Newspaper Column

I got into the old, raggedy car, the only one there. The driver’s face lit up when he saw me it was as if he was a beggar and I had just offered him a free meal.

‘Did you hear bout de Otisha story?’ he asked the young boy sitting in the seat next to his.

‘Yes! Ah hear and someone gimme a video that Travis Chase took! Wait! Lemme look fuh it!’ the boy said as he hurriedly unlocked his phone, and began searching for the video.

By this time, the anger in me started to build up. I recall the night I saw the video, my friend forcefully made me watch it, I saw nothing more than a journalist abusing his power.

I remember traveling in public transportation and walking around in various stores, that week, and all I recall was people, Guyanese, of all ages pouring out, over each other’s phone, laughing as the famous journalist, interviewed the popular transgender.

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While some journalist in Guyana should be proud of the news and information that they disseminate, other should not.

We must all agree that “Journalism provides a platform for informed discussion across a wide range of development issues – from environmental challenges and scientific progress to gender equality, youth engagement and peacebuilding. Only when journalists are at liberty to monitor, investigate and criticize policies and actions can good governance exist.”

In order words, press freedom or freedom of the press is fundamental to a democratic society and it seems to be one of the hot topics of the twenty-first century.

In Guyana, college students, journalists, reporters, anchors and media house owners are all  concerned about ‘press freedom’ but many fail to see their limitations and the responsibilities that are attached to that *freedom* because their idea of press freedom, is disseminating whatever information they want the public to know nevertheless a free press, inter alia,  should protect human rights, ensure proper functioning of our democracy, promote open-minded discussions and urge citizens to engage in healthy debates so citizens can make informed decisions about their country’s development.

It is their responsibility to expose corruption, injustice and the abuse of power but what happens when a journalist misuses his or her power? For instance, when he/she makes fun of a citizen on social media? Or when he or she uses and abuses social media to publish information without getting permission? Or when he/she continually pressures someone for information and that person retaliates? But that is not the end, it ends when the information that they gathered *unethically* is disseminated and they are being praised and worshipped for getting this “newsworthy” information, overlooking the fact that it was unprofessionally collected which essentially serves as an encouragement to continue along this path.

Recently, a journalist misused his power and took advantage of social media (Facebook live) and a popular transgender was being laughed at and mocked, even the journalist was laughing while he was interviewing the individual? Is that ethical?

Furthermore, it is true that a free press should serve as a watchdog and keep checks on government officials and if they are abusing power or not nevertheless government officials deserve respect. Was it ethical when the famous journalist pressured a minister by asking him the same questions, over and over again, while he was unethically recording him and eventually got the minister to publicly humiliate himself?

Journalists, in Guyana, should come to their grips and acknowledge where the line has been drawn, and abide by their code of ethics instead of unethically reporting information of government officials or the ordinary man.