By Sulayman Waan
The Executive Secretary of Media Council of The Gambia (MCG), Lawyer Junkung Jobarteh Esquire, has charged that Gambian journalists have the responsibility to adhere to the lawful dictates of the council and the panel in order to avoid seeing journalists and media houses facing civil and criminal cases in courts.
He was speaking to journalists in a press conference held at the Gambia Press Union (GPU) Secretariat on Thursday, June 4 2020, aims at updating the media on the council’s work.
The MCG was established by the umbrella body of Gambian journalists (GPU) in December 2018, as part of the sector reform facilitated by the government through the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure (MoICI). It aims to regulate the media fraternity in the country.
However, the Executive Secretary noted that its mission is to protect the media through the consideration, investigation and resolution of complaints about the breaches Code of Conduct or any other relevant law.
The lawyer added that MCG monitors, records and publishes compliance of ethical standard as well as promotes and ensures adherence to the code; provide non-binding guidance…., and encourage media development in The Gambia.
The GPU’s code of conduct, which provides guidelines and ethical standards for all categories of news media, is the working tool for the council and Ethics Panel in resolving the complaints,” the legal practitioner told the press conference.
He added: “It’s hoped that the council will facilitate the establishment of a public trusted media in the country.”
The beauty of this self-regulatory process is that none of the parties will bear any form of financial and material costs in filling and hearing their complaints, he said.
Lawyer Jobarteh believes this self-regulation is great for both the media as well as general public, saying it would prevent government or state apparatus from interfering extensively with the media, provide alternative to courts for resolving complaints on media contents as well provide free cost complaint resolution process. He said government regulations are heavy-handed and expensive.
The choice of self-regulation over state regulation, he noted, would engender the promotion of independent and free media as well as upholding the highest ethical standard by the media and its practitioners.
The Chairman of the Council, Mr. Nana Grey Johnson, said self-regulation dignifies the journalism industry. He expressed gratitude to the GPU for establishing the council and the ethics panel.
However, he appealed to the press union to support the council to ensure it works as expected.
