“Part Of The Media Politicised Reports”

As Head of Department (HOD) for Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of Buea, you are a trainer of Journalists. Certainly you have been keen about the productions of journalism in Cameroon during the ending year, 2023. What have you observed and what is your appraisal of the media in the past 12 months?
Basically, Cameroon is a democratic State and the media is very active here. Assessing the media practices in this setting is very relevant in order to enhance democracy as need be. To begin, the media has been critical on issues of the society. I have observed part of the media as being too politically inclined. We need to understand that we are a developing nation and that there are more issues of development to tackle. Development is supposed to be constantly in the limelight. I understand that governance as a political effect propels development. But I believe that Journalists should also strike importantly on the needs of wellbeing of the people. I will just mention here that the government through its various departments should be more open to provide necessary information to the media so that facts are better understood, construed and made useful to the public. It is very important that correct facts are known to the public concerning their development for the public to access and make judgments based on facts. As such, I observed part of the media as over politicizing issues.

What are some of the areas that you think the media dramatised and tilted towards politics?
I should not be diving too much into particular issues. I know we have had Journalists who are harassed and the issues brought into the limelight. There have been failed political rallies and other issues that deserved facts rather than opinions. When reporting such issues we must remain ethical and think about the consequences. When we hold discussions on air it remains necessary that we moderate in a way that would not fuel more chaos into society.  

How do you apprise the social media in all of these media actions ?
The social media cannot today be avoided. They will continue to exist but conventional journalism with people trained in media institutions must keep a distance. Facts exposed must be crosschecked and verifiable. The social media may hint a few things and point to paths of events but it is the trained Journalist who weighs the pros and cons of the facts in a report and they have a control mechanism for what they expose.

What opinion have you about the National Communication Council’s work during the year?
They have been doing their job. What I remark is that the journalism profession is a growing one in Cameroon. Journalists should keep their counter-power by building their syndicates. Without a strong syndicate, Journalists are weak. With these syndicates the Journalists can assert themselves, protect and improve on their work. What I also wish is that all practicing Journalists should be identifiable with their professional cards so that charlatans do not infiltrate and soil the practice. It sho...