Accountability to readers goes beyond social media platforms

Then there is the small matter of downright insults and malicious accusations. We are open to constructive criticism, and we usually have the humility to admit it when we are wrong.

Since this column began, I’ve paid keen attention to readers’ feedback concerning our journalism. I have received several questions – from what informs our choice of a lead story to why we have many errors in the newspaper. I have also received some unexpected questions. A reader wanted to know who writes the newspaper’s editorials and why it does not carry a byline.
I respond to most of these questions directly but many of the responses may also benefit our wider audience. That is precisely why we started this column. While I respond to most readers’ queries, my mailbox is often flooded with more than 500 emails daily, many of them asking similar questions. We, therefore, thought it useful to have these issues tackled in an open forum.

Then there is the small matter of downright insults and malicious accusations. We are open to constructive criticism, and we usually have the humility to admit it when we are wrong. But myopic bashing of this newspaper will be disregarded while due attention will be given to well-intentioned criticism.

That explains why, when I receive unnecessarily insulting, rude or intimidating messages and phone calls bordering on threats, I’d rather not respond. I also closely monitor social media platforms and occasionally ‘take responsibility’ when we get facts wrong.

If I do not immediately respond to a genuine concern raised about our journalism, it is because I prefer to address those concerns in this column because we are accountable to an audience that goes beyond the social media.

Last week, for instance, a journalist questioned my honesty –and by extension this newspaper’s integrity –by doubting what I wrote about management taking action on a reporter for plagiarism because “he is yet to see action taken”. While this journalist is free to express his views, Monitor Publications’ management does not report to this individual. For the record, the reporter in question took responsibility for his actions, and has since been suspended. The forum to communicate such decisions is this column, not particular individuals.

Also, The Balance Sheet is not a correction column as some people seem to think. Like most newspapers, we have a corrections section and I work closely with section editors to ensure that errors pointed out by readers are corrected. The column will occasionally address broader issues concerning grave errors and how we could have handled certain stories better, but its purpose is to explain some of our journalistic decisions and reflect the views of our readers in how our journalism should shape society.

Even when we come under unfair criticism, we will always listen and remain accommodating enough to appreciate that we make mistakes. So, let’s keep the conversation going.

Ms Vuchiri is the Public Affairs Editor.
E-mail: mvuchiri@ug.nationmedia.com Twitter: @MVuchiri and @DailyMonitor