World press freedom day, what does it mean to south Sudanese journalists?


World press freedom day, what does it mean to south Sudanese journalists?

By: Abraham Daljang Maker:

JUBA: South Sudanese journalists join the rest to the world to celebrate the world press freedom day. But what lesson do we learn from this crucial day as journalists? 

There are many ways of defining what freedom means, but in my own view, I can say that freedom is when you choose to do something without intimidation and torture both physically and emotionally. Therefore I would say press freedom is when journalists execute their daily activities without being harassed by authorities.
What then does it mean to have press freedom? Does it mean that journalists should write any crap with believe that there is freedom in press? Do we as journalists have to just speak our minds about what we see is best for us without catering for the interest of the public? Do we have to strive for economic gain without seeking the truth? The answer to all these questions is a big No. A journalist must strive to seek the truth so that by the end of the day the truth will set you free. We must be guided by the code and canons of journalism so that when we face hardships in the hands of authorities, we shall be able to stand our ground with the truth as our shield of defence.
I highly respect some South Sudanese journalists because of their best journalistic skills; I admire their audacity to tell the truth and to act as eyes and ears of the public. On the contrary, there are some journalists who have totally abandoned their code of conducts, they wander away from the journalism margin and instead seek their own interest in giving the public what they feel is better. There are many incidences where most stories contain anonymous sources. Having read many them, I realized that many sources want to remain anonymous even when the information they are giving does not in any way endanger their lives. This makes me question the truth in this matter, what comes to my mind is either the reporter has failed to get a proper source but because of economic interest he or she has to claim that the source preferred anonymity, or if at all the source has requested his or her names withhold even when the information is not dangerous, it might mean that the source does not have the proper information but just wants to get heard on the media. Why do journalists agree to publish the information from sources who seek anonymity even when what they are saying does not put them in danger? How can I as a journalist know that this person who wants his or her names to be withhold is telling me the truth? And above all, how will public trust us with information from anonymous sources? With all these mess, there is no doubt that general public sometimes refuse to talk to us thinking that we just rumour spreading groups, no wonder that we sometimes we fall prey to authorities who exploit our own weakness.
Many journalists in South Sudan have been harassed by some authorities either by physical torture or verbally assaulted. The noticeable incident is when some of them were detained in the police cells and others have lost their lives. The strongest message from authority was when the former deputy governor of Lakes state warned journalists that he would crucify them on the wooden cross like Jesus Christ. Although the message sounded comic, it had strong warning message to journalists. There were an attempts by some authorities in Lakes state to first be given a piece of story to read through and approve it before it goes on air or publish in any platform, this was a typical restrain of media. I have always been denied information by many sources claiming that we journalists are nothing but rumour mongers.
As we join the rest of the world to celebrate this day of world press freedom, we must bear in our minds that the only way out is to always try as much as possible to tell the truth. We must jealously guard our reputation by following the journalistic codes of conducts, this many not be a guarantee that we cannot be attack or jailed, but it helps us stay on truck so that we can have something to defence ourselves, and that is nothing but the truth and accuracy.  

Happy world press day to all journalists across the world

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