Director of News at Zodiak Theresa Ndanga is one of the country’s versatile, professional, courageous and talented journalists I respect.
Young but she is already a mover and shaker in the world of journalism.
I remember the time she grabbed a microphone from Gerald Viola, the former press secretary at State House, just to ask President Peter Mutharika questions Malawians wanted.
The tendency of Viola passing on a microphone to pro-government media house reporters during a press conference so that they asked the President “soft” questions forced her to take this unorthodox means of asking questions.
After forcibly grabbing the microphone, Ndanga fired the wonderful and needful questions the nation had been waiting for, a very patriotic and courageous Ndanga indeed.
So, when this week she wrote something on her Facebook page, something came to my mind, that very few apples in the profession are doing damage to this noble profession, which is a calling to many journos.
Before I go further, here is what Ndanga wrote on her Facebook page: “I value journalism, responsible journalism to be specific.
“I would do whatever it takes to contribute, help, defend or sustain responsible journalism in Malawi.
“Journalism is not small, it is big. It is an agent for change. It can change lives. If you talk to a granny who was wrongly imprisoned until a journalist followed up her case and got released from Maula Prison after a front page story, you will agree with me that journalism is great.
“If you talk to a university student, who gave up life after failing to get tuition until her plight was published and well-wishers came in, you will know that ours is a noble profession and a calling. Let us join hands for a sustainable responsibility.”
These are wise words, intelligent words, words full of life.
We need to join hands to deal with irresponsible journalism.
There are reports that a cabinet minister deposited K1 million into an account of a journalist so that he shares it with other scribes in order to write damaging stories of fellow cabinet ministers.
The aim is that Mutharika when gets fed up with the stories, he should fire the targeted cabinet ministers.
This is irresponsible journalism Ndanga is talking about.
My great mentor and godfather in journalism, Al Osman, used to tell me that when two elephants are fighting down the valley, journalists should be up the mountain because they can be knocked down if they stand closer to the fight or the dust will make them not see clearly the fight.
Journalists should obviously report on the divisions, the fight or the feud in the cabinet but they should not be part of the problem lest they be knocked down together with the powerful politicians.
I am not against my fellow journalists, no, but I am against the few apples that are denting the image of this noble profession.
I know there are many Theresa Ndangas out there who are striving for a responsible journalism in Malawi.
As Civic Education, Culture and Community Development Minister Patricia Kaliati said, journalists can save their energy for development journalism.
This is another exciting area. Ndanga has given some of the outstanding examples.
As Kaliati, whom I disagree with most times, said, journalists can be good civic educators. They can use the watchdog role more effectively and efficiently.
They can help implement the government policies in many areas; breastfeeding, child spacing, killings of persons with albinism, corruption, Ca s hga t e , Farm Input Subsidy Programme and other agriculture-related activities instead of wasting time and energy getting involved in political struggles.
I am very much aware that we can avoid politics but politics cannot avoid us. But receiving money from politicians in order to take sides in their power struggle is not only irresponsible but stupid.
Journalists hold politicians transparent and accountable; therefore, journalits should as well be held accountable on what they do.
Politicians should not abuse and misuse journalists taking advantage that some of them take home a meagre salary at the end of the month.
It is high time media houses, who fail to pay good salaries to their journalists, found ways of getting money in order to pay well their journalists to reduce cases of “pay for news” syndrome.
I should add that this is just an isolated case. Overall, Malawian journalists are very ethical, very professional, very hard working.
If we did not have a vibrant and professional media, Malawi would have sunk by now.
The journalists have held our leaders accountable on a number of issues. Outstanding, currently is the Maizegate which Ntchindi Meke, the great and outstanding Times Group journalist, has handled professionally.
His story has moved and shaken the country, forcing Mutharika to act by firing the Agriculture minister George Chaponda.
Journalists, like Meke, have exposed rot in government. But these few bad apples in journalism profession make Ndanga’s work to contribute, help, defend or sustain responsible journalism fruitless.
Love for money can destroy the whole profession within a minute after years of building it.
The Media Council of Malawi and Namisa, the respected media bodies in the country, can take up the matter and discipline those involved. Journalists Association of Malawi (where I sit as Chairman of Central Region Chapter) can as well do its part in holding discussions with media house employers in a bid to raise salaries for scribes.
I know Chairman of the Journalists Association of Malawi Mtheto Lungu and his Secretary General Charles Mkula have taken up this issue as a priority and something good is expected, probably soon.
I would want to see the relationship of politicians and journalists being cordial but distant. If all journalists in this country become unprofessional and unethical as the few bad apples, then that is the end of democracy.
The losers would be democracy and people at the grass roots.
Let us all join hands by making Malawi a country of honey and milk by avoiding corruption, by avoiding money for news!
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