THE ROLE OF JOURNALISTS

By: Mary Ankrah

A journalist is any professional person who engages in the collection of information for dissemination to the public. Journalists achieve this purpose by the use of the mass media including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, news agencies and the internet. Journalists include writers, editors, photographers, broadcast presenters, news reporters, commentators, correspondents, publishers, columnists, page planners, and bloggers among others. Journalists rely on first-hand observation whenever possible and consult multiple sources to make sure the information they receive is reliable and they identify the sources of their information so the audience can evaluate their credibility. Therefore, journalists have a significant role to play in the development of the society. The role of journalists entails significant obligations and responsibilities outlined below.

The primary role of journalists are to inform. This they do by reporting on the things that occur in the society thereby making the public aware of those things. They as well enlighten the public on the material welfare of humankind and keep the public abreast on matters that may dramatically change society, such as the economy or the environment. Also, they inform the public on government policies and issues of public concern. As such, journalists search for available information by covering events and sourcing information from people and they determine how valuable and reliable the information is before disseminating it to the public. Thus, journalists do not only collect the information but verify the information before disseminating it. They use the mass media such as television, radio, newspaper and the internet to achieve this role.

Secondly, the function of journalists are to educate. This role enables journalists to educate the public by organizing and showing educative programmes as well as reporting issues that affect the public on their media outlets for the public to drive lessons from them. Journalists are to adequately educate the public on government policies, social issues, national disasters, campaigns against the spread of epidemics (such as HIV/AIDS) and wanton degradation of the environment since these issues are of global concern and cannot be dealt with effectively without the inducement of our currently un-informed majority who also happen to suffer the scourges the most. For instance, the reportage on the “galamsay” activity which involved the death of fourteen women splashed in the Daily Graphic newspaper of Ghana was to educate the public about the dangers of this activity and also to alert government to formulate policies that will curb the operation.  

Thirdly, the role of journalists are to entertain. They entertain the public by covering entertainment programmes such as sports, music, cartoons and movies for the general audiences. Besides that, their duty are to fulfill the need to talk about celebrities and the entertainment world. They write about celebrities and people who have been instrumental in creating achievements and in making good things happen. As a result, this will assist in creating role models for the youth and inspire many people to assist positively in the development of their nations.

In addition, journalists perform the agenda- setting role. Journalists set agendas for the public through choosing what news is to be displayed and how it is displayed for the public, telling them what is important and what they should be thinking about. This influences the publics or audiences in choosing newsworthy stories through the mass media. This role also enables journalists to use the power of the media positively to promote social, economic and cultural values.  For instance, the agenda-setting role of journalists can help the general public to change their mindsets about Africans being dependent on the Europeans for help and always thinking that they cannot develop unless they are helped by foreigners because Africans have the power to transform their lives and their economy through hard work.

Also, journalists play a unique role of investigating issues that affect the society economically or socially and help identify social ills and prescribe remedies to ensure good and healthy society. They do this by researching on the subject matter or the issue and interviewing people who are involved or people who have knowledge about the issue. For instance, journalists can investigate issues such as armed robbery, prostitution, injustice in the judiciary to mention but a few and draw government attention to help reduce the menace in the society.

Journalists serve as watchdogs over government activities and serve as inter-mediaries between the government and the public. Journalists communicate government policies to the public and send feedbacks to the government in order for government to draw policies that will benefit the society in enhancing development and growth.

Journalists act as opinion leaders through columns, feature stories, editorials, and articles among others. Thus, they are transmission belts for their viewpoints or for information provided by others and they make sound editorial decisions.  It is this role of journalists that assist in restoring the lost confidence of people in the country and good government polices to encourage strong leadership and good governance in the country. It also helps the public to make good decisions and be more analytical.

In summary, journalists owe their primary allegiance to the public so, they must maintain integrity, fairness and objectivity and work hard to avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived in the performance of their duty.