Latest update January 3rd, 2025 3:50 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

It’s not what is reported, but how

May 17, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

Perhaps more than any other institution in Guyana, including the family, the church and the school system, the media which is considered the fourth estate wields tremendous power and influence in the socialization of the citizens. In this modern technological age, the media has created a global village unparalleled in history.

There are three main types of news media: print, broadcast, and the Internet. The oldest form is the print media—newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters, etc. The influence of the print media is significant for Guyana. Youths are approximately 65 percent of the population and most rely on the internet and social media for news and information.
However, many would read the nation’s two leading dailies to make sure what is being broadcast on television and radio or on the internet is true. This newspaper is viewed by many as the nation’s “truth detector” in terms of reporting the news.
Media refers to the groups that communicate information and news to people. Most of the people get their information from the media because it is impossible to gather all the news by themselves. Most rely on newspapers, television and the Internet for the news which are readily available to them.
In Guyana, the print media is responsible for comprehensive reporting of the local news more than other news sources. Many news reports on television, for example, are merely follow-up stories about news that first appeared in the newspapers.
Much of the power and influence of the media is derived from the people who have a huge appetite for information. When the average person wants to find out, for example, what is happening in their communities or the wider world, the media automatically are among the first where they will turn. Information from the media, especially the print media, plays a critical role in molding the perceptions which people have of others, places, politics and hot button issues. The views of the average Guyanese are most likely to be shaped by information which they would have read in a newspaper or Internet website or heard on television or on radio.
The media continues to shape the national agenda through the issues they choose to bring to the people’s attention. In the last general election, for example, the media played a significant role in planting the seeds of change. There was no room for continued mismanagement. The corruption was exposed as best it could be, and the citizens were fully apprised of the bad deals that had been entered into.
Because of the relative freedom which the media in Guyana enjoys in the exercise of its immense power and influence, it ought to be always mindful of its social responsibility which it must take seriously. It cannot afford to be reckless and it should not practice sleazy journalism or peddle unsubstantiated reporting or give prominence to issues such as racial incitement that are understandably sensitive.
The general view is that news reporting must at all times be respectful; the media should not have its own agenda in reporting the news. The media must be objective. It must reassure its readers and listeners that it is committed to practicing a high standard of journalism. It must not resort to any kind of sensationalism. It should recognize that the consumers have a choice, which means that if its reporting is offensive, the consumers simply do not have to accept it. Such a decision, would hurt where it matters, and would definitely send a clear message to the media that sleaze and sensationalism in journalism is unacceptable. In the final analysis, it is not so much about what is reported, but more importantly, it is how the media reports the news that matters.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Tonight: Sparta Boss goes up against Bent Street ‘A’ for K&S National Futsal title

Tonight: Sparta Boss goes up against Bent Street ‘A’ for K&S...

Jan 03, 2025

Lady Royals and Kanaimas to clash for Female championship Kaieteur Sports- The inaugural Kashif and Shanghai/One Guyana National Futsal Championship, which kicked off at the National Gymnasium with...
Read More
Botafgo pummel Milerock, 11-7, to become new UDFA Christmas Futsal Champions 

Botafgo pummel Milerock, 11-7, to become new UDFA...

Jan 03, 2025

BCB player transfer window opens for 2025 

BCB player transfer window opens for 2025 

Jan 03, 2025

Archery Guyana National 2-Day Indoor Senior Barebow Open, shoots off January 11 

Archery Guyana National 2-Day Indoor Senior...

Jan 03, 2025

Grandmaster Jose Luis Montes to lead Self-Defense Seminar

Grandmaster Jose Luis Montes to lead Self-Defense...

Jan 03, 2025

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for Guyanese professional boxing

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for...

Dec 31, 2024

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]