Maravi

Victoria and 'small men'

Victoria and 'small men'
By Editor
Monday June 23, 2008 [04:00]

WHAT happened on Saturday on Frank Mutubila's ZNBC Mid-Morning Show featuring Victoria Findlay should teach all of us in the Zambian media a great lesson. It is very clear that things are not as they should be in the way we conduct our work. Laziness has seriously crept in our work. Editors have stopped editing. To avoid serious work, those in the electronic media are increasingly resorting to live programmes. We know that live programmes don’t normally require any editing.

It’s really just a question of plugging in and the programme flows. This is very simple. But it has got serious consequences on the nature and quality of our work. And this is complicated by the fact that most of our television and radio stations don’t have delay facilities to help them edit out defamatory things.

And as for the print media, stories are written by reporters and put on the pages without, or with very little, editing. Letters to the editor are normally left to the selection and judgment of very lowly-placed editorial staff. This is dangerous not only in terms of libel but also fairness. This is the equivalent of phone in programmes for the print media, and as for the electronic media, it also needs to be edited in one way or another.

Edit we must - not to stifle conflict or conviction, but to eliminate disbursement. We have to accept the fact that we live in a society where respect for truth is decreasing at a very fast rate and where lies and calumny are the order of the day. If we had to publish all the letters we receive, we would have closed down a long time ago due to libel claims. People talk confidently about things they don’t know at all and if one is careless, they can easily pass them as truth.

They talk about people they have never seen, and know very little about - if not nothing, as if they know them so well. They phone-in on television and radio programmes and accuse people of all sorts of things in a manner that is not only defamatory but also unfair and unjust.

It is our duty as journalists, editors to correct this situation because as Mother Theresa once observed in 1983: “Violence of the tongue is very real - sharper than any knife.”

We do not apologise for the effort of anybody in the news business to be entertaining, if the motive is to instruct and to teach and to elevate rather than to debase.

And as former Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi once observed, “...the media has a responsibility not only to report the truth, but to do so with the sense of accountability and a decorum”.

It seems fairness means, rarely if ever, having to apologise for what you have written or broadcast. And when sound bite meets hindsight, truth is seldom the outcome.

We must not get so excited about the cool bells and whistles on our new technology that we forget that, at the end of the day, it’s just communication and that’s what our founding brain trust meant by ‘speech’.

We are increasingly moving towards a talk-show nation, and TV and radio stations are moving in that arena, with dangerous implications.

In the competitive rush to be first or to have an exclusive, the old admonition of saying where you get the news, as well as making sure it’s true when you get it, has been a conspicuous casualty.

But while enjoying our freedom of expression, it is wise to remember that the toes we step on today may be connected to the rump that we must kiss tomorrow.

We all want to be right and do well. But if we don’t do well, we are not going to be in a position to do right. Trust and credibility are the commodities we trade in.

We should heed the advice given by former Republican president Frederick Chiluba when he says: “ I want to caution the media after noting that numerous media outlets are not taking into consideration the rights of citizens and laws of libel and defamation...” Chiluba has what appears to be a justifiable libel case against ZNBC, Victoria Findlay and Frank Mutubila and they should really thank their stars that he has been generous in accepting their apology and end matters there.

Of course ZNBC, Victoria and Frank also deserve some credit for tendering timely and sincere apologies to Chiluba and his wife. Probably, it is their contrition that made Chiluba and his wife not to push matters further. There is no need to be stubborn or insolent when you have wronged someone.

We say all these things totally in the spirit of criticism and self-criticism and not in the spirit of claiming to be better than or superior to others in this profession or industry. We believe that criticism and self-criticism is our greatest weapon in our efforts to get rid of bad styles and keep the good.

Conscientious practice of self-criticism is another hallmark distinguishing between those who mean well, who want to do good from those who don’t care about the harm they cause. As we say, dust will accumulate if a room is not cleaned regularly, our faces will get dirty if they are not washed regularly. Our minds and our work may also collect dust, and also need sweeping and washing. The proverb “Running water is never stale and a door-hinge is never worm-eaten” means that constant motion prevents the inroads of germs and other organisms.

To check up regularly on our work and in the process develop a better style of work, to fear neither criticism of self-criticism, and to apply such good popular maxims as “Say all you know and say it without reserve”, “Blame not the speaker but be warned by his words” and “Correct mistakes if you have committed them and guard against them if you have not” - this is the only way to prevent all kinds of dust and germs from contaminating our minds and our work.

If we have shortcomings, we should not be afraid to have them pointed out and criticised, because we serve the people. Anyone, no matter who, may point out our shortcomings. If he is right, we should correct them. If what he proposes will benefit the people, we should act upon it.

We should learn from our mistakes and setbacks. If we do so, we will become wiser and handle our affairs better. It is hard for us or any person to avoid mistakes, but we should make as few as possible. And once a mistake is made, we should correct it, and the more quickly and thoroughly, the better.

Again, we would like to emphasise the fact that there is no substitute to serious editing of our work. Laziness in this area will take us nowhere. And we also emphasise the fact that by editing, we don’t mean that we should stifle views, the intention is simply to eliminate debasement. If there was editing, in any way, of Frank’s programme, Victoria’s unfortunate remarks would have not been broadcast.

There is technology that can enable ‘live broadcasts’ to be edited. If we need live programmes it’s necessary that we acquire this technology and use it. If not, a lot of care may be needed before we have any live broadcasts. Of course, any form of editing - no matter how advanced and user-friendly the technology is - will still require some effort from those whose duty is to edit the programmes.

If they are lazy and don’t want to put in any effort, such technology will be a waste of money - and it won’t help matters. We hope other television stations, and all our radio stations, will learn something from this disaster and take corrective measures.

Labels: CHILUBA, DEFAMATION, MEDIA

posted by MrK @ 3:54 AM