Sports journalists are an embarrassment
Dennis Keagile | Thursday April 17, 2014 14:17
The lid came off when my colleagues in the electronic media resorted to some ‘street fighting of some’ much to my disappointment. All that they could make of the media awards was unbridled bias in favour of one journalist.
What people fail to understand is that the listening public make judgement on professional and ethical presentation of the journalist. Some tend to get carried away and as such, peddle every petty gossip they come across.
There was just too much unnecessary hullabaloo as some seem to suggest that the media awards should be rationed. The impartiality and credibility of the awards were questioned, not by the reading or listening public, but by the journalists themselves. Some felt that they deserved the award and I do not understand what criteria they were using. The integrity of Bennett Mamelodi and his office has been ferociously attacked. He has been accused of stage-managing the awards. Some even howled at him.
That said, there is a lot of unprofessionalism among many of us in the sports media. The alignment to some factions within the football hierarchy tends to compromise our professional integrity and overall performance. Unfortunately it is like a free for all. What is unfortunate is publicly stating revulsion to a fellow colleague for winning an award.
This does not only smack of professional jealousy, but lack of respect. The best journalists can do is to respect each other rather than trading accusations in the media. Professionalism and ethical behaviour should be the buzz words.
The Mascom and the Premier League office could do better without some of these controversies if there is enough transparency.
The overriding thing should not be winning but doing the utmost best to entertain, educate and inform the public. Some, even those I have respected surprised me when they cried out loud saying that they expected to win.
My understanding is that these people do not report to the Premier League, but to their managers at their respective institutions. Because people have not won awards does not imply that they will not be motivated enough to do their best. Winning should be least on the minds of journalist lest it cloud affect their professional output.
Violence
It is that stage where tension, anxiety and pressure are at their peak in the Premier League. Some clubs are playing for their lives, while others are competing for the title. Events in Lobatse last weekend between Extension Gunners and Gaborone United spoilt what has been largely an incident free season. Supporters need to outgrow this tendency of intolerance. Just as players make many mistakes because they are human, so will referees. Let us not treat every slip up by a referee as a deliberate desire to disadvantage other teams. Otherwise all players are guilty of match fixing because now and then, they make very stupid mistakes and we never think that they do this deliberately. Referees are not in any way different from other human beings.
Adios TAFIC
Unfortunately the football community will be saying good-bye to Tati African Football Independent Club (TAFIC). TAFIC have failed to protect their Premier League status. The constant internal squabbles and financial woes have finally taken their toll. The sad thing is that TAFIC are following the footsteps of Tatitown Sporting Club (TASC) and Tati African Football Associates (TAFA). Things are not looking good either for another Francistown side, ECCO City Greens, but let us hope that the worse does not come to worst. The state of affairs show that residents of Francistown are a poor lot if all their teams relegate. Francistown therefore needs some economic injection which can create more jobs and wealth. Happy Easter to all.