Editorial: Revisiting ethics

By Mashilo Mnisi (BtM Editor)

August 23, 2006: A journalist is neither homosexual or heterosexual, rich or poor nor white or black. Journos are always neutral or rather invent to call themselves hemosexuals(1), ripo(2) or whibla(3) when coming to reporting.

Journalistic ethics maintain that as journalists fairness, neutrality, accuracy and balance of reporting is essential in their work, therefore shouldn’t be compromised and reduced to despotism.

Even editorial comments incur responsibilities to follow media ethics, and therefore to bear facts. Failing to do so shows extreme sordid mediocrity of that particular publication.

Few weeks ago, a so-called Red Pepper tabloid paper in Uganda blatantly condemned gays by even listing names perhaps aiming at baffling and stifling their social and economic status.

I’m just wondering… what is news if someone is gay as the paper claims. There’re just many papers that should be dissolved and cease functioning, especially these tabloids that infested the industry targeting primarily at illiterates. And one thing that’s always ubiquitous with such publications is their ills of solecism, which repugnantly sell them out as newspapers.

1 Hemosexual – homosexual and heterosexual together

2 Ripo – rich and poor together

3 Whibla – white and black together