A media that doesn't inspire public confidence- a recipe for disaster, an assault on our democracy
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
In its quest to inform, the effect of that lies in people becoming knowledgeable and whatever is read may become of a persuasive nature and influence to the reader in future decisions. Many readers will take what appears in newspapers as gospel truth and put very little effort or attempt in verifying or scrutinising sensational reports from the media.
To this end and given the key space that the media plays in our day-to-day lives, there is need that the media must come across as credible as possible. The reports being made by the fourth estate must of course be for and in the public interest. The reports must carry substance and steer as far away from sensationalised mockery and jokes. The media must not use the power it possesses to attack public figures who do not have a similar platform to publicly air their rebuttals in similar manner, fashion and sting as a newspaper headline or article would.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...