The 2015 governorship race in Akwa Ibom State promises to be an epic contest from every indication. The list of aspirants who would want to succeed the indefatigable Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio as governor of the oil-rich state is quite long and growing by the day.
And even though the elections are still two years away, the build-up to 2015 has already started claiming casualties. Insight Newspaper and Global Concord, two of the many newspapers published in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital are currently engaged in a war of words in the aftermath of the reportage of the Stakeholders Meeting of the Uyo Senatorial District members of the Peoples Democratic Party .
On Sunday, 28th April, 2013, the Uyo Senatorial District PDP Stakeholders Meeting was held at the R&R Restaurant along IBB Avenue, Uyo, to among other issues deliberate on the stance of the district in the forth-coming elections. The meeting which was said to have kicked off at about 3pm lasted three hours and ended at about 6pm with the reading of the communiqué by Senator Ita Enang to participants and members of the press. The respected Senator is a representative of the Uyo Senatorial District in the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
By about 5.40pm of that Sunday however, while the meeting was still in progress, Insight Newspaper, apparently in a premeditated move went ahead and posted a story on its Facebook page about the adoption Mr. Umana Okon Umana, the incumbent Secretary to the State Government, as the gubernatorial candidate for the zone, even when no such action was taken at the meeting.
As if the embarrassing slip on its the online forum was not bad enough, Insight Newspaper, the self-styled “Independent Voice” of the people also went ahead to print a cover story entitled “Uyo Senatorial District PDP Adopts Umana: Bars Other Contestants” perhaps in anticipation of the outcome of the meeting. But by the following Monday, April, 29, however, the newspaper had to hurriedly mop up the alleged sponsored edition from the press as the attempt to hijack the meeting had failed and the meeting’s outcome did not reflect their reportage resulting in Insight having to print two versions of the paper on the same day. This is a clear example of how not to report news.
This huge error on the part of Insight Newspaper prompted a front page comment on in its May 3- May 5 edition where its management attempted explaining the issue to its readers According to Weekly Insight Newspaper, “As a paper peopled by humans, once in a while we make genuine human mistakes…It is also within the ethics of journalism practice that when errors occur in the process of news dissemination, all efforts are made to remedy it. And that was exactly what happened in the April 29th edition of our paper”.
But in a swift reaction to the above explanation, Global Concord Newspaper which prides itself for the “’defense of truth” and commitment to fearless and uncompromised journalism’, wrote a rejoinder to expose “the many lies and hypocrisy of Insight Newspaper.” The rejoinder signed by the chairman of the editorial board of the paper also gave a detailed response to almost every argument put forward by Insight, describing the slip as desperation on the part of latter to please its pay master.
According to Global Concord, “Contrary to Insight’s attempt to dismiss their April 29th edition flop as a “genuine human mistake” which can be apologized for and accommodated within journalism practice, we insist that in its desperation to please its paymaster, the newspaper had deliberately tried to write history before it happened and present same as news, in clear violation of newsroom tradition and journalistic ethics. The contradictions in timing and the un-journalistic haste give Insight away as the pretender that it is.”
Undoubtedly the scenario has resulted in a verbal diatribe among the two media organizations. The accusations and counter accusations generated in the heat of battle have not only polarized readers along both lines but have also pitted one group against the other, confusing them in the ensuing scenario. Politicians and even journalists have been caught in this brigandage of political patronage, which does not augur well for the future of the noble profession.
It is a global practice for business organizations and politicians to leverage the media organs for the dissemination of information to their customers and also to win the confidence of the electorate, in the case of politicians. However, as normal as this practice may appear to be, time-honoured ethics of the journalism profession should not be thrown to the dogs. Media practitioners have a duty to uphold the truth and to present it in a professional manner to the reading public.
Global Concord and Insight Newspaper should remember their social responsibility to inform, educate and entertain the public and should avoid deliberate falsehood, professional laziness, divisiveness, mudslinging, partisanship suppressions and general inefficiency that could endanger the profession. The “Stenographic” type of reporting on the part of Insight Newspaper is injurious to the future of the journalism profession and should be discouraged in its entirety.
The Nigerian press has come a long way in deed. More than any other institution in Nigeria, the press has been at the forefront of championing the enthronement of democracy and the rule of law. Therefore, it behoves the press to protect and nurture our nascent democracy through responsible journalism. This is because there can be no democracy without a vibrant press. Politicians should not be allowed to hijack the media organs for their selfish interests.
Furthermore, rather than hold each other by the jugular, Insight Newspaper and Global Concord should sheathe their swords and join hands to ensure an informed citizenry in their domain of operation. Being independent media organizations, they should strive to maintain their independence at all times whilst following the dictate of the journalism profession with every sense of responsibility.
Nsikak-Abasi Akpanobio sent this piece through nsiabasi75@gmail.com.
