The United States Consul-General, Jeffrey Hawkins, has said the news media should enjoy the needed freedom if democracy is to thrive in Nigeria.
He said this on Tuesday during his opening remarks to mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day.
Hawkins noted at the programme, themed, ‘Assessment of the News Media’s Performance Covering the 2015 Election,’ that Nigerian journalists made some sacrifices to ensure that the March 28 and April 11 polls were largely successful.
“Let me start by congratulating you and your peers and the Nigerian people for playing a constructive role in ensuring successful and largely peaceful 2015 elections.
“I would like to commend the efforts of the news media in offering a platform for the expression and amplification of ideas by political candidates during the campaign season. The news media, like their peers in other parts of the world, shoulder a heavy responsibility to inform and educate the electorate in some cases, placing themselves in harm’s way. We are aware that some courageous journalists were injured during the elections,” the consul general said.
According to Hawkins, the news media provided the electorate timely, factual, analytical and objective information to help them understand the issues and where the candidates stood, adding that the news media lived up to a universal professional standard and contributed immensely to a healthy and functioning democracy in Nigeria.
He added, “You and your peers deserve kudos for a job well done. And I look forward to hearing your self-assessment of your performance. We all know that a free press is essential to a healthy democracy. Not only during elections but every day, every week, every month, and every year; the news media must remain focused and engaged.
“I challenge you to continue to play an effective role in amplifying important issues that affect citizens.”
During the self-assessment by journalists and media scholars, the media especially the newspapers, were rated low in their reportage of hate speech and concentration on the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress.
The Director, International Press Centre, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, in his presentation stated that media houses did not comply with the media code of election coverage, particularly in the areas of reporting hate speech and inciting remarks.
The Head of Department, Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, Dr. Abigail Ogwezzy-Idisika, noted that the media gave too much prominence to the reporting of hate speech and inciting remarks by politicians.
While the Founding Dean, School of Media and Communication, Pan-African University, Lagos, Prof. Emovwo Biakol, said it was a bit early to assess the performance of the media in the general elections.
He pointed out that investigations were lacking in most of the election reports.
Another don, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye from Unilag, called on journalists to always ensure that their reports were based on the truth and facts.
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