Oh yes! Welcome to Forum Newspaper as we bring you worm Greetings. As you always know that Forum Newspaper always up holds the principles of journalism in the society; these principles always keep our media house going and it makes us different from the barrage of media houses out there.
At Forum Newspaper, we intend to carry out our journalistic functions judiciously that includes informing the public with first-hand information, educating the people and also entertaining Sierra Leoneans in and out of the country.
Sierra Leone is a country where political affiliation is gradually destroying the media landscape in the country, as it is not a secret that some media entities are owned and others are highly sponsored by some of these politicians, and that is why a lot of issues have been kept under the carpet. Even issues of public interest are almost always ignored by most practitioners in the country. But, at Forum we believe that the media supposed to maintain its editorial independent and that is why Forum always strives to get the fact and present it to the public.
According to Kovach and Rosentiel, journalism should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods to enable audiences make their own assessment of the information. They also argued that even in a world of expanding voices ‘getting it right’ is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Their argument clearly shows that there is a need to up hold the ABC of journalism.
The ABC of journalism should always be a pivotal in any media outlet. Simply put, as a media house, you need to be Accurate with your information, always strive to get your Balance stories and above all Clarity of your stories is also a key aspect in journalism. Because, you are not writing for yourself; rather you are reporting for the ordinary man to get abreast of daily happenings in a society, as such, you need to be accurate and clear in your publications.
With this particular notion, we believe that if media houses could maintain their editorial policies and allow the people and the facts to speak for themselves, politicians and other state apparatus could take us very seriously. We also believe that the newsroom is a place where journalist should treat with utmost respect and give the free will so that the right thing is done.
These are some of the things that have made journalism not to be an enviable profession. But, it is never too late to change the narrative of the media landscape in Sierra Leone. People should have the trust and respect for this profession like any other profession in the country. The media has been described as the fourth estate, which means it is very much powerful than many other professions, but it is a shame to see this great profession not to get its recognition anymore.
It is not a secret that we are not there yet, and we believe that there is a need for improvement and for sure the media deserve better.
Forum Newspaper is calling on all media practitioners to strive and up hold the principles of journalism so that politicians and other state apparatus cannot take us for granted.
