Journalists cautioned on professionalism, research and fact-checking

Lira City, (UG): The North Kyoga Regional Police Commander Commissioner of Police (CP) Deo Obura has cautioned journalists in the Lango Sub-region to pull up their shocks in the area of professional reporting of information to the public.

CP Obura made the remarks during a stakeholders’ engagement between the journalists and the high-ranking police officials in the region today, Thursday, October 5th, in Lira City.

“Be professional, accurate, carry out research, and fact-check all information you gather before disseminating it to the public,” Mr Obura emphasised while opening the engagement.

The engagement, according to the Regional Police Spokesperson, SP Jimmy Patrick Okema aims to improve reporting in the region by building a cohesive corporation, which was lacking among reporters and the police.

“I see there is a gap in reporting and research, and yet the media is very important in policing because they are the final gatekeepers of information that the public consumes. So, we decided to bring them together to foster cooperation amongst themselves as they work alongside the police,” Okema told DailyExpress in an interview.

“This is just to refresh them on what they are obligated to do as journalists,” he added.

Some critical areas of discussion included gender-sensitive reporting, human rights through journalists’ compliance with professional codes of ethics, and inclusiveness among the media practitioners in the region.

According to Okema, journalists in North Kyoga lack unity amongst themselves, which makes it hard for the police to reach out to the public, but with the coming together, they hope to see cooperation among themselves while engaging with the police.

Some of the concerns expressed by the journalists include delayed sharing of information from the police and harassment of the journalists by the police during their line of duty.

Ms Charity Akullo, a correspondent of the local newspaper DailyMonitor in Lira Region, says the biggest challenge journalists in North Kyoga face while reporting incidences is the delay with information by the junior police officers, which the top commanders need to reign on to avoid spreading misinformation and disinformation.

“Top commanders should work hand in hand with their commanders on the ground, especially the DPCs so that timely and accurate information is delivered to the media in a bid to avoid misinformation and disinformation to the public,” Akullo suggested.

A total of 35 journalists from North Kyoga working for both national and local media outlets participated in the engagement. The majority of the journalists suggested that such engagement should be periodic to improve the working relationship between the media and police.

The engagement was supported by PLAN Uganda and Communication for Development Foundation Uganda (CDFU). Martin Ogwang, the Programme Manager of PLAN Uganda, nodded in assurance to take it up and make this engagement biannual.