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The Tragedy of Junk Journalism in Nigeria By Saka Raji Audu
Journalism is a profession that deserves respect, dignity and moral decorum. The ethics of the profession must not be disparaged or treated with impunity. This is why media regulatory body or council is established to protect the profession from the hands of fraudulent elements who use it to malign, cajole and arm-twist people including men of honour and integrity in order to get money and notoriety.
The proliferations of private electronic and print media in Nigeria should have been a welcome relief for the people in view of their dire need to be adequately and properly informed. As a result of dirty politics and nonchalant attitudes that have infested the media society, people no longer give qualm to the ethics of the profession. Instead, the public psyche is usually invaded with distortions, concoctions, libel, sedition and outright crucifixion of truth for no just cause other than parochial and narrow minded interest of money, grab or 'fame.' The unfortunate activities of some of these media have given journalism a bad name that something fast should be done to arrest the bastardization of the noble profession.
For quite some time now, the public has been treated with the activities of junk media practitioners that lack the qualifications and ethics for practice. These media gate crashers have often relegated the media functions of information, education, entertainment and research to the background. As a result of their selfish political goal and vaulting ambition, they become willing tools for destruction. In their media contents, one hardly sees news, constructive report or research materials. Unfortunately, no body seems to care about the ethical standard of the journalism profession in this part of the world. Sadly enough, the organizations and the people charged with the responsibility of checkmating irresponsible journalism in our society have become indolent and inactive because perhaps, their hands have also been soiled and therefore cannot live up to the challenges. This is one strong reason that accounts for the proliferation of junk media in recent time.
What these avaricious emergency media practitioners seem not to understand is that no media without people oriented policy can stand the test of time. We are all living witnesses to the kind of journalism the so called Desert Herald has been practicing. In her five years of sojourn, it is only fair to observe that no truth has ever been established with the medium that has always been notorious in the comity of responsible media. Yet, the medium has carted away the few misguided readers' hard earned resources through purchase of the medium's sensational, fictitious and made- up stories and adverts dressed as truth.
It suffices however to point out some tips of the medium's unethical journalistic flaws that are unbecoming of a responsible medium. This is being done to avoid doubt and sentiment. In all of its fifteen (15) editions from 7th April -11th August 2009, all her cover leads stories are nothing but made- up stories that only the medium can explain how it came about such antagonistic pieces of information that lack authentic source (s). Some of these lead stories were consistently cooked- up against the governments of Yobe, Kano, Bauchi, Borno and Kaduna States, which are mere opinions that do not go beyond the medium's power of imaginations.
For example, in its edition of 21st -28th July 2009, the medium came up with a lead story that "Yobe governor was flown abroad for emergency medical attention." Ironically, we learnt from other media like Daily Trust, New Nigerian Newspaper, Compass, Leadership and Radio Kano that the Yobe governor did not fall ill but made a trip to Saudi Arabia for religious reason. We were further informed that the Yobe governor arrived back from his lesser hajj trip the very day the Desert Herald reported the governor's sickness (see Daily Trust of 27th July 2009 on "a case of responsible journalism" by Musa Usman Konduga, page 11.)
The Desert Herald had also carried a congratulatory advert, among many other similar ones, praising himself on his so called US Congress award and purportedly attributed it to the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Comrade Garba Mohammed. This made- up advert has already been refuted by the NUJ president as embarrassing and unethical of the profession and issued serious warning to the so called publisher that lack an atom of training in the journalism profession. This is not to talk about the various fictions published by the Kaduna based Desert about the assassination of the late Sheikh Mahmud Ja'afar Adam in Kano. Still, the Yobe awareness Forum had in the Daily Trust of July 24, 2009 apologised for being misled by the Desert Herald's stories against the Yobe government after reading in many responsible newspapers about the evil machinations and unprofessional activities of the Desert publisher.
From the evidence before Nigerians and the ones provided by the publisher of the misinformed paper himself, it is now clear that the publisher lacks the competence for a responsive journalism. This is evident in his medium contents that are bedeviled with self- made stories devoid of truth. This is also in addition to the fact that the so called Editor –In-Chief lacks the ability to adequately proof read his paper devoid of the unpardonable grammatical errors that characterize his moribund paper. Perhaps, who knows whether he is also a follower of the Boko Haram crusaders that make him to hardly mine the uses of grammar in his paper even though English is his mode of communication?
The defenders of the publisher and his laughable kind of newspaper are of the views that grammar; ethical standards, qualification and correct information do not matter in journalism provided the publisher cum Editor-In-Chief rakes millions of naira and becomes notorious through blackmail and falsification of information. In this case, whoever raises eyebrows against his journalistic flaws should be regarded as being jealous and sycophantic. The many questions begging for answers are how comes an ordinary diploma holder in Accounting refers to himself as an Accountant? How comes an accounts clerk with no basic certificate in media or journalism arrogate to himself Editor-In-Chief, deciding on serious editorial contents of a supposed responsible paper?
It is true that the late Chief MKO Abiola was a renowned chartered Accountant when he established the Concord newspaper. But, knowing that he was not a journalist, he resolved to hand over the management and the journalistic administration to competent professionals; and through out his life, he never claimed to be a Publisher, let alone an Editor-In-Chief. This explains why his paper was one of the most objective and unbiased papers in the world. It is however unfortunate that up till now, the so called publisher/Editor-In-Chief does not know and cannot tell appropriately the journalistic prowess and experience of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. For his information, prior to the establishment of the pilot newspaper, Dr. Azikiwe had worked in several international media. He did not just get up to establish the Pilot newspaper out quest for job or alternative to staying idle as is the case with the Publisher of the Desert Herald. Little wonder, therefore, why with Diploma the Desert man established his junk newspaper, devoid of extensive reading experience in the profession.
In view of the elaborate explanations above, it will not be out of place to call on NUJ, Nigerian Guild of Editors and of course the government of this country to intervene before this paper strangles journalism to death in Nigeria.
Saka Raji Audu writes from Kano and can be reached on his email: sakaraj@yahoo.com
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