The National Communication Council, NCC, has admonished journalists to shun the practice of squeezing bribes or ‘gombo’ from news makers and sources.

This was one of the many admonitions to media men and women at a seminar organized in Bamenda under the theme “The Social Responsibility of The Journalist” on Wednesday, August 27, 2014.

The Vice President of the NCC, ace Journalist, Peter Essoka, at the beginning of the seminar stated the role of the NCC, which he said is to implement the provision of the decree established by Law No.90/052 of December 19, 1990 relating to the freedom of social communication and Decree No. 2012/038 of January 23, 2012, reorganizing the National Communication Council.

In a thought provoking opener on how safe and credible journalistic practice could be approached and achieved, Essoka raised a good number of critical issues with a cross section of media practitioners of the Northwest Region. “Ethics”, he said at one point, “starts with you, resides in you, and only you know what to do. Since you would not like to be referred to as those who practice gutter journalism, keep to the ethics and nothing else.”

He added that freedom of the press is a responsibility which is to be used fairly and objectively, so as to report on an event with authentic and reliable information.

Essoka told journalists that the NCC has as missions to; ensure that laws and rules governing social communication, social peace, unity and national integration in every media organ are respected, as well as promoting peace, democracy and human rights.

According to him the objectives of the media regulatory body include; the development of a free, responsible and professional press, contributing to the emergence of favourable conditions leading to the professionalisation of media organs, reinforcing capacities of actors working in the media sector and helping in promoting legal and regulatory texts.

He said that apart from pedagogical actions, the NCC can use its disciplinary power towards organs and professionals of the social communication sector. These disciplinary measures are: warning, temporary suspension and permanent ban of a news outlet or individual practitioner.

Essoka lamented cases in which information is tampered with in favour of some persons who pay either in cash or kind to media practitioners, adding that “gombo” is bribery and corruption and is not official.

Given that one of the missions of the NCC is to guide journalists to respect the code of ethics, Essoka said the Council was not out to punish journalists, but to ensure that they respect the rules of the game. He condemned journalists who receive grants before publishing stories and called on them to examine their consciences each time they are putting pen on paper.

He also admonished them to uphold the ethics by doing their job effectively, bearing in mind that Journalism is a dignified and noble profession and not to report stories based on lies and rumour.

The Governor of the Northwest Region Adolf Lele L’Afrique, confirmed at the seminar that, “The National Communication Council is an Autonomous Organ”. He thanked the Council for organising the workshop to create awareness in practitioners, especially on how to handle security and other pertinent issues such as the Boko Haram and Ebola threats.

He pleaded with media organisations to mobilise their workers to work in close collaboration with the state on such stories, in order to disseminate the right information to the public.

Retired journalist, Gideon Taka, presented an expose on what social responsibility really is, adding that it is being accountable for one’s actions, knowing what is wrong and right. He added that it is a democratic theory of practising journalism, where the journalist gathers information and treats it carefully as the ethical code requires, avoiding a situation of privileges.

The Moderator of the Seminar, himself a member of the National Communication Council, Charly Ndi Chia, corroborating Essoka noted that all freedoms, especially that of the press entail responsibility.

Speaking philosophically, he said every piece of information dished out was most likely to please as well as hurt many people. He likened journalists to cooks, who were more often than not, bound to inadvertently produce smoke from their kitchens.

To keep off such smoke, the journalist was bound in etiquette to employ dry firewood, failing which they were also bound to apologise to those that have been hurt by the smoke. The Communication Council, he noted, existed to ensure that no journalist deliberately smoked off decent individuals and interests with poor working tools and greedy inclinations.

He said that journalists should never forget to correct their mistakes whenever they commit any. To sum it all, Ndi Chia described the deliberations and debate during the seminar as a “wake-up call” from the NCC to media practitioners and back to the NCC.

The Representative of the Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, the Chief of Communications at the City Council, Jude Nsom Waindim, had earlier assured the NCC Delegation from Yaounde of the great hospitality reserved for them by his boss, Vincent Ndumu Nji.

But in as much as he was pleased with the laudable initiative of the NCC touring the 10 Regions of Cameroon, he was disturbed by the rampant beggarly and disgraceful practice of “Men of the Year Awards” that have come to drag the profession in the mud.

“What criteria do media houses use in dishing out press awards. I ask this to be clarified because there are newspapers that do not publish for about six months or a year, but you hear them giving awards of excellence here and there to enterprises and individuals, and asking the recipients to pay cash amounts. Does it mean there is no way to check this?”, Waindim wondered.

In a debate, some journalists spoke out on their worries, questioning who a true Cameroonian journalist really is, since the whole profession in Cameroon has been invaded by quacks and those without any relevant or even credible educational background can broadcast or write a story, without even knowing what news writing principles and media ethics are.