LUSAKA FEBRUARY 16, 2016(CISA)-The Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) Chairperson for Communication Bishop Moses Hamungole has appealed to journalists working in Catholic media houses to put stay focused and professional in their line of duty.
“I urge you to stay focused and professional in your line of duty. Be balanced, accurate and seek the voices of all the people involved in the news stories before airing. Avoid being biased and partisan as that may put the name of the church that has stood nonpartisan in disrepute. Should you be seen or seem to become partisan the good name you have earned yourselves over the years risks going down the drain,” Bishop Moses cautioned.
He noted that the Catholic Church in Zambia sees radio as an important tool for spreading its prophetic voice on various matters and that it has proved to be a tool for development and advised Catholic media managers not to run the church media outlets like personal media houses. “As you gather here, I urge you to work together as catholic radio station In Zambia”.
Bishop Moses Hamungole was speaking on Monday, 8th February, 2016 at a workshop for Catholic media workers in Kasisi area of Lusaka under the theme: Reporting Church News.
Speaking at the same event, Catholic Media Services (CMS) Director Fr. Winfield Kunda implored Journalists in catholic run media houses not to fall into the trap of following secular media reporting.
“Our colleagues in the secular circular media have a tripartite mandate of Informing, Educating and Entertaining but us, working for the Church media is to Evangelise, Inform, Educate and Entertain our audience,” he said. He added that the Catholic radio stations should project a voice of counsel and be a reliable voice on vices in society.
“Ours should be the media which is objective, fair, balanced and that which remain truthful to the message of Jesus Christ. I urge you to talk about evils that the bad governance has brought in society, also what the advent of internet has brought on families that are not using it well,” he said.
