The need for proper and accurate information dissemination was the crux of discussion between the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Â Hon. Ikuinyi Owaji Ibani and the State Executive of the Rivers State Independent Publishers’ Â Association (RIVPA) at the Assembly complex on Thursday during a courtesy visit.
The RIVPA chairman and Publisher of Africa Update newspaper, Gloria Boma Harry while assuring the speaker of a mutually beneficial relationship between the Association and the legislature, Â urged the speaker to eliminate barriers to information to foster access to the activities and policies of government .
On his part, the speaker commended the activities of RIVPA aimed at eliminating touts in the media and assured them of the support of the state assembly.
His words, “The truth of the matter is that without dissemination of information all that we seek to do as the legislature will go nowhere. When we deliberate on issues of state, Â we deliberate, Â we resolve. Â At the end of it all if it remains in the chambers , not taken out to the public for consumption, Â all that we have done has amounted to nothing.
“So your role in society, Â in governance is key. It is very important. Â As a legislature, Â we acknowledge that role and very well. So there is no way we can downplay your role in society.
“We commend your efforts in doing so, as independent publishers. Â And we will continue to also partner with you. If we have not done so, we will start to do so.
“The journalism as a profession, Â has an aspect which you have condemned, Â Touting! . Touting in journalism profession does not mean well for the profession and for society at large.
“A situation where one can claim to be a journalist to meet high profile persons , pretend to have interviewed the person or is interviewing the person at the end, that report is found nowhere. All is to make the person part with some money and all that , as allowance. Â To me it doesn’t speak well of the journalism profession.
“For those of you who are forthright and upright in what you are doing, Â I commend your efforts and I admonish that you continue to do so and weed those unwanted elements out, so that when we are dealing with journalists or publishers, media houses, Â we will know people we are actually dealing with. It will help us and it will do us good.
“Investigative journalism is the press I am associated with. When you talk of journalism, Â investigative journaliam. Where people will publish what they did not hear, what they did not see, to me is no journalism. Â Especially against the backdrop of what I refer to in my own language as social madness not social media.
“Every person is just a mad person, you are saying it the way you know it, the other person is saying it the way he or she knows it. The truth is difficult to come by, so the print media I think you have a role to play by putting the records straight after proper investigation.
“It is very important because information you are giving out that is printed , is educative and also very informative. It is what reference to be made to decades after, years after and months after. If that information is not correct and misleading then a generation would have been misinformed. ” he asserted.
