Mass media is the mouth piece or voice of our nation.
That’s according to the Head of Humanities at the Solomon Islands National University (S.I.N.U) Dr. David Gegeo when delivering the keynote address of the World Press Freedom Day, Monday.
Theme for this year is ‘Information as a public good.’
Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) organised the press event at the old FOPA Village Panatina SINU Campus, Monday.
“At the end of the day, our mass media, indeed our journalists, are the mouth-piece or voice of our nation.
“They inform, educate and entertain us about what is happening in our country. They deserve our heart-felt word of thanks now and always,” he said.
He said media outlets do excellent job of informing the nation and meeting the different needs of the country carrying news on what is happening on a daily basis both internally and externally on issues as diver as climate change.
He added that journalists do excellent job of reporting up-to-date moment news on issues.
He commends local journalists for their command of English language in reporting news, especially meeting deadlines.
“We know that English is a foreign language and to be able to communicate meeting dead-lines is not easy.
“So let us give a big hand to our journalists. They deserve our praise,” he said.
He said journalists are people whose lives are at risks and in overseas incident journalists are killed for doing their jobs.
He further added that the most incompressible irony for journalists is that “the better journalists do their job, e.g deep investigative reporting, the more their lives are at risks.”
Unlike other jobs that when you do better things you will be promoted, but for mass media is different, when you do better the more people will hate you and your life will be at risks.
That’s the normal way journalists live, he added.
“In other words, somethings journalists lose their lives not for doing sloppy work but excellent work,” he said.
“So, let us pray that will not happen in Solomon Islands and that our journalists will continue to do their excellent job in an environment conducive for peaceful reporting and intellectual engagement in issues that matter to us for peaceful co-existence and nation-building despite our great cultural diversity,” he added.
Dr. David Gegeo started his career as a radio journalist when he graduated from Selwyn College in 1972. He worked as a radio broadcaster with Solomon Islands Information and Broadcasting Service now SIBC.
