REPORT OF THE POPULARIZATION OF IMC ELECTIONS COVERAGE AND REPORTING REGULATIONS WORKSHOP EASTERN REGION
DATE: 29TH March 2023
Programme of events
- Registration
- Opening session
- Call to order and prayer
- Introduction of officials
- Welcome remarks by the IMC chairperson
- Statement by IDEA
Break
- Presentation 1:
Overview of the two IMC regulations interpretation and general guideline for elections, media coverage and reporting
- Presentation 2:
Elections media coverage and reporting
- Presentation 3:
General elections media coverage and reporting guidelines
Break
Presentation 4:
Complaints and enforcement procedures
- Presentation 5:
Offences
- Plenary
- Vote of Thanks
- Registration:
The workshop started at 8:30 am with the registration of participants and organisers accompanied by the service of tea and sandwich bread for breakfast.
- Opening session:
The opening session was a pageantry of the following events:
- Call to order and prayer;
The executive secretary of the IMC called the workshop to order.
- Introduction of officials
There were two types of introductions, some workshop officials and participants were self-introduced, while the chairman Dr Victor Massaquoi was formally introduced to all and sundry by a Commissioner Dr, Victor Suma.
- Welcome remarks by the IMC Chairperson (Dr. Victor Massaquoi)
In his remarks the Chairman opined that the Independent Media Commission (IMC) with support from European Union (EU) through the Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) launched the Independent Media Commission Elections Coverage and Reporting 2022 document, having gone through parliament. The document he said was officially launched by the Honourable Minister of Information Mohamed Rahman Swaray at the Radison Blu Hotel Aberdeen Freetown on 27th March 2023. That occasion attracted station managers, media practitioners and other stake holders in Freetown. The launch was followed by a popularization workshop for media practitioners and other stake holders in the western urban and rural areas in which various comments, suggestions and questions were made. He concluded by saying that today’s event was a replication of what happened in Freetown at the eastern region and further admonished journalists to be professional in their work. The South and Northern Regions will follow suit in the weeks ahead. He implored all participants to be interactive so that the best will come out of the workshop.
- Statement by IDEA (Mr Tawanda)
The representative of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said they were here to help nascent democracies and countries with long history of political violence to consolidate their democratic gains. The institute has been in Sierra Leone for a long time now since the end of the civil war in 2002. He wished all participants ample deliberations and looking forward to successful democratic elections in Sierra Leone 2023.
- Presentation 1:
Topic: FACT SHEET— Overview of the IMC Elections regulations interpretation and general guideline for elections media coverage and reporting
Presenter: Mr. Khalil Kallon
The Executive Secretary highlighted the general reasons for the existence of the IMC and dilated on the ethical principles for media practitioners and said that whatever media do in their professional should be in the general good for society. Among other things he had to say he summed up his presentation by cautioning media practitioners to be law abiding and be positive in their reporting.
- Presentation 2:
Topic: Elections media coverage and reporting
Presenter: Mr James Tamba Lebbie
There are guiding principles that governed election coverage and reporting which the media practitioners should be au-fait with in order to avoid friction with the law. Balanced reporting is a requirement so that the public would be properly informed. He reveals that many at times the public is been misinformed on crucial national issues. This misinformation and sometimes disinformation has led to chaotic situations in the country with everyone his or her interpretation of the event different from the other person.
The role of the journalist is made quintessential in bring out the right information the people. In his concluding statement he advised against biased reporting that are detrimental to national cohesion.
- Presentation 3:
Topic: General elections media coverage and reporting guidelines
Presenter: Mr. James Tamba Lebbie
In the second presentation Mr. Lebbie underscores the need to give credit and balanced reporting on political events.
Under the heading of “conflict of interest” he encourages media practitioners to be professional and value free in reporting, not to allow individual political interest to stain news items.
That political party should ask media houses for coverage of their activities, and in the process of covering political party activities; he remarks that, “the media practitioner must keep a fire wall between personal interest and job ethics”.
