The ECOWAS Permanent Mission in The Gambia recently trained members of the Gambia Press Union and the Women Journalists Association of The Gambia on advocacy and sensitisation for accurate information and experience sharing, with the aim of consolidating democratic governance through responsible reporting by journalists.
Her Excellency Madam Miatta L. French, Resident Representative of ECOWAS, in her opening remarks, recognised that The Gambia is among the democratic countries that have high regards for peace, democracy and good governance. She however underscored the need for awareness creation for the media practitioners.
She noted the significant role of the media in enhancing democracy. She said it is also important that women in journalism have a space to come together to discuss their issues and network, so that they are able to share experiences and communicate the challenges they encounter in the newsroom.
Presenting on the role of the media in a democratic state, Yusupha Bojang, of National Council for Civic Education,made reference to the democratic deficiencies in The Gambia prior to 2016, and the role the media, as the fourth estate, played in enlightening the public on how democratic processes work.
He went on to point out that democracy goes with responsibility, education and accountability; thus, the significant role of the media in ensuring that.
‘‘In as much as the media should be given the freedom of expression,’’ he said, ‘‘there is the need for responsible reporting, so that they will not be careers of misinformation, disinformation and mal-information because it is through responsible reporting that the peace, stability and development is attained’’.
Bojang therefore called on the media to restraint from reporting on false information just because they want to be the first to break the news.
Participating journalists were drawn from the print, broadcast and online media.
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