John
Moses Jammeh, a member of the Citizens Alliance Political Party, has said that
the conflicts between journalists and politicians are caused by political and
activist journalism.
He
made this statement during an interview at a media-political dialogue forum
organised by the Gambia Press Union at a local hotel yesterday.
The
forum is part of efforts to strengthen ties between media and political parties
and to enhance the safety and security of the media and media practitioners.
“The
problem between the journalists and politicians is the headlines we make, but
we do not dictate headlines,” Jammeh said. He added that journalists are a
reflection of the society and when journalists become activists and
politicians, their headlines are affected and thereby create conflicts between
journalists and politicians.
He
said: “It is one thing to report incidents but reportages should be separated
from personal opinions,” he argued, adding that journalists should clarify
their opinions from facts.
“Let
it be clear that it is your opinion but you cannot bury your political belief
and opinions behind your headlines.”
GPU
Vice President Mustapha K. Darboe, in his welcoming remarks said, political
parties are one of the most important instruments of governance in democracy
because they later form governments.
However,
he said quite a number of attacks on media and journalists are oftentimes
caused by political parties due to a fundamental misunderstanding of the role
of journalists.
“We
believe that these attacks come from fundamental misunderstanding of the role
of journalists and media practitioners as it relates to how they do their
work.”
