WITH reference to a letter written by Frederick Kissoon on August 24, 2009, with the caption, “Dr. Misir cannot comment on the very faults he finds in the private media that abound in the state media.” Mr. Kissoon is missing Dr. Misir’s point entirely.

He seems to be caught up in this debate about anti-government writers opposed to pro-government writers. Mr. Kissoon should note that Dr. Misir’s argument is not about deeming anti-government writers with negativity, since the Guyana Constitution allows us to choose our political affiliation; but instead Dr. Misir’s point has to do with some columnists making unverified allegations against people. Such practices by Mr. Kissoon will continue to diminish his name and also his character and credibility as an academic; the advice given by Dr. Misir is meant in ‘good faith’, but Mr. Kissoon seems to be caught up in this mirage filled with anger that works toward misinterpreting and abusing Dr. Misir’s advice.

Code of ethics seems to be the missing ingredient in what we perceive to be journalistic writings today. A journalist’s conversation with his/her readers should consist of code of ethics unless that writer is up to no good or is not familiar with the principles of journalism. Let us also not forget that the press needs to uphold its civic responsibility regardless if it is free, since the media is very influential.

Responsible journalists should provide citizens with the information they need in order to play an active role in a democratic environment. All of these letter writers and columnists claim to be professional journalists, but yet they fail to produce an informed citizenry. Instead, there seems to be an illness of some sort, whereby journalists, especially in the private media, seem to have nothing but hate against the Government. These journalists, columnists, and letter writers refuse to acknowledge the accomplishments of the Government and never seem to be satisfied with the positive outcomes of the Government; instead they lament and instigate hate among our people, misusing journalism as their weapon.

The media seem to have an addiction toward creating conflict rather than promote healthy debates among people. People should realizes that the media are key players in modelling citizenship and conflict resolution, but yet journalists continuously fail to promote peace-making, reconciliation and compromise. These important assets necessary for a prosperous society are missing and nobody seems to care.

It is the responsibility of journalists to identify issues in which the public must make hard choices and to frame those issues in a way that creates the possibility of productive deliberations. The media are capable of so much more than just producing tabloid information and can serve as a forum for dialogue for individuals as well as communities within societies.

What journalists need to do is to become fair-minded to develop a community which will function as a community. We must note that the code of ethics of journalism does not limit the freedom of expression of the journalists, but only ensures that information obtained and published are subject to verification.

What Guyana needs is an established Ethics Committee to keep loose canons who call themselves journalists within the confines of professional journalism. We have allowed too many mischief makers to make reprehensible and serious allegations against people without any verification. We fail to see the seriousness of false reporting and the extent of damage it can cause to a person’s reputation, and this is why Freddie Kissoon should halt his allegations and be restrained within the confines of the code of ethics of professional journalism. His sham as a prototype for journalism does great harm to Kaieteur News.
ELIZABETH DALY