On the use of jargons and quotations: he admonishes that jargons are media contents and should be quoted accurately and be put into proper context, and even explaining them in order to avoid reader guessing. However, he cautions against publishing offensive jargons, saying that the media work is highly subjective but for the general good of society.
- Duty to obey security orders:
He said Media practitioners should be law abiding; adding that, being a trustee of news does make any one above the law
- Access to paid political advertising:
Equal access must be guaranteed to all political parties for paid political advertisement; there should not be different payment scale for different political parties.
- Questions and answer session:
Question: A participant asked whether or not was right for journalists to put on political party colour dressing while in official capacity?
Response: the presenter underscores importance of neutrality for journalists and therefore must not be seen in political party colour if he/she is not a Public Relation Officer and fully paid up employee of the party.
- Presentation 4:
Topic: Complaints and enforcement procedures
Presenter: Dr. Victor Suma
Among other things Dr Suma said that complaints and enforcement procedures are all about complaints against media practitioners.
When complaints are filed against practitioners at IMC, an invitation is normally sent to the defending individual or entity to attend a public hearing.
Hearings are held by the complaint committee at the IMC and failure to attend session upon invitation without valid reason will be met by fines.
Each case has at least three sittings and if any defender is absent from the sittings the commission will have no option but to pass judgement. Therefore, it is in the interest of defender to attend sittings for redress.
Dr. Suma, “do not become the news instead report the news as it is!”
- Penalties and Redress Mechanism:
If a journalist failed to pay fines his/her licence can be withdrawn and stop practicing.
- Appeal procedures:
If any one of the disputants is not happy with the nature of judgement passed by the commission, an individual has the right to appeal straight to the high of Sierra Leone within 30 days.
- Presentation 5:
Topic: Offences
Presenter: Mr. Khalil Kallon
In his presentation Mr Kallon outlines the penalties for violation. Violators will be fined the sum of not below 5, 000 Leones and not above 20,000 Leones.
Due to the current election atmosphere the IMC will hear complaints as and when they come in from complainants.
An apology is not a defence in law but could serve as mitigation, he observes. Therefore, it will be proper to make retraction of offensive statements that are not true representative of people or cannot be well defended in the court of law.
In terms of intellectual property right, he advises against plagiarism and recommended that journalists must acknowledge sources of information whenever they published articles.
Harassment and intimidation by journalist of persons is strictly prohibited. Moreover, he points out that the publication of gruesome images and pornographic pictures are prohibited. Also, prejudicial and pejorative references are prohibited such as describing people according to how God created them or according to their tribes, sex and race, including general smearing campaign, are all allowed.
He summed up by recommending balanced, value free and gender sensitive reporting.
- QUESTION TIME
Facilitated by: Dr. Victor Suma
Question:
If I did an interview of people wherein they made statement about another person, if I call the cell phone number of that individual to cross check, is it bad?
Response:
In a situation like that, journalist should always make reasonable effort to cross check to verify the fact of the matter.
Question:
An alleged corruption case is reported and a journalist booked an appointment with the suspect but did not abide by the date, if a journalist went ahead and published a story based on the available information, then the person reported to IMC for defamation of repetition. What would be the role of IMC?
Response:
IMC will look into the matter professionally.
Question:
An individual identified himself as an opposition party supporter. He raised the following observations and asked whether or not they actions are correct.
That, some journalists are openly identifying themselves as ruling party sympathisers wherever they go.
That, some media houses, for example, the SLBC has been given undue advantage to the ruling party in air time.
Response:
Media houses have the mandate to publish the free space available in their houses, and advertise those spaces. The space available should be evenly distributed among political parties.
However, SLBC representative was given the opportunity to response. In her response the SLBC representative informed the gathering that their media house was opened to all political parties as long as they are informed in time.
- Vote Of Thanks:
Miss Massah Sellu was kindly asked to say the vote of thanks, which she did gracefully by thanking God, funders, organizers, participants and the IMC. She also expressed her own personal impression of the workshop has been excellent and educative. She ended up calling on the IMC to continue with such workshops that would improve the capacity of media practitioners.
