Ahead of 2023 Elections…………SPOON NETWORK CEO URGES AN APOLITICAL MEDIA
By: Sylvester Choloplay
Email:sccholoplay@gmail.com
Benson Street, April 7, 2023: Ahead of this year’s October 10 Legislative and Presidential Elections, the Chief Executive Officer of the Spoon Communication Network Incorporated Madam Tetee C.Kanneh is admonishing Journalists in Liberia to be apolitical, independent and credible at all times.
Ms. Karneh wants Journalists to be responsible and know the demarcation of their profession while remaining law abiding.
She urged media institutions and or practitioners to ensure their accreditation by the National Elections Commission and observe rules that will keep them safe or be prevented from covering all electoral matters before, during and after the crucial October Elections.
Ms. Karneh recently spoke as a panelist during a ‘Media Security Dialogue’ organized by the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) in partnership with the Volunteers for Sustainable Development in Africa and the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Liberia, in Monrovia.
The one-day media security analysis dialogue brought together media managers, national security apparatus and reporters with the aim of strengthening the protection and safety of journalists ahead of October 10 Presidential and Legislative Elections in Liberia.
The CEO of the Spoon Communication Network Inc. cautioned media practitioners to prioritize their safety and be vigilant as to how they go about executing their functions, noting that no story is worth dying for.
The Veteran Liberian Media Executive has at the same time stressed the need for Journalists to identify their roles and stop being the judges for issues of national concerns and let the public be the judge.
Madam Karneh encouraged Journalists to be cognizant of the risks involved in unethical reporting such as taking sides or inciting the public against one another or providing misleading information for self-interest.
Meanwhile, the Spoon Communication Network’s CEO has pleaded with the Press Union of Liberia to cooperate with media institutions or managers to set minimum wages for their reporters or employees.
Madam Karneh believes setting minimum salaries/wages for reporters will encourage and make journalists to be more professional, noting that most reporters are underpaid and as such, it makes them to be unprofessional and unethical in their work.
Speaking on behalf of Police Inspector General Patrick Sudue, Police Spokesperson, Moses Carter, recognized the importance of Journalists’ protection and safety.
He revealed that the protection of journalists is important to performing their duties, noting that if they are not protected, it makes it difficult to report freely and professionally.
Mr. Carter however challenged journalists to be professional in all their activities and avoid being unethical in their reportage or any acts that would undermine their professionalism.
He then appealed to media practitioners to go after their cases of brutality, assaults and other forms of violence against them.
Meanwhile, the Program Manager of Volunteers for Sustainable Development in Africa, Madam Sadatu Fahnbulleh, disclosed that the objective of the program is to support PUL to discover remedies to issues affecting the media community in Liberia.
Madam Fahnbulleh who expressed interest to collaborate with the Press Union of Liberia intoned that her institution looks forward to seeing the safety of journalists during these times of elections in Liberia.
Giving the overview of the dialogue, Press Union of Liberia’s President, Mr. Charles Coffey, assured the Liberian Media Community his Institution’s tireless effort to support journalists for their safety and professional duties.
Mr. Coffey said without the media, there would not be a strong democracy for people to express their sayings or voice out their concerns.
But the PUL’s president concluded by admonishing media practitioners to respect securities and their protocols while remaining professional at all times.
