Nigeria: Making self-regulation work (III)

I am sure that there are others here who will also have some ideas on possible additional sources of funding and revenue for supporting the work of the Ombudsman. Let us put all the ideas on the table and explore them. But whatever funding mechanisms are adopted, it is important that the process be clear and transparent so that the issue does not become mired in controversy, which can undermine the credibility of the Office.

Administrative staff in the Office of the Ombudsman should keep proper records of contributions and donations received and the Ombudsman, who is the head of the office, should be insulated from these financial matters.

 

Elements of Effective Self-Regulation

There are some other basic elements by which we can assess the possibility for success and effectiveness of a self-regulatory mechanism.  These elements include:

 

1. How adequately the underlying ethical and professional guidelines which the Ombudsman is applying balance the right and freedoms of the press to perform their functions against the interests of other sections of the society, including members of the public and the government.

 

This necessarily implies that there should be established a code of professional conduct to guide the work of the Ombudsman so that the standards by which the practitioners are judged are clear and generally agreed upon.  This will eliminate arbitrariness from the process.  It is therefore of absolute importance that the Ombudsman is given a clear set of rules to interpret and enforce.

 

The Code should encapsulate, at a minimum the principles of accuracy, fairness, balance and impartiality, independence and accountability. We presently have in existence the Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists, adopted by the Nigerian Press Organisation (made up of the NUJ, the NGE and the NPAN), in collaboration with the Nigerian Press Council in Ilorin in March 1998.  Should this be the applicable standard?  If so, the Ombudsman needs to know that these are the standards that bind the practitioners and the standards that he is enforcing.

 

In interpreting and enforcing the Code, since the Ombudsman is not a media professional and has no background in the media, he should be assisted in his work by experienced media professionals who can give advice on the meaning, scope and application of the provisions of the rules to help him reach decisions which effectively balance professional requirements as well as the rights and freedoms of media practitioners, against the interests and rights of other sectors of the society.

 

2. The consistency and forcefulness with which the Ombudsman applies the ethical and professional guidelines.

While the specifics of each complaint may differ, it is important that the decisions of the Ombudsman in different cases are consistent and authoritative, with a common logic and uniform application or interpretation of the standards.  This will help to clarify specific provisions in the Code of Ethics and establish a body of “jurisprudence” in this area of media practice.  Inconsistencies and contradictions in the decisions of the Ombudsman can severely undermine the confidence of both members of the public and members of the media community in the mechanism.

 

However, I believe that with an Ombudsman of the calibre of Honourable Justice Onalaja, there can be no anxiety whatsoever in this aspect.

 

3. The readiness with which the industry – newspapers and magazines (and, if applicable, the broadcast media) comply with the decisions of the Ombudsman.  

For the Office of the Ombudsman to be effective and credible, media owners and managers must be fully committed to it and must undertake not only to abide by its decisions, but also to ensure that journalists working in their establishments do so and respect the Code of Ethics.  Once media owners and managers demonstrate unequivocal commitment to the system, journalists in the employment will automatically fall in line. Public confidence in the Ombudsman mechanism is an absolute imperative for its success.  Such public confidence would be seriously undermined if media establishments refuse to or delay unnecessarily in complying with the decisions of the Ombudsman.  This is because public confidence will flow both from the media’s compliance with his decision as well as from the public’s view of the fairness of those decisions.

 

To be concluded.

Ojo, Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda, made this presentation at an Awareness Seminar by the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), in association with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and other stakeholders, on Tuesday week at Imperial Hall, Ikeja.

 

-November 26, 2009 by Edetaen Ojo

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Source:www.news.dailytrust.com/index.php (accessed on 27.11.2009)