Maravi

Shamenda pledges improved conditions for journalists

Shamenda pledges improved conditions for journalists
By Allan Mulenga
Fri 16 Mar. 2012, 11:58 CAT

FACKSON Shamenda says the government will ensure that conditions of service for journalists are improved.

Speaking at the launch of the Zambia Election Media Monitoring Project final report at Lusaka's Golf View Hotel on Wednesday, Shamenda, who is information and labour minister, said journalists were able to report accurately when they are working in a good environment.

"I will be going round very shortly as I familiarise myself. I will be looking at your pay slips, I will be looking at your conditions of service, your leave days and a lot of other things, so that if you have got a good working environment where you are coming from, even when you are reporting you are not hungry. You are not looking forward to tea break as we are reporting as a result. What people do when they come and they are journalists, they are just waiting for the guest of honour to finish the talking and collect the speech instead of listening and then you digest as the guest of honour is speaking," he said.

Shamenda urged journalists to be factual in their reporting by avoiding misquoting news sources.

"That is what journalists of the olden days used to do. But now everybody is just looking around ‘when is the tea break' because they didn't have break. Then after the speech they run around, 'sir, where is the speech?' But you were there when I was speaking. I think previously people used to know even how to write shorthand so that as the speaker is speaking, you pick up your own points, so that you are able to cover the event as it is and I am in the habit of doing that myself. I can have a written speech, half of what I will be saying will be coming from my heart…," he said.

Shamenda said the government would ensure that there were decent employment opportunities for journalists.

"It is important that we have factual type of reporting, you have good conditions of service. We want to create decent employment, not justany form of employment," said Shamenda.

Labels: FACKSON SHAMENDA, FREEDOM OF SPEECH, JOURNALISM

posted by MrK @ 5:24 PM