Editorial negligence in newsrooms: the true picture

It never rained but it poured for journalists, especially editors, at the most recent workshop organized by the Media Authority in collaboration with CEPO and UNESCO. Senior government officials roasted media professionals for being negligent and failing to observe the journalistic national Code of Conduct.

They were right. From newspapers to television and radio stations, media houses have made a series of glaring editorial mistakes, some of which can be spotted by people who have only obtained basic education.

Photos of newspapers and television lower thirds carrying terrible grammatical errors and spelling errors have circulated South Sudanese-dominated social media platforms on multiple occasions. That some editors are careless and ignorant about their role is a bitter truth.

No newsrooms were mentioned by those officials. However, News Editors, Managing Editors, and even Chief Editors at the organizations in question bear the responsibility of the quality and quantity of the information they disseminate to the public.

In a country like South Sudan where the media industry is far below the minimum standard, reporters who are fresh from poor-structured higher institutions in the country write stories that are difficult to comprehend and authenticate.

Such stories land in the hand of an anger-prone impatient editor, who either passes on the story raw or spikes them (the better option). Because they are also underpaid, reporters take no interest in capacity development, which most editors and managers at South Sudan’s media houses are either unwilling or incapable to offer. This is a dangerous trend in many media houses in the country.

So, what is the remedy?

In conversations with the City Review, a former deputy minister of information and broadcasting put it very bluntly. “Most of the media houses in South Sudan are established by people who do not have journalistic backgrounds,” he said.

But that is not entirely the problem. A founder of a media organization may not be a journalist by profession but can still build a vibrant media house by hiring the right and competent personnel through a professional consultant.

However, a competent journalist who knows and values his worth would not work for a media house that pays him SSP 15000 in a month.

This is perhaps why local newsrooms are filled with interns from universities, who do not fully understand the Code of Conduct, just to be exploited by their so-called seniors, who do very little but pocket lion share at the end of the month. Instead of grooming them, junior reporters are exploited by their editors.

The Association of Media Development in South Sudan should also recruit trainers with knowledge of journalism, not just random masquerades from the streets of Juba because the product resembles the manufacturer.

Government officials should also stop barring reporters from accessing information. In South Sudan, journalists only obtain information from government officials during press conferences.

Politicians must change their perception toward journalists and stop treating them like spy agents. This is why reporters end up writing half-baked stories from incredible sources.

Astonishingly, even the United Nations agencies in the country, the advocates of the free press, have made it difficult for strides to access critical information of public interest.

UN agencies have always demanded to know whether a reporter made an appointment with a specific individual before the visit.

Even with a press card, a journalist is denied access to UN offices in the country, unless there is a specific individual the reporter contacted and agreed to meet.

This has made fact-checking and information verification for journalists a daunting task. If the media industry in South Sudan is to develop, all arms of the government, the UN agencies, NGOs, development partners, and Editors must play a positive role in that effect.