Why are our journalists underrated

Nov 22, 2011

JOURNALISM in Uganda is going through a rough patch and seems to be stuck in the past while technology and innovation move at lightning speed.

By Benjamin Rukwengye

JOURNALISM in Uganda is going through a rough patch and seems to be stuck in the past while technology and innovation move at lightning speed.

Whereas the technology and equipment used in some of our newsrooms boasts of having international standards, the same may be said of the personnel manning this apparatus.

We still have sub-standard video footage on television, grammatical errors in newspapers and on radio, most people talk about things they know so little or nothing about.

This probably explains why the television industry is littered with foreign programming from Latino soaps to American movies and sitcoms while most people listen to radio only for the music and news and do not pay attention to some presenters that speak at supersonic speed.

Albeit the usually poor depth and contextualisation of stories, and massive number of typos, one feels that the newspapers are punching far above their weight.

This probably has more to do with the editors than the journalists, especially the new breed who graduated from university three years ago.

How many times have we seen journalists wailing after being clobbered by security personnel?

This unprofessional behaviour is not just a result of security personnel viewing scribes as enemies, but also has much to do with journalists taking sides in politics. Almost all self-respecting journalists have moved into public relations, joined the civil society or been elevated to editing.

Media schools effortlessly continue to churn out a laid-back generation that does not read beyond the press releases given at conferences.

Add poor remuneration to this equation and you will get a clear picture why Uganda’s media needs a face-lift.

I have been to events where journalists are given as little as sh10,000 for facilitation or to others where they almost riot when they sense that their facilitation is missing.The media fraternity is in dire need of soul-searching.

Every time Uganda hosts an international conference, we get shocked at how old some of the journalists sent to cover these events are.

Listening to some of these journalists in their 50s, sharing experiences and comparing the 1991 Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting in Zimbabwe to the 1999 in South Africa and ours in 2005 was not just insightful but made me wonder how we novices were going to contribute to the profession.

The days when journalism was a calling, when sacrifices could be made for news to be gathered and reported, days when stories were broken and hard questions were asked, days when political journalists could analyse the Cold War and discuss the Gang of Four, days when sports journalists had versatile knowledge on cricket, golf and not just football are all in the past.

The journalists that have distinguished themselves continue to earn respect, but it seems like the profession is being held back by a new breed of journalists, who practise lazy journalism and have poor a reading culture.

Nobody seems to respect media practitioners anymore so they get harassed by security operatives, get offered bribes and are an inspiration to nobody.

The writer is a journalist and student of International Relations

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