Respect Journalists!

As people are mourning the death of a loved one through an accident, a journalist will be there with her pen, notebook, camera and recorder to cover the story and get the best shorts or firsthand information. Journalism sure is a weird profession, right? 

As much as it is weird, it is a profession just like any other. What gives doctors work? Diseases, illnesses, viruses and accidents, right? Are they therefore any different from journalists? Without criminals and other misfortunes in life, lawyers wouldn’t have work. All these professions therefore need to be respected. Hair dressers work on the hairs of prominent people in society and the prominent people also eat food in hotels and restaurants prepared just by common cooks. Who then is the boss?

One would say that journalism is a mediocre profession due to a reason or two, but just as doctors and other professionals, journalists operate under a code of conduct. They also have media laws and ethics that guide their daily operations. For instance, a journalist is a citizen of a given nation and matters that affect other citizens affect them too. But whereas other citizens have the freedom to take sides, a journalist has to be objective and not subjective on these crucial issues so as to maintain relevance. Quite a challenge, but they do manage.

A journalist also has to use credible sources at all times and keep supporting evidence on news material always so that in case they are called upon to defend themselves, they are not caught between a rock and a hard place. We have heard of situations where by sources give information on some subjects and when things get tough, they say they don’t remember talking to any journalist. Things can therefore get ugly for a journalist who doesn’t keep records of their daily activities.

One would say that a journalist’s work is smooth because it just entails collecting, writing and reading news. This is not true. Journalists too suffer trauma. Never heard of that journalist who committed suicide after winning an award for the best feature article? Now this is where dilemma comes in. Here is this child in a hunger stricken area who is so emaciated and a vulture is standing by waiting for him/her to die so that it can feast on the carcass. As a journalist, you so much want to get the story and tell the world the situation in this particular area and at the same time you feel the urge to save this starving child. What will you do? Risk the life of one to save a million others, or risk the life of a million children, to save one? After reading this, will one still say journalism is just a walk in the park? Journalists sure go through a lot to get you that story in your paper, TV set, radio or even social media.