By Precious Favour Udosen
JOURNALISTS HAVE been reminded of the need to be factual in their reporting and avoid misleading their audiences.
The call was made by speakers at a virtual discussion on X titled “Why Truth Matters” to mark the 2024 World News Day on September 28 organised by interns with Media Career Development Network (MCDN).
The theme of this year’s World News Day celebration ” Choose truth” focuses on why truth matters in journalism.
The Executive Director of Media Career Development Network (MCDN), Lekan Otufodunrin who was the keynote speaker in his opening remark emphasized the importance of being truthful in journalism especially now that fake news has become the order of the day.
“The cardinal principle of journalism is that whatever we publish must be factual.Truth should be the basis of every publication.”
According to him, journalists must not publish or broadcast any information that are capable of misleading the public.
“We must not betray the trust our audiences have in us and must continue to abide by the ethics of our profession,” he said.
The media career development specialist said there are tools used for effective fact-checking which includes Google Reverse Image Search that helps to finds similar or identical images.
He advised the public to be conscious of the platform where they get information and follow trusted platforms.
While stating the need to always double-check information before reporting, Otufodunrin said “seeing is not believing again to avoid misinformation. Without truth, journalism will be a tool of chaos in the society.”
Vice President and Editor of OOU Campus Mirror, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Olamide Ayoade defined the term “truth” as the accuracy of a situation.
“Truth refers to how an event took place without adding or subtracting from it.” he said adding that the duty of the media is to help the audience make informed decision.
“The media should promote democracy and ensure public voices are being heard. This helps the public to have accurate information,” Ayoade stated.
A student of Covenant University, Jadesola Abolaji also defined truth as the accuracy and credibility of report without it being a subjective or objective report.
She described journalism as noble and patriotic profession that holds public officials accountable, adding that truth plays a crucial role in the society and in the practice of journalism.
“ Journalism is the basis of truth. Without journalism, I don’t think the truth can be put out there for the public to know.
“In today’s world truth hurts, but journalists should be able to prioritize truth with credibility to maintain integrity and effectiveness of journalism,” Abolaji said.
Based on the principles of Selective Perception and Selective Retention, Abolaji said constantly publishing truth will make people rethink and eager to fact-check the truth.
Editor in Chief of LASUSTECH WATCH, of Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Habeeb Ibrahim described journalism as the profession of gathering news and information and disseminating it to the public.
While truth may have different meanings based on various communication theories, Ibrahim noted that there are basic principles which journalists must adhere to.
“They include objectivity which has to do with separating reality from personal your personal opinion, accuracy, balance and others.
“Journalism and truth are like twins and they work together,” he said.
Abosede Balogun, a student of Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic (AAPOLY) also noted that truth in journalism involves several key factors like accuracy which means to verify facts before writing and distributing information.
She said Journalists need to be transparent, not biased and give balanced report.
“Professional journalist should be able to identify false news and avoid misinformation,” Balogun said.
World News Day is organized by the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF)
The annual September initiative was first launched by the Canadian Journalism Foundation in 2018 to enhance the relationship between the news industry and its audience.
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