By Abdoulie John
As Gambia joined Wednesday the international community to celebrate World Radio Day, the Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure Ebrima Sillah has called on broadcasters to take stock of the way and manner they are carrying out their duty to inform.
“It is deeply important that we reflect on our actions in the airwaves and the resultant consequences such actions could lead to,” said Minister Sillah in a statement in commemoration of World Radio Day.
Since the advent of the new political diispensation, Gambians are expressing their opinion without fear of persecution, censorship and possible legal action. However, a disturbing trend in the media is gradually posing a real threat to the country’s hard won democracy.
While acknowledging that radio is still the most of important means of communication in The Gambia with potential to impact significantly on the lives of people, Sillah seized the opportunity to emphasize the need for radio workers to remain professional in the exercise of their duty.
He expressed concerns about “deeply worrying” trend as radio programmers seem to be trapped in a patently wrong direction and are constantly sidestepping their ethics of professionalism in favour of “highly opiniated posts” from social media platforms presented as “veritable facts in their news programs.”
“This deliberate sensationalism is against all the tenants of ethical journalism. It is also a threat to national harmony and durable peace,” he clearly stated.
Gambia’s Information Minister urged media practitioners to move towards radio programs that promote unity and inclusion.
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