What type of journalism are we practicing today. In our excitement to demonise and satiate our mindset, common practice is sacrificed for hysteria. Incidents are no longer verified before publication. Distortion, half truths and sensationalism have become fasteners for news reporting.
In the last two weeks alone we have had these:
1. ‘Hungry Nigerians’ ambush Dangote truck, loot bags of rice, other food items in ‘an undisclosed location’ in Katsina State. Dangote denied any such ambush of its truck(s) anywhere
2. High cost of living: Hungry youths raid BUA truck carrying foodstuff. BUA denied any such raid on its facility – truck or warehouse.
3. Hardship: Abuja residents loot National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warehouse in the FCT. NEMA says its warehouses in Abuja or anywhere else in the country were never invaded on Sunday.
If these were just ordinary social media postings, the level of concern might not be frightening; but these are headlines cast in otherwise regular online news outlets – many of them. And some conventional outlets also lapped up the junk spills.
The whole thing is like a mass choir singing from the same hymn book. Once an outlet hits the net with a piece, the rest go on a copy and paste jamboree – no attempt to verify or confirm authenticity, no effort at processing, no mark of professional censorship.
There seem to be no care in the choice of words either. Hoodlums are excitedly being cast as residents of a whole city – *”Abuja residents loot…”* Crime and impunity are now justified because of “hardship”.
In a number of such publications, both headlines and body texts run like a church hymnal – same title, same wordings, same rendition.
Yet, some persons feel good and very eager to share with relish.
No worries! I just hope when the “justified” looting gets to our backyards and affect our own, we will continue to lavishly justify and share on same grounds, and not cry foul. Justification for one should be justification for all.
Mr Akpandem James is a member of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ).
