By MILDRED KATONGO –
PRESS Association of Zambia (PAZA) has urged journalists to uphold their ethics in the advent of the digital media.
PAZA president Andrew Sakala said despite online media being a powerful tool for mobilisation and sensitisation, it has compromised journalism ethical standards.
. Sakala
Mr Sakala said this during an interaction forum with journalism students at Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (MEF) in Kitwe organised by the Northern Region Media Club as part of the activities lined up in the build up to the World Press Freedom day tomorrow.
He said when journalists become unprofessional in carrying out their duties especially the online media, it is difficult to control and verify facts.
Mr Sakala noted with sadness that in the digital age, journalists were slowly shunning the tradition way of practicing Journalism which required them to be factual and accurate.
He said the platform was being abused and used for hate speech and that others used it to champion political careers.
“Online media enables the journalists to have an interaction with their readers and get the feedback quickly, but it has compromised the ethical standards of journalism,” he said.
Mr Sakala said with this year’s theme “Let Journalism Thrive! Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality, and Safety in the Digital Age’, journalists should uphold the ethics.
