mdau deo mushi ni mwandishi mwandamizi wa daily news ambaye hivi karibuni atahamia arusha kama mkuu wa kanda ya kaskazini wa magazeti ya serikali. akiwa anajiandaa kwenda huko kaandaa mada nyeti anayoomba tuijadili kwa kina kwa lugha yoyote rasmi ya kitaifa. naomba kuwasilisha, tarishi hauwawigi...
JOURNALISM IS GROWING
Dear friends,
In colleges we were taught that the media play the following roles:
- To inform
- To educate
- To entertain
However, the trend has changed and our friends in the Western World have outlined new functions of the media as reported here below.
EIGHT NEW FUNCTIONS OF THE MEDIA:
1) Inform (a teacher function)
2) Surveillance (a watcher function)
3) Service the economic system
4) Hold society together (act as sort of cultural glue)
5) Entertain
6) Act as a community forum (Where people meet and discuss issues)
7) Set the agenda
8) Service the political system
Should we also adopt these functions in our newsrooms?????
Media stakeholder
Dear friends,
In colleges we were taught that the media play the following roles:
- To inform
- To educate
- To entertain
However, the trend has changed and our friends in the Western World have outlined new functions of the media as reported here below.
EIGHT NEW FUNCTIONS OF THE MEDIA:
1) Inform (a teacher function)
2) Surveillance (a watcher function)
3) Service the economic system
4) Hold society together (act as sort of cultural glue)
5) Entertain
6) Act as a community forum (Where people meet and discuss issues)
7) Set the agenda
8) Service the political system
Should we also adopt these functions in our newsrooms?????
Media stakeholder
– DEO MUSHI
Thanks much Sr. D. Mushi for eagerness to share this topic, which sounds very field-specific. However, since the media is about people, for people, and their daily transactions, be it business, politics or whatsoever, it's our responsibility as citizens, to comment on.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I guess the Western friends, as you referred to them, are not bringing any new FUNCTIONS of the media but rather trying to subdivide each function so that numerically, they sound as new ones. For one reason, among the 8 functions you have listed above, 3 of them are basically recurring from the very same one, that you and other journalists were taught in school, as you claimed.
Secondly, the boundary between what the Western fellows or friends as you will, have outlined as new ones, and the traditional ones (the 3) is so fuzzy that I find it difficult to believe there's any new one. The reason for this is simple; think about how it can be difficult at times, how to differentiate between a newspaper that is entirely devoted to entertain the public, and a sports one. Is it not the case that within entertainment there's automatically some other functions like servicing the economic system as well as the political one? Even comedians are not doing it for it's sake. Pictures for instance, reflecting 'the government signing a contract with foreign business' has also a political as well as an economic function, if not educating the public at the same time.
So, my answer to your question is simply, BIG "YES", you should perform these functions in the news room rather than adopting them. You do not adopt these functions when I see them as replica of the same one you learned in school.
Kwa ufupi, kuweka mipaka ya kazi za vyombo vya habari siyo nyepesi. Mimi naamini muda wote mnafanya hizo kazi kwa mwajiri wenu, kwetu sisi kama umma na kwa walengwa mnaowafikishia ujumbe kwa siku ile (kikundi cha wahusika).
ASANTE SANA BWANA MICHUZI KULETA MADA HII JAPO WATU KAMA MIMI SI WATAALUMA WA UANDISHI WA HABARI.
I’m not a journalist and don’t know much what journalists are taught, but will make a comment anyway.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I think Mr. Mushi is twisting things. Ooh yes, he’s just twisting things by assuming a journalistic role in Africa or elsewhere is different from that of western world. No, they are the same. As I believe if there is a difference, then it would be due to technological imbalance that is obvious between us and them. It’s true that societies differ in many ways, but I don’t see professions differing because of society. My point here is that, if you were taught to inform, educate and entertain, then the same principles apply elsewhere because they’re the underlying principles found in a particular subject. The extended version of those 3 roles he describes would be the same if Tanzania is to be technologically and infrastructural developed. I therefore think he ought to address something else in his question rather than the direct assumption of functions in newsrooms as I see this rather a natural environmental progression in media than being a societal issue.
I think Mr. Mushi is trying to put blame on western world unnecessarily. To suggest that journalists over there have 5 roles more than we have is twisting the truth. The only thing I can I agree there is the ‘community forum’ issue. But this also is made possible due to infusion of technology in societies where found. The list of 8 differences I think can be condensed to 4: inform, educate, entertain, and interact.
Well, It's just a view! Thanks.
SteveD.
Mdau Deo Mushi ni mtaalam wa mambo ya habari (mtaaluma wa habari) -hapo sina cha kusema.
