Just as the world keeps changing without end, so also is the subject of journalism. According to the Oxford English dictionary, Journalism is “the aggregating, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news-articles for widespread distribution, typically in periodical print, publications and broadcast news media,for the purpose of informing the audience”.
Over time and space, a lot of indices such as technology, circumstances and new ideas have continue to broaden, redefine as well as on the flip side negate what was hitherto obtainable. Good or bad, these indices are not exclusive to Nigeria alone.
In the world of politics, participation exist in three folds. They are either; spectator, transitional or gladiatorial. These folds are also replicated in the media space. Arguably, attributes of Journalism is found in all human since they possess an inalienable ability to disseminate information. That explains why just about any kid on the street can go viral with just a tweets.
In our contemporary society, without the permission of whosoever, information can be passed unhindered. While this is good to an extent, one cannot but also consider the dangers of misinformation.
No wonder Kaguta Museveni, the current President of Uganda said in a response to the conduct by Twitter and Facebook; “there is no way anybody should come and decide for our country.”
Consider the young boy named Oreofeoluwa who went viral on social media platform some months ago for asking his mother to calm down. Hilarious as it may seem, the aftermath of that video created a positive paradigm shift in the minds of many. On the flip side, consider a story that also went viral when a particular blog site claimed that Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the governor of Kogi state, built a bungalow-like structure which was wrecked down by heavy downpour for a whopping sum of seven billion naira during the Covid-19 lock down period. That news was received with inflammatory reaction and with so much disdain. However, further investigation revealed that such claims was non-existent in physical or in any record file. But then the deed had been done.
Modern day journalism can rightly be seen as a coin with two sides. However, regulating what goes out to the populace is becoming increasingly straining.
There is a mad rush to capture more readers. This explains why Erik Carter opined that ‘The more desperately the press chases readers, the more it resemble sour politics’. On several occasions, media outlet and handles such as Facebook and Twitter, are forced to pulled down misleading news. Even so, falsified information has continued to sprouts out it ugly head creating needless divides across the length and breadth of the world.
Should we go back to the analog days of paper and prints because of the harm inherent in modern day journalism? In my opinion, the answer is no. I say so primarily because it will hinder the inalienable freedom of speech. However, the gains of objective journalism in our contemporary clime can be increased by putting in place censorship, verification and many more dynamic solutions. In a nutshell, like many other facet of the society, the subject of good journalism is a sustainable course.
While it true that we can ‘soro soke’, we must remember in the words of Mo Abudu that ‘Social media has given everyone a voice. That’s a good thing, but please let’s use it responsibly.’
– Olayinka Kayode Kingsley
olayinkakayodekingsley@gmail.com
