Dear Zimbabwean Journalist,
As much as most of us love to read about the personal lives of the rich, the famous, the popular and the suffering the average literate citizen understands and appreciates that the primary purpose of journalism is to ensure a well-informed citizenry contributing to the development of our social , political and economic structures.
As much as most of us love to read about the personal lives of the rich, the famous, the popular and the suffering the average literate citizen understands and appreciates that the primary purpose of journalism is to ensure a well-informed citizenry contributing to the development of our social , political and economic structures.
Some of us are of the belief that democracy still relies on the
belief that an informed citizenry will be an engaged citizenry, and that an
engaged citizenry will be more participatory and more informed, and that the
result will be a more democratic society. This belief however seems far-fetched
judging from the quality of investigative journalism we see nowadays, there
seems to be a greater focus on attracting a greater audience in order to make money
than actually having reliable, accurate facts put in a meaningful context. I
think it is imperative for good journalist to arrive as close to the ‘truth’ of
any issue as possible. This can only happen when media organisations have the
professional discipline and framework of assembling and verifying facts with
all relevant sources in their reports.
Our news media organisations are some of the most common carriers of public discussion, and this responsibility forms a basis for their special privileges. However discussion serves society best when we are informed by facts rather than prejudice and supposition. It is equally important that journalist strive to fairly represent the varied viewpoints and interests in society, and to place them in context rather than highlight only the conflicting fringes of any debate.
I sincerely believe that accuracy and truthfulness require that as media are framers of the public discussion they should not neglect the points of common ground where problem solving can occur. Progressive journalism should always be about storytelling with a purpose. There should be more to it than just gathering an audience or catalogue the important bits. For the sake of their own survival, our journalist must balance what we as readers know we want with what we cannot anticipate but need. In short, they must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant to our daily life experiences.
Lastly as a country (Zimbabwe) we are going through a very difficult period of economic instability, so may I kindly ask that you try and report more on issues related to our economic development, the issues that expose corrupt practice in public and private sectors which are the driving engines of our socio-economic progression, please continue to expose the issues related to abuse of power that are impacting negatively on our social development and adding more hardships to the already suffering majority of our people. Just in case I am misunderstood on the above request let me reassure you that I do appreciate and respect that you have a right to freedom of information and expression, however I'm sure you can also priorities reporting more on issues that directly influence our way of life. There are some personality issues about prominent figures in society that have passed their sell by date that you choose to republish now and again and in all honesty should no longer be issues of any significant concern to society at this point.
Our news media organisations are some of the most common carriers of public discussion, and this responsibility forms a basis for their special privileges. However discussion serves society best when we are informed by facts rather than prejudice and supposition. It is equally important that journalist strive to fairly represent the varied viewpoints and interests in society, and to place them in context rather than highlight only the conflicting fringes of any debate.
I sincerely believe that accuracy and truthfulness require that as media are framers of the public discussion they should not neglect the points of common ground where problem solving can occur. Progressive journalism should always be about storytelling with a purpose. There should be more to it than just gathering an audience or catalogue the important bits. For the sake of their own survival, our journalist must balance what we as readers know we want with what we cannot anticipate but need. In short, they must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant to our daily life experiences.
Lastly as a country (Zimbabwe) we are going through a very difficult period of economic instability, so may I kindly ask that you try and report more on issues related to our economic development, the issues that expose corrupt practice in public and private sectors which are the driving engines of our socio-economic progression, please continue to expose the issues related to abuse of power that are impacting negatively on our social development and adding more hardships to the already suffering majority of our people. Just in case I am misunderstood on the above request let me reassure you that I do appreciate and respect that you have a right to freedom of information and expression, however I'm sure you can also priorities reporting more on issues that directly influence our way of life. There are some personality issues about prominent figures in society that have passed their sell by date that you choose to republish now and again and in all honesty should no longer be issues of any significant concern to society at this point.
I also ask that every journalist out there to begin promoting a personal sense of ethics and responsibility (a moral compass). You should continue to encourage individuals to speak their minds as this helps to stimulate the intellectual diversity necessary to understand and accurately cover our constantly changing diverse society.
It is this diversity of minds and voices, not just numbers
that matters.
Your Avid Reader
Your Avid Reader
Voice of Freedom