ReplyDeleteIla mimi kama 'layman' wa mambo ya media naweza kusema kuwa hizo functions alizotaja tayari ziko adopted ktk newsrooms siku nyingi -hakuna jipya!!!
Labda kama anaulizia kuhusu kuingizwa rasmi katika mitaala ya vyuo vya habari.
Hata hivyo ukizitazama hizi new functions na kuzi-reduce unapata zilezile 3 kuu alizotaja awali.
Kwa hiyo basi, hizi functions 8 mpya zimo ndani ya zile 3 kuu, na hakuna jipya wa-western waliloleta zaidi ya kunyambulisha au ku-expand zile 3 za msingi!
Tulioanza kusoma magazeti tangu mwaka 47 tunajua hakuna jipya hapo. Kaka punguza unene hujasikia unene unapunguza life span?
ReplyDeleteI didnt understand the meaning of function 3 and 8.Otherwise I agree with the other functions apart from function number 7 - set the agenda.I think media should present rather than set the agenda.agenda shuld be set by the actual events in the society.this is the prolem we have in the world today,millions of people are dying of malaria but the media sets agenda to be for example 6 people who were burried alive in the mines.overtalk about it in a way that the society give less thought of other dangers which may even be more important.no no no,media should not set the agenda.
ReplyDeleteKifupi ni kwamba yote yaliyosemwa hapo(8 functions of the media) yapo tokea kitambo ila naweza kumsifu(kuwasifu) jamaa kwa kutafiti kuona ni kwa kiasi gani tunaweza kugawanya ule mjumuisho wa kazi za 'media' na kila kipengele tukakipa uzito wake katika kufanya kazi tarajiwa. Hivyo kama watu tumekubaliana nayo nadhani vitabu vipo mitamboni vikiongezewa hayo maboresho katika kazi za vyombo vya habari. Dunia huenda ikibadilika na kuboreshwa ili watu wapunguze kufikiria saana.
ReplyDeleteIN my opinion the three fundamental principles still hold and may be the others can be parts within the three. I live in Europe and i like to follow up news daily, what these people i think they do for example on the inform part, is to know exactly the target group of what a journalist should inform.
ReplyDeleteMake a contextual thinking as your own family as a whole society and you are a journalist who would to inform of what has happened the previous night with your wife, will you really tell it to your children? Not me! So the demographics and culture plays a great role in making the implementation of those principles look different, but in general they are the same even in our country.
Swapo, Reykjavik
Mimi si mwanataaluma wa Habari lakini ni Consumer mzuri serious wa habari.
ReplyDeleteKwangu mimi naona hiyo ya "watcher function" ni ya muhimu mno kwa sasa kuliko wakati mwingine wowote kwa waandishi wa habari Tanzania maana inasaidia sana wananchi na wafadhili kujua jinsi raslimali zao walizotoa kama mikop, misaada na kodi kama zinatumika vizuri au zinafujwa kwa kupitia waandishi wa habari.Ni vizuri waandishi wakaze mikanda kwenye hilo eneo ni la muhimu sana kwao kama wanataka kujenga hadhi ya taaluma yao ianze kuonekana ya muhimu na maana kwa jamii ya watanzania na wafadhili.
Kuhusu kazi ya ku-"Service the political system" nadhani waandishi wa Tanzania wanafanya vibaya sana kwenye hili eneo. Kwa sababu kuservice kwa WAANDISHI maana yake ni kukitumikia chama tawala na kuwa wapiga filimbi wa Hamelini wa Chama tawala.Political System ni zaidi ya vyama iwe tawala au cha upinzani ni pamoja na uzalishaji wa fikra mpya za kusukuma sera mpya za kisiasa hata kama haziko kwenye vyama pia!
Hiyo ya ku-"Inform" pia vyombo vingi vya habari vya Tanzania nadhani au ni wavivu wa kutafuta habari sijui.Lakini naona taarifa nyingi zinazunguka hasa viongozi wa nchi na matukio yanayombatana nao.Uandishi wa matukio bado ni mdogo mno.
Small minds discuss people,great minds discuss events nadhani waandishi wengi watanzania wanapenda ku-discuss people zaidi na kucover people zaidi kuliko events hivyo wanaangukia katika kundi la Small minds!
Vyuo vya uandishi vina kazi ya kufundisha wahitimu wao kuhusu events badala ya kupeleka wahitimu wake kujazana ukumbi wa Habari Maelezo kusikiliza watu au kukimbizana na misafara ya viongozi kurekodi vitu ambavyo mara ingine kihabari ni pumba ambazo hata hazina umuhimu wa kuripoti.
koloboi@yahoo.com
Bwana Deo DIET please!!
ReplyDelete