By Karshams
“If you are a journalist and people are not talking about your writing, do you think you are a journalist?”
My very good friend and veteran campus journalist, Theophilus Alawonde, uttered these wise words. And as we begin to ponder on them, we should also bear in mind the poser above. Events in recent times have associated negativity with campus journalism. Since it is said that tackling an issue effectively begins with asking a question, then I ask: “Who is a journalist? What are their obligations to society? But isn’t this question wider than the scope of this article? To be more specific: Who is a campus journalist? What are their obligations to their immediate milieu?
For me, campus journalists are a coterie of well-trained and seasoned writers who project the happenings within their milieu, in this case, university campuses. Their roles go further in ensuring that student leaders stick with their promises and ensure they deliver. What campus journalists do is no different from the tasks of mainstream journalists in ensuring accountability and transparency on the part of our political leaders. These campus journalists would go on to become mainstream journalists just as these student leaders would go on to become political leaders. The university has provided a (conducive?) atmosphere for students to thrive in their chosen paths.
Both campus journalists, as well as the mainstream ones, have been trained on the rudiments and ethics of journalism. You aren’t a campus journalist if you don’t pass through these intensive training sessions. These training sessions serve to prepare them for the herculean tasks expected of them outside school. These trainings would come to test in ensuring accountability on the part of the student leaders in the universities—and often beyond. But how have campus journalists fared in these ends? How have they projected the image of journalism effectively and efficiently? In what manner have they called the attention of the failing student leaders? In what manner have they advised student leaders? In what manner have they reacted to issues that challenged the integrity of the Press?
Quite frankly, many who bear the tag “campus journalists” do not know what it takes to become one. They think being campus journalists gives them the unrestrained right to attack the erring subjects, and attack to the end. Some think being campus journalists requires you to take the student leaders as a bunch of irresponsible persons that cannot get it right. Some even think campus journalism provides an avenue for them to become superhumans, walking around with a reckless air of pomposity as if they are the Thomas French of the University of Ibadan?
I have said it many times: the business of campus journalism is not being on the flip sides of issues. If the student leaders are doing well, must you say they are not doing well? If they are not doing well, must you call them failures? There are better ways for campus journalists to drive home their observations and suggestions. Now, when campus journalists parade themselves, they are seen as a bunch of destructive critics, and would students want the platform that gives them the right to abuse ceaselessly? Possibly not.
I was the Editor-in-Chief of ASSESA PRESS, and I dare say I had a smooth relationship with the President of our students’ association. We still talk occasionally and share jokes. This does not mean I did not call him and other executives to order when they were wrong. This does not mean there were no stories on their failings. This does not mean I compromised the ethics of journalism. However, I am not saying campus journalists should force a friendship with student leaders. But assuming neutrality and objectivity when attacking issues as campus journalists does not mean you should take the role of an antagonist, often when it is not needed. Effective Press does not mean publishing highly-opinionated damning articles.
I did not write this article to bruise the ego of any student leaders or to malign any campus journalist. It is visible to the blind that there is a plethora of student leaders who underperform and believe that the Press cannot hold them to their inefficiency. If most student leaders were right about one thing—the students always forget, the Press is the Fourth Estate and does not forget these promises. We write to expose maladministration, with the view that these leaders sit tight. We write to correct. We write to inform you. We write because we cannot take off our eyes on issues that the public must know.
If there’s anything I have noticed in my years of campus journalism, it is the tussle of power between the student leaders and the Press. Of course, the large chunk of the blame goes to the student leaders who attempt to squash the Press in a desperate attempt to cover their inefficiency. There is no need for this. You don’t call yourself a student leader if you do not implement what you call “reasonable policies.” You cannot use the mantle of leadership to oppress. Some of these student leaders know they are “off,” and yet they keep on going like a stubborn Micra driver who does not want to bribe the police. I understand the failings of humans and the if-wishes-were-horses-beggars-would-ride. But leadership is not a place for trials and errors, student leaders. There is no room for dictatorship and massive corruption. If you know you fall short of the characteristics of true leaders, why did you contest in the first place?
In every case, however, I think there is no need for the battle of supremacy between the Press and the student leaders. No one is necessarily under the other. If there should be a struggle between the Press and the student leaders, then it should be on the instances of accountability. Of course, the Press questioning the accountability of the student leaders.
Dear campus journalists, the ethics of journalism at all times emphasises the need for accurate information. You know why. The business of journalism goes beyond the supremacy of egos. I think that students who carry campus journalism like a precious jewel fall short of the knowledge to become one. It is not that these sets of persons are not well trained, they just don’t put them into use. This is why you will see a campus journalist who has never written any articles before or who writes “Do-you-know articles” ask demeaning questions during Press night. They are the ones that have purposefully misconstrued the tasks of campus journalism. So, they write poems and interrupt during plenary sessions. These are not one of us.
I believe being the Editor-in-Chief of the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan (UCJ UI) allows me to pass a verdict on who should be addressed as campus journalists. Campus journalists would follow what good journalism tells them to follow. Yes, they can be burst at times, but there are ways to show anger. If you feel being a campus journalist is to purposely discard the training you took and disgrace the face of journalism, please go and write your poems, and “letters to your unborn children.”
When I set out to write this article, I did not have any campus journalists in mind. This is a discussion I have always wanted to make public; I want the students to know the definition of campus journalism, and by association, campus journalists. But if you feel you are particularly affected or that you are the subject matter, rather than correcting your misconception, I’d just say:
Thanks for listening.
