The traditional function of Investigative Journalism is to reveal the truth, to root out facts many people often want to keep hidden and to re-establish fairness.
Investigative Journalism should act as a watchdog in the public interest and objectively expose abuses of power wherever it finds them. It should be able to uncover the truth and not be selective in its revelations. It should not be tainted by people and/or organizations that do not want the truth revealed.
Sadly, some of the worst offenders in this respect are the journalists themselves. The main stream Media seems satisfied with broadcasting and publishing complaints by relatives and responses by Security organs, rather than digging out the real truth, to the core.
Today, our role as society’s investigators is as impressive as that of the presidential candidate who polled the least votes on 14 Jan 2021.
A once very powerful investigative weekly had documented about ten “disappearances” but under a headline which says the list of people who have “disappeared” is ENDLESS. And endless list of ten!! On Sunday 31st January 2021, NTV ‘Panorama’ reporter strived so much to relate the current arrest to the past Iddi Amin and Milton Obote repressive regimes.
We have ignored the obvious fact that Police carried out ARRESTS while KIDNAPS are carried out by criminals. We don’t seem aware that what usually follows a kidnap is a demand for ransom at best or the murder of the victim at worst. Police will follow an arrest of hard criminals with a charge and prosecution or an annoying explanation for failing to do either.
We are forgetting about the young MP aspirant who won a huge sympathy vote simply by kidnapping himself. We have forgotten about at least two MPs who went into hiding and announced their abductions.
Media house are not confronting police with facts from their probes but demanding facts from police so that they use its ‘facts’ to challenge its ‘facts’!
Regular reproduction of tearful relatives dominates the news as good old investigative journalism gives way to the leisurely newsroom activism that brings loud applause from politicians without any new news. Since our activism assumes the State to be our only plausible target, we are left bewildered when the unexpected happens.
Human Rights Network for Journalists has gone deaf-mute ever since Hon Wine Kyagulanyi declared open war against NBS TV. But since the NBS boss has also ordered his journalists under threat to stop defending themselves and their beloved NBS, who am I to say more?
Journalists should be able to maintain public trust in the profession through honesty, objectivity and accuracy. If they continue like this, there are a lot to be asked about ethical questions.
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