Introduction

In “The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism”, Vincent Leitch cleverly suggests (and I paraphrase): that notwithstanding the tacit erosion of the relevance of Journalism, globally, (everybody is a citizen journalist now, with the emergency of web communication), intentionally, when we uphold the revered tenets of the Journalism profession, distilled in the last 100 years, the fundamental components of our identity, as journalists, are reflected in the activities and results of our professional efforts – they are profound indices of public measurement of our work and relevance.

With that, even with the incredible efforts by the universities/colleges offering journalism courses, technical trainings by SLAJ, IMC and others, professional journalism in contemporary Sierra Leone needs steel-clad principles, from professional observers, to guide its practice and restore eroding reputation, despite recognisable advancement in technical and professional trainings.

From observations, interactions and discussions, in multiple settings, I noticed that beyond the media codes of practice, regulations, IMC 2020 Act and more, there are two critical needs (not money or political influence) for would-be and practicing journalists in Sierra Leone:

  1. A carefully crafted sacred professional precepts or principles (I will deal with later), and
  2. A historical book on SLAJ and its mixed but outstanding contribution(s) to journalism, media, communication and national governance in Sierra Leone.

 On the historical book, briefly, I note, with severe anguish that in contemporary Sierra Leone, even though SLAJ epitomizes press freedom, anti-information disorder, media development and human rights advocacy – holding government to account and national policy change (Massaquoi, 2023), SLAJ, the universities/colleges teaching journalism (media) do not have an introductory stand-alone historical text on SLAJ and its contribution(s) to national governance and development.

The successes and challenges on which SLAJ thrives today came as a result of significant historical markers and cumulative contributions from past executive members, all journalists/members of SLAJ within and without, media practitioners and the public, since June 1971. The book that we are putting together will trace factual (nonfictional) critical pieces of information of historical value to policymakers, NGOs, researchers and media practitioners, students at the Universities, diplomats and more.

Everett Rogers (1997), once said “Anyone who plunges into a new river wants to understand where the water comes from and why it flows as it does”. As an undergraduate student in communication research, international relations and political science, I felt that same way. There was nearly nothing to show all-in-one history and the journalistic battles of SLAJ and contributions to national development. Thus, my curiosity about history grew stronger with the years. Additionally, in a privilege discussion with students of mass communication studies, but more interestingly, with senior members of SLAJ, they squirmed, with glaring discomfort, when I mentioned that there are very little historical records documented in catalogued academic text that SLAJ and the universities/colleges can make reference to.

Effectively, there is no history book specifically dedicated to the contributions of SLAJ as a core reading text for students, policymakers, researchers and the country in general, save for a few academic dissertations and honourable mention in some books.

“We want this book, we are about to carefully navigate the historical and contemporary complex labyrinth of the journalism (by extension the media) ecosystem in Sierra Leone” the president of SLAJ told me.

And, so, the above portion of this short piece is a precursor to the publication of a book about SLAJ and its contribution(s) to national governance and the development of journalism in Sierra Leone and beyond. The nexus between history and how we operate as professionals is seamless. Now, on the professional precepts to sustain.

The Guiding Principles  

Noting the stated deficiencies above, remarkably, I was enthralled by the gender diversity, rising number, content quality and fairly good expressive ability by the journalism (mass comm., media…) students we churned out in the last several years, irrespective of the financial and other challenges.

What is of central note, however, beyond these gains, I still submit the following Precepts constructed to facilitate the growth of Journalism (mass comm., media studies…) in Sierra Leone:

  1. Principle 1 – Expressive Ability – The ability to communicate (write or speak) a clear message or an explicit story is central to good journalism. The linguistic capacity of a journalist propels him or her to the realm of respectability and believability. In the Sociology of Language, we tend to believe a story when it is devoid of dysfluencies –verbal fillers. Did you know that of the minimum 70, 000 English words in our dictionary (our key tool for officially communicating in Sierra Leone), we need minimum 5,000 English words merely to fundamentally communicate.  I can safely posit that since English is a second language in Sierra Leone, the need to constantly read relevant materials, listen to people who know more than you and practice on a daily basis to speak good English will help improve journalism in Sierra Leone.
  2. Principle 2 – Social Capital – Social Capital is the number and quality of social relationships one has, in this case, a journalist has or can reach out to, to facilitate the quality of his/her story. For you to succeed as a journalist, you need reliable and quality sources to augment the accuracy, balance, clarity and fairness of your story. Hence to succeed you must have relationships in virtually every cadre of society – in the police, military, medical profession, law, chieftaincy, sports, business, academia…
  3. Principle 3 – Appearance & Comportment – My mother used to say “how you dress go na awujor na so den go gi you pot for wase”. I know how financially challenging it is for a journalist in Sierra Leone, especially reporters, however, for your sources or colleagues or others to respect and listen to you or agree for an interview would depend on your appearance. Cleanliness is a determinant for access. In addition, when a journalist comports him/herself in public, there is no need to demand respect and even reverence and admiration. The manner one conducts him/herself is a prerequisite for progression.
  4. Principle 4 – Expanded KSA+A – Are your Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attitude in line with the existing professional context and expectations?
  5. Knowledge – How curious are you as a journalist or would be journalist to learn new, gain insights, read and understand qualitative and quantitative data? The more broad and diverse knowledge you have as a journalist the more interesting and helpful you become.
  6. Skills – As a journalist and would-be journalist, the more creative you are with the knowledge you have acquired by translating it into skills the more powerful you become. A good journalist needs skills in the newsroom and outside. Computer skills, writing skills, speaking skills, interviewing skills and more.
  7. Abilities – Do you have the capacity to understand, analyse and report the news? Do you have the capacity to weave knowledge and skills to produce a readable or listenable material for public consumption?
  8. Attitude – Do you have the right attitude to operate in the profession? How many people you fight with on a daily basis because as a journalist you assume and claim special privileges?
  9. Adaptable: How flexible or malleable are you to adjust quickly without complaining?
  10. Motivated: How motivated are to go the extra mile to get that story without complaining? Is your media house motivating you with thank you or effusive tap on the back?
  11. Resourceful: How creative or imaginative are you to be efficient with little resources to produce the desired results?

 

  1. Principle 5 – Ceaseless Mentorship – We all need someone to hold our hand as we glide through the professional maze of journalism. As a professional journalist, how open are you to practical and continuous learning and experience sharing? Every professional or technical expert has a mentor or someone he or she admires and learns from him/her albeit secretly. Even with a PhD, you have a mentor who is a full professor or a technical professional outside of academia. You need someone who you could run to with ideas for discussions and validations. It may be your parents, colleagues…

Conclusion

Concluding, when one looks back at our intellectual origin (the foundation of Journalism as an academic and practical discipline), it is profusely clear that, as ordinary as we may be or seem to be and, as practitioners with a social charge, it behoves us to demonstrate, in virtually all professional circumstances, our commitment to diligence, collaboration, solution and respect for sources.

As journalists, to keep abreast with emerging trends, we must not be irascible or petulant, but be composed and systematic in our production of stories (history in a hurry) for digital, electronic and print media. This is not polemics.  As Tony Atwater wrote in the future of journalism and the quest for credibility: in the near future, he said, and with the explosion of finance, technology and other disciplines, journalism must excel in empirical credibility (quantitative research) and that of narrative believability (qualitative research).