Author: ABELA MSIKULA
AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) has expressed its concern over the appalling level at which media ethics and professionalism are deteriorating especially in electronic media.
MCT raised its concern on Thursday during which it called for media houses, especially owners of electronic media to hire professionally trained media practitioners.
According to MCT Executive Director, Mr Kajubui Mukajanga for media ethics to be upheld in the country, it is pertinent for newsrooms to be occupied by reporters who are professionally trained.
He said there had been a tendency whereby some media house owners had been hiring workers based on their talents and not profession, a practice that had been contributing to violations of media ethics.
Recently, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) instituted drastic measures by imposing fines, including suspending some media outlets due to the use of obscene language contrary to law and Tanzanian culture.
“They host open dialogues that have no element of respect, reporting on political elections without considering justice and equality, as well as printing allegations with no efforts to prove or giving the accused a chance to respond,” he lamented.
According to him, it is true talents are important in society, but must be backed by professional skills, stressing that all media owners/supervisors should consider the importance of ethics and professionalism and ensure their personnel adhere to that.
“Let us not humiliate the media profession in front of members of the public and let it be considered as joke-work, gossiping and obscene language. MCT warns all media houses that deliberately disregard professional ethics to change,” he said, adding that: “MCT warmly welcomes TCRA statement which requires it to help address professional issues in the media. The statement is an impetus to ensure all those supervising media houses and social media play their part.”
