BEING A REPORTER IN MALAWI

Being a journalist in democratic Malawi BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE Journalism is defined as the timely reporting of events at the local, regional, national and international levels. This reporting involves the gathering of information through interviewing and research, the results of which are turned into a fair and balanced story for publication or for television or radio broadcast. Journalists have the right to report whatever issue they feel like reporting as long as it is of national importance. While there are instances where journalists may be required to obtain permission before they report on a certain issue, in other instances, especially where they are raking the evils of society, they may report without acquiring permission. Otherwise many ills of society would remain underlying. There isn’t much denial that the press in democratic Malawi ‘just’ to a little extent has been granted some leeway to operate. It has not necessarily been given the ultimate protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press is to serve the led, not the leaders. Even the government has no powers to censor the press in certain circumstances, while the press has the power to censor government. The press is supposed to be protected so that it can bare the ill secrets of institutions and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose the ills of the society. Yet journalists have found themselves at the receiving end of oppression and repression. During the Muluzi era journalists who exposed the deteriorating standards of government institutions became victims of oppression both from the police and young democrats and some of them had to go into hiding for fear of their lives. Yet the perpetrators were not punished and impunity continues prevailing broadly in this country which is otherwise called the Warm Heart of Africa while being never warm to the journalist. The press has the duty of ensuring that citizens who read, watch and/or listen to their content are fully informed, not only of the operation of public officials and offices, but the issues crafted that affect them. Journalism schools around the world teach students reporting and editing skills, ethics and applicable law; what may be lacking is purpose. That is why some issues may be disregarded by journalists on ethical grounds. Government is not supposed to make any law abridging the freedom of the press. And yet now journalists sometimes are forced to become too afraid to fully embrace the notion that they have the right to report without abridgement even if it means raking the ills of high profile individuals. Currently journalists suffer terrible oppression in different countries, risking their lives on a daily basis to report the truth in the most dangerous work environment known to mankind while rights bodies just continue paying attention to other areas ignoring the media sector. It appears that in Malawi, it is only journalists who work with state broadcasters whose rights are guarded. Private media houses journalists are oppressed now and then as if they are in a foreign country. And most of the times their crime is simply that they are reporting the truth. Worldwide, journalists continue having been targeted, brutalized and sometimes killed by the enemies of press freedom. They are being pressured politically, socially and economically and are being manipulated not to tell the truth. Journalists help in assisting government in developing the idea of democracy and it is important that they operate in comfort. But they have been subjectively arrested in different parts of Malawi just as part of the arbitrary nature of weakening courageousness and energy of journalists to tell the story for their people in a fair and independent manner. These media people are not given enough explanations regarding the reasons for their detention. So far in the history of Malawi’s democracy a media house has ever been briefly shut down just as part of a sophisticated kind of intimidation. The moves have only been a maneuver by the government to silence them, and to erode the role of private media. Journalists whose independent reporting is not liked by the powers that be are subjected to threats and severe hindrances to their journalistic tasks. Yet it is in this peaceful country where journalists were supposed to operate without any intimidation. It is pathetic that journalists are still widely vulnerable to reprisals. They are systematically exposed to physical attacks. Yet most serious crimes against journalists are not prosecuted and brought to trial no matter how serious they may be. For times without number journalists have learned that if they intend to report professionally they are being considered as sympathizers of the opposing force. They are only providers of truth and they cannot flinch from fulfilling their duty. I, personally, believe that Journalism is about someone finding out information that people would not know about and informing them about it. On another note, it is about keeping an eye on business and government and keeping them accountable for their actions. Whatever quarter they come from, journalists have a lot in common: the commitment to accuracy, to fairness and balance, to reflecting the diversity of their readership, to always approaching reporting with an open mind, to having their primary commitment to the reader and no one else. Some time back the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) sounded the alarm at the widespread violation of journalists' rights to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Paco Audije, IFJ Deputy General Secretary said that journalists are witnessing the steady erosion of the respect for their rights, in particular the most basic ones such as the right to life and to press freedom. He added that each year, the IFJ records unacceptably high numbers of journalists from around the world who are killed, detained and intimidated for the lawful exercise of their profession.