Media Managers Engaged On MCG’s Role, Journalism Ethics

By Ramatoulie Jawo

Media managers have been engaged on the role of Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) and journalism ethics, earlier Tuesday. 

Baboucarr Cham, the chairperson of the Media Council of the Gambia in his welcoming remarks, told participants the mission of the council.

“The mission of the Media Council is to protect the credibility of the media, and that cannot be without good ethics,” he said.

Cham encouraged media practitioners to be guided by their ethics as a set of standards to ensure fair and trustworthy reporting. 

Speaking at the event, the President of the Gambia Press Union, Muhammad S. Bah talked about the crucial role the media plays in the society.

“If the media gets it right, the country will get to the right direction in the found new democracy, but if the media gets it wrong, the country will be in a bad situation,” he said.

He acknowledged the existence of some form of unethical journalism in the country that threatens the profession.

President Bah encouraged the media to have a policy that will restrict anyone from using it unethically.

Juldeh Njie, senior editor at Paradise TV and a participant at the forum stressed the importance of the engagement to media chiefs.

“It’s very important for media chiefs to be equipped from time to time to know that these are ethical issues, to be reminded of the need to uphold the principles of this very noble profession (journalism),” she said.

The forum discussed ethical concerns and encouraged adherence to the Gambia Press Union code of conduct for media practitioners, dubbed ‘Cherno Jallow Charter of Ethics for Journalists’.

The engagement came through a partnership between the Gambia Press Union (GPU) and the Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) on ‘Strengthening the Media Council of The Gambia and Consolidating the Self-Regulation of the Gambian Media’.

The project, funded by the Civil Society for Development (CISU), is meant to raise public awareness on the mandate and functions of the Media Council of the Gambia as the independent regulator of the media.