By Eriah Lule
In the media community, ethics have been a serious topic of discussion for a while now. The Dean of the School of Journalism, Media, and Communication, Prof Monica Chibita has implored media students to keep watch of the media space due to the increased unethical conduct that is fighting the profession.
This took place during a media dinner that was held at the Silver Springs Hotel in Bugolobi, where the upcoming journalists were glamorously dressed.
The dinner ran on the theme “Media ethics is under attack.”
“There are very many ethical challenges that affect our profession. I encourage you to be alert, and with this dinner, I want the professions themselves to speak more than their usual faces,” said Chibita.
John Kakande, a retired senior journalist with the New Vision, was the chief guest of the night. Kakande praised Uganda Christian University’s ethical code of conduct that is maligned easily with the journalism ethics.
“UCU’s core value just helps to groom integrity as a professional,” he said.
Tabu Butagira, the managing editor of Nation Media Group Uganda, further advised students that if they were bold and resilient, they would stand by their story and publish it. In this way, they could hold anyone accountable to society.
“All you need is a thick skin, even though you are persuaded by money or threats. It’s our own responsibility as the media to play the watchdog role and satisfy the public interest,” said Butagira.
Peter Kawugu, the Head of Communications at UMEME, Uganda’s main electricity distribution company, encouraged students to be open-minded and learn to socialize with people. This would help them grow their network of sources while in the field.
“Journalists are social people. It’s those people that later become your sources. You should also be vigilant about maintaining these sources and gaining trust,” said Kawugu.
Hellen Mukibi, the current affairs editor at the New Vision, urged students to become multi-skilled as the media is moving towards the multi-media aspect.
“You can’t come to the newsroom with a specialty. We need a fully packaged journalist that is multi-skilled in visual, text, and broadcast,” she noted.
Mukibi added that this helps media stations to grow at a fast rate as technology is embraced.
Kephar Senoga, the president of the Media Link Association, thanked the guests for their continued support towards the school. The event ended with a fundraiser for the equipment of the UCU Focus TV,a hands on practicing program for journalism students at the university.
