PHOTO: Amb. Laurent Delahousse speaking at an FOI forum
By Willia Selmah, wselmah@gmail.com
The Head of the European Union Delegation to Liberia says has spoken strongly against bad journalism in Liberia.
Ambassador Laurent Delahousse said said in disseminating news, journalists ought to separate facts from opinion.
He spoke of instances of clear, ethical breaches depicting that some publications in the Liberian media were paid for stories.
“I see articles of personal attacks against my good friend the minister of information [Dee Maxwell Kemayah], in your country, for instance. I see articles in the media that have obviously been bought. They don’t represent any form of truth”, the EU envoy noted.
Circumstances regarding what prompted Kemayah’s resignation still remain unclear. One account is that his eyes are set on the presidency for 2023; another, internal wrangling among the ruling elites against his retention as minister, and yet still, a sudden sex scandal allegation by a woman resident in New York against Kemayah when he then serves as Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
This contemporary world, Delahousse says, is perishing not because of the lack of information, but the surplus of it.
In the midst of this, he recognized the crucial role of journalists in setting the record straight. “Your role is so important in today’s world where people have access to radio, TV, cell phones. There is so much information that you need guidance to filter through it and to separate the truth from fake, from manipulation”, Delahousse adds.
He said the essence of the roundtable was to enable journalists access the information, share the information and make it very clear in “what you write, what are the facts, what is the comment on the facts”; something he said was very crucial.
He earlier recognized the important role of journalists in society despite the enormous task that go with it including the risks and low or no wages as well as the risks associated with the profession.
At the same time, the Vice President of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Daniel Nyankonah has told the local OK FM that the EU envoy needs to come clear to single out media outlets and Journalists he has evidence of engaging in bad Journalism.
Mr. Nyankonah said this will go a long way in media self-regulation efforts.