standard .journalists come into the job from all walks of life and with all sorts of qualifications and level s of formal and informal training .Yet they are still expected to act in professional manner as far as the media ethics is concerns.
Journalists and media houses must analyses the concept of professionalism in the media more thoroughly and decide on the best ways to maintain professionalism and adherence to certain ethical standards for the benefits of journalists and the views hip of societies they serve.
The general public judge journalists collectively and the unprofessional behavior of one will affect the public .opinion of all journalists at the same media house and even the media as whole this was during the conflicts of south Sudan some have created their blogs as tool to mobilizes the community using their own ways to attacks the individuals which was not part of the professionals journalists or media practitioners that have results to the citizens losing hope from as an agent of change which turn to agent of confusions.
Many media houses and recent media councils form should adopted specific codes to enforce ethical behavior and accountability of journalists. In essence, ethical behavior means that media practitioners should act with integrity and strive to report accurately .fairly and factually in the public interests. Whenever errors occur. Corrections should be published promptly and any person aggrieved by a publication or broadcast should have the right to reply.
In a country like country South Africa the report with back ground of enforced apartheid. Inequality, political division and civil war, the need for ethical reporting is particularly greater and so is the difference of opinion over what exactly constitutes ethical behavior.
At independence in 2011 there were big ideological differences amongst journalists and media ownership was predominantly in the hands of the privileged to preach the message of peace and unity among the people of south Sudan.
The code is enforced through a complaints procedure that enables the general public voice their grievances about the alleged unethical behavior on the apart of journalists. These complaints are the deals with .that is according some reports about media in south Sudan says that emerging of tribal media practitioners have contributed negatively and have creates bad relationship between the audiences and the media due to inaccurate reporting which could be a result of carelessness and poor skills of journalists.
Journalists and the media are important parts of any democratic system .because they check and report on challenges facing the citizens and provide the reliable information to make informed decisions and choices.
The continuous building of trust in the media by providing a link between the public and journalist through the media for benefits of the citizens. Media is an important contribution to strengthening not just the profession, but also the very culture of democracy then encourage impunity.
The author is a student of Mount Kenya University Studying Mass Communication and Journalism
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