Martin Muleya
MUTARE-The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has urged journalists to highlight environmental challenges and amplify the climate change story for a better world.
Addressing journalists in Mutare, on the belated World Press Freedom Day commemorations last Friday, MISA Southern Africa Region chairman, Golden Maunganidze said MISA would roll out programs for journalists to amplify stories on environment for a sustainable future.
“This is a call to action on the part of the media in highlighting the environmental challenges facing the entire world. The aim of this year’s theme is to highlight the significant role that media play to ensure a sustainable future that respects the rights of individuals and their diversity of voices as well as gender equality.
“It is through the coverage of these investigations that we can raise awareness and mitigate the challenges of the environment. Research shows that Sub Saharan Africa is most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, these effects are becoming increasingly evident with drought and food insecurity becoming frequent,” said Maunganidze.
He added that well researched stories have immense potential to cause positive change for a sustainable future.
Speaking at the same occasion Manicaland Province ZRP acting spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka highlighted that open lines of communication between media houses and police have transformed the way they used to view each other.
Chinyoka reiterated that the police as well as the media have a duty to fight crime in the province.
“As a province we have had the opportunity to interact with various media houses in a bid to create a mutual relationship,” said Chinyoka.
Addressing journalist guest of honor Alexander Rusero, a senior lecturer at Africa University said that more often than not some talented journalists are left out in the scheme of things.
Rusero noted that journalists of this day have abandoned the environment story, and are now resorting to what he referred to as commissariat journalism.
“We have to establish the media, environmental crisis and what need to be done. We are told there is something called natural disasters, no we don’t have that. It is us who have been so bad to the environment. We want to locate the role of media in environmental crisis.
“The media is supposed to expose critical issues, an environmental story cannot avoid and evade historical circumstances because there is an organic link between the media and politics of the day.
“We have a crisis of commissariat journalists. The very same journalists who are supposed to expose certain shenanigans with regards to detrimental destruction of the environment by powerful politicians are on the payroll of those same people.
“We have journalists who now write with their stomachs not with their heads. We are the greatest culprits of environmental vandalism taking place because we have allowed ourselves to be pauperised by those who deplete the environment,” said Rusero
The World Press Freedom Day commemorations were held under the theme; ‘A press for the planet, journalism in the face of the environmental crisis’
