The NEWS (Monrovia)
5 November 2008
Monrovia — A contestant for the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) presidency Peter Quaqua has challenged members of the union to elect individuals who have the character and competence to deliver.
He said Liberian journalists must seek first to put in place a leadership that will command the respect of the membership and the public; one that has the morals, authority and capacity to redeem the image of the organization.
Mr. Quaqua, current Secretary General of the union said if elected his leadership shall increase lobby for the passage of the three bills currently before the legislature for enactment, noting that the media cannot flourish in the midst of unfriendly laws and regulations.
The candidate's statement is contained in his platform released Tuesday evening.
"We come therefore to offer our self for the task because we have been tested and proven to have the commitment and courage to serve you. Our desire is rooted in the burden to reform the Union and turn it into a more service oriented organization that will respond to the technological demands in the media industry. We must begin to look to the future and brace ourselves for the fast growing new media and the rise of what is known as citizen journalism," he emphasized.
Mr. Quaqua observed that for 44 years the union has been a male dominated organization, and that his leadership will reverse that trend in order to accept the new global order of gender equity and equality.
"As a minority group in the media, we should acknowledge that women have not been given sufficient space to exert their full potentials, however, comparative the field may be. From our vantage point, we shall introduce a debate in the media to take some sort of affirmative action for our female colleagues to give them voice on the leadership and encourage their participation," the candidate pointed out.
Expounding further, Mr. Quaqua said his leadership will seek an immediate review of the PUL constitution to conform to the changing realities. He also stressed the need to rethink our electoral system and adapt the practice in other countries in the sub-region and on the continent that go to congress to elect their leaders.
"The need to diversify media content to focus on every aspect of Liberian life, including development and investigative reporting has been overstated. The PUL has to be very intentional about dealing with this challenge. We will continue efforts aimed at building a pool of journalists that will report on specific/specialized issues. Under our administration, we shall create an independent online news agency that will be exclusively devoted to reporting human development issues," he said.
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