•ZAMBIA Institute of Mass Communication students celebrate during their graduation ceremony in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by SHABBY MULOPWE/ZANIS

By KASONDE KASONDE –
Government has said journalism is a critical component of the governance system of any country, and has challenged media bodies to ensure that the dignity and respect for the profession is restored.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Godfrey Malama said it was unfortunate that journalists were failing to live by the ethical and professional standards, and that some media houses had discarded with impunity the tenets of the profession.
“There is no doubt that the media has been infiltrated by people who want to ride on the profession for selfish gain.
“As practitioners, there is urgent need for you to redeem yourselves by ridding the profession of undesirable elements that have brought you into disrepute,” Mr Malama said.
He said this in a speech read for him by Zambia News and Information Services director Patrick Lungu yesterday during the fourth graduation ceremony at the Zambia Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM).
He said it was disheartening that deliberate disregard of media ethics and professionalism had become commonplace to a point where people were left wondering whether journalism was really a noble profession as it was known to be.
Mr Malama said media practitioners should always endeavour to abide by the rules that governed the profession as expected by the people in the country.
He appealed to the graduands to ensure that they preserved the sanctity of the journalism profession by putting into practice what they had learnt during their training programme at ZAMCOM.
ZAMCOM executive director Oliver Kanene said the institution had embarked on a transformation programme to allow it not to only offer media studies but also develop programmes for Government institutions.
Mr Kanene said the institution had embarked on promoting entrepreneurship skills among the students to help them become relevant in society through job creation for their fellow youths.
“As it is at the moment, the media is saturated, hence the need for more people to venture into opening their own media houses and creating employment for their fellow journalists,” Mr Kanene said.