‘Information as public good’ is worthy reflection on media day

Author: Odoobo C. Bichachi is the Nation Media Group (NMG)-Uganda public editor. PHOTO/FILE.

What you need to know:

  • We in the media fraternity are fully aware of these internal weaknesses and external constraints. These problems routinely undermine our capacity as an industry to produce journalism that conveys constructive information on a consistent basis and that serves the public interest.

This week started with the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day. I have the honour to share with you this editorial crafted by the Uganda Media Sector Working Group (UMSWG). This is a nascent industry and multi-sector organisation that is trying to re-start a conversation on professionalism, viability and minimum standards of our journalism. Below:  

“This year’s World Press Freedom Day is dedicated to reflecting on Information as a public good. It is a timely moment to highlight the uniqueness and importance of ‘information’ as opposed to other forms of media content. 
Over the last decade, global technological changes and cultural developments have transformed the means and purposes of communication. Widespread and instant access to communication platforms and content have had numerous positive outcomes for news, current affairs, entertainment, and data. 

Yet, at the same time, the current communication environment is also filled and contaminated with negative content such as disinformation, misinformation, mal-information, fake news, hate speech, and lots of socially undesirable material. 
The focus on information as a public good highlights the difference between information and all other forms of communication content. According to UNESCO, this is intended “to draw attention to the special role of journalism in producing news as verified information in the public interest.” 

While journalism as a service and business has for long been bleeding, the Covid-19 pandemic underlined, first, the importance of verified information; and second, the critical role of journalism in generating and disseminating such information in the public interest. 
However, the value attached to information as a public good and to journalism’s function of producing news cannot be taken for granted. 

In Uganda, journalism has come under severe stress from different angles. These include: Unprofessional and unethical behaviour by some practitioners; occasional instances of overzealous and counterproductive regulation; public mistrust; brutality against practitioners by undisciplined state actors; weak commercial foundations; lack of effective self-organisation and self-regulation; as well as economic and structural barriers to accessing information and communication platforms.

We in the media fraternity are fully aware of these internal weaknesses and external constraints. These problems routinely undermine our capacity as an industry to produce journalism that conveys constructive information on a consistent basis and that serves the public interest.
Media practitioners, public authorities and news consumers should take this opportunity to reflect on solutions to the challenges of the industry and to ensure that information as a public good is protected and supported.”

Readers have your say
Babwetera Aggrey: Thank you for the work you do to bridge the public and your media house. I always write letters to the Daily Monitor  via the email indicated in the papers but of recent, I am facing a problem of failure to deliver message that I get every time I send an email. Is it only I or it is a general problem? Because the message I always get is that my message is regarded as a spam! 
Public Editor: Thank you for this feedback, which was promptly shared withthe  IT department. Please do double-check that you have correctly typed the address as the failure notice seems unique to you. Please send your letters to [email protected]
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Duncan Danze: Greetings and thanks for the good work. First, I am a KFM listener.  The radio  does not play on simple radio app and on the website some times, please work on that. It notifies, saying currently unavailable. I will be grateful if my complaint is worked on since it is the second time I am doing so.
Second, I would like to know who to contact in case I want to put a picture and caption in Daily Monitor celebrating Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results at the time of their release. 

Public Editor: Thank you for your inquiry. Usually you contact the news editor through [email protected]. Other contacts of bureau offices are usually given at the time of release of exam results for the benefit of those who don’t have easy access to digital communication.


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