Gambia: Foroyaa Vs Jollof News Informer Journalism a Threat to the Journalist Profession

Some time ago one of the editorial advisers of Foroyaa read an article in one of the local Newspapers and called the reporter to tell him that his story was incorrect. He asked him for his source and he said that he would not reveal it.

The adviser told him that he is present at the deliberations and what is mentioned as fact is fiction. He insists that somebody at the meeting informed him. The adviser told him that the police do have informants but they only utilise such information as raw material to do further investigation. He was told that a Journalist may also have an informant but should utilise that information to do further investigation to know the truth. He was told that a journalist who publishes the raw information of an informant without investigation is no journalist but an informant. The Journalist became trapped. To get off the hook he said that the proper thing to do should have been to write a rejoinder. The Foroyaa adviser wrote a rejoinder. To this day it was never published. When the Adviser asked the journalist why he did not published the rejoinder he laughed and said that it would have been very damaging to his reputation. The Foroyaa adviser decided to leave barking dogs to lie since our intention is not to damage even those who see us as their enemies.

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