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Issues Of Diversity:
Media perspective 1
by Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Ibim Semenitari, Tunde Olokode, Tinubu

Why is the media in a conflict environment always in a hurry to break news? Is it out of insensitivity or simply out of a carefree desire to bring down the house? If the media is so critical in shaping the context within which news and events happen, and if indeed they play a significant role in mediating the nature of the debate that drives political and social action in a society as we know they do, wouldn't it be fair to say they should consider the process as much as the goals of their practice?

The overbearing crave to meet the market bottom line often propels the media to indulge in excessive attention game, and the painful reality of sensational headlines remind us of the catastrophic damage that can result from this practice. It is not even about misquotes and misrepresentations alone, the problem is that the media, by their enormous power to affect political behavior, do affect the legitimacy of the different parties in a conflict. They do this through their reporting and analysis. When the media will do this to diminish the legitimacy of the diverse groups, or parties in conflict, the credibility of peace partisans is gravely compromised and the possibility for resolution becomes problematic. To be sure, the reverse is also true but here is where the problem arises for we cannot legitimately saddle the media with an agenda that bothers on proselytizing which readers or viewer or listeners will construe as bias and tendentious. Attitudes that in turn condition apathy.

The way out of this is not even easy. One clear prospect is to insist that reporters continue to be professionally accountable in strict ethical terms. This drives the resolution of the tension between the news process and the conflict resolution regime into the terrain of media ethics. In my organization, it is a basic standard that journalists should never get carried away by their sources or indeed by their stories. Abuses do come and sometimes they do not hold a flag. The journalist must go the extra mile to get balance, to be objective, and independent as far as dealing with any story. Scoops should not displace a journalist's sense of balance.

1. This article is one of three in a series ("The Management of Diversity: Public Policy Perspective," "Strategies for Managing Diversity: Traditional Perspective," "Issue of Diversity: The Media Perspective") which were jointly authored by some of the Reporting Diversity Network members. Contributors are Adesuwa Onyenokwe of One-on-One NTA, Ibim Semenitari of Tell, Tinubu of Galaxy TV, and Tunde Olokode of OGBC. Dr. Albert Isaac of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, organized the various concepts into the three articles.