Dear Editor,
The press would cease to function without reporters. Reporters keep the press alive and functional in every respect. But as we celebrate another World Press Freedom Day, we ought to be mindful of the limited resources that reporters have sometimes at their disposal to get the job done. We cannot talk about press freedom without first seriously looking at the difficulties and challenges encountered by reporters in getting that story.
How many of us, while we view the nightly news or read the front page news article, think about the huge sacrifices made by reporters to gather sources and intelligence and put together a story that would fulfill its purpose?
Sometimes a reporter has little information to work with and sometimes he or she has to make the best of that information. Many persons enjoy reading the day’s news in the newspapers. When a big story happens, people expect to see it all, photos and intricate details, in the following day’s edition. They do not know what reporters have to go through to present such information for their reading enjoyment the following day.
Many times, reporters have to do their jobs amidst numerous hurdles and challenges. You arrive on a news scene and are prevented from doing what you came to do. You expect to get some details from the police but have none. You wait for hours at a police station expecting to talk to a senior police source but that, too, is an act in futility. You are met with unreturned phone calls and answering machines. Your requests for information are refused and met with hostility. And I could go on and on.
Today, not many persons understand what press freedom is about. And I do not mean only governments, but ordinary citizens as well. They see a reporter as a threat; someone who wants to expose; someone who wants to do harm to their situation. Many persons, especially in our local context, do not see that a reporter is someone who is there to help, to listen, and to find a solution to their plight and situation. I tell you, the mentality of some Guyanese when it comes to the media and reporters is a narrow-minded one that manifests in the day-to-day starvation of information.
Catholic priest, Fr Bernard Darke always comes to my mind. Perhaps not many reporters today are brave like Fr Darke or would do what he did or would put themselves in harm’s way like he did. But he did, and he paid the penalty, death. His conviction against injustices came from deep within and he left his comfort zone, marking papers at a school in Georgetown, and placed himself in the middle of grave evil and injustice. When a reporter dedicated as Fr Darke does that, you become a target for those bent on stifling freedom of information and the press.
Since then, I do not think any reporter has ever repeated such a scenario where he or she is willing to give their lives for the sake of bringing information to the public.
Today, I watch many reporters just do the job for the sake of doing the job. There must be a sense of commitment, strong one, too. There must be a sense of purpose. There is not the deep love for doing what they do. Just look at some nightly newscasts and see their lacklustre reporting. How can they reignite that passion for the field? Was there even a passion for reporting in the beginning? Reporters ought to do some serious reflecting and self- examination of their conscience as journalists. Whether you are a TV, internet, radio, or newspaper reporter, your jobs are equally important because there is one aim: to be instruments of truth, justice, and fairness in a world and setting where there isn’t much; to passionately tell the story of our fellow human beings; to not cower when intimidation comes our way, rather be brave, daring and fearless. The rewards, your monthly salary cannot buy.
Despite what some of us may want to believe, reporters, like other professionals, have their jobs to do.
Yours faithfully,
Leon Suseran
