For the past two years, we at The Guardian on Sunday editorial team have done our best to practice comprehensive journalism with the unwavering belief that Tanzania and the world can be a better place a place where justice, fairness and equality prevail and conquer at the expense of evil, cowardice and greed.
We have been doing this with the knowledge that not everyone shares in our task, nor believes in our goal. But we are also aware that those who continue to dominate this country and sap its resources must be put in check that although evil doers may not like our coverage, it is not they that we serve, but our fellow citizens who do not have a voice or a soapbox. Our role as journalists is to tell stories in a comprehensive and professional way that aligns with our editorial policy as well as general journalistic principles and ethics.
In so doing, we inform our readers about their society, government and the rest of the world; we entertain them; we anger some of them sometimes by telling them what they wouldnt like to hear about their friends, relatives or partners, and sometimes we make them sad due to the nature of the stories we report on a weekly basis. We go where others are not willing to go, poking our noses where others believe is dangerous, trailing and dodging devious people and taking risks that might anger some individuals in this country.
But we do this because in our deepest hearts the truth is our calling. Most importantly we hold power to account be it state, corporate or social power and sometimes we do this better than others, but some times we dont do it as thoroughly as we should.
We are not angels, and our fallibility as humans fails us like any other. We strive to improve with time, but like most efforts in life, our story is one of incremental progress, of two steps forward and one step back as we try to lay the groundwork for a responsible and free press.
About two weeks ago, some perpetrators tried to attack us unfairly, using so-called citizen journalism a new trend of journalism emboldened and unfettered by the freedom of the internet claiming that we have ceased to be journalists.
They say we are not writing as serious stories as some of us used to be a few years ago, a claim left unsubstantiated by either facts or figures.
Acting under the influence of the same individuals we have either angered or exposed with our credible coverage, these critics tried to paint an image that we at The Guardian on Sunday editorial team have diverted from our core objectives of practicing comprehensive journalism.
Their mission is to destroy the strong image that we have worked hard since we revamped and reorganised this newspaper two years ago.
But our readers know what we stand for, and the quality of stories we have covered in these past two years have been honoured by our fellow citizens and the international community alike.
European Union, which last year, through the panel of experts, voted for some of our stories as the best not only in Africa, but also in the world.
It should be noted that out of thousands stories received by the European Union panelists last year, The Guardian on Sundays stories on the spate of albino killings were voted the best of Africa beating out more than 400 other entries from over 100 newspapers, radio and TV stations.
This wasnt just the work of an individual, but the result of a committed editorial team working under a clear and defined editorial policy as stated by The Guardian Ltd, our parent company. Not only that, but also over the past two years we have been receiving overwhelming feedback from our readers through emails, text messages and phone calls, praising us for the courage and journalism standards we have set at The Guardian on Sunday, and for our efforts to improve and address serious issues. Of course, there are those who are dismayed to see that we are exposing exploitation and injustice; but to us, this is merely an indication that our target has been hit, that we are doing our job effectively.
From exposing corruption to covering social stories, analysing complex issues to reporting international news, from informed opinions to lighthearted entertainment news, we at The Guardian on Sunday boast the strong commitment of a small but dedicated team that has made us the leader in weekend English newspapers and we shall soldier on because our morale and capability cant be topped by the agents of evil or the enemies of truth.
We are ready to be judged fairly by our readers, but to our enemies we are not ready to succumb to their ill-conceived motives, and at the end we shall triumph strongly, because we are not fighting a losing battle but a winnable war.
We shall always welcome constructive criticism but we will not entertain gossip or propaganda. We are ready to be challenged with facts and figures, but we are not ready to be distracted from our core and noble duty of serving this country through our pens and camera lenses.
We shall continue to deal with issues, but not personalities. We are not after any individuals, but just with issues that affect this country and our world economically, politically and socially. We shall give the right to reply to both parties involved in our stories because to us objective reporting means giving both sides a listen.
We shall support our country when it comes to those pillars that unite us together locally and internationally.
We shall defend the principles of democracy, justice, equality and gender as clearly stated in our constitution. But we shall not support any cultism or sect movements, tribalism, or any forms of disunity.
We shall support this government in fighting corruption which is one of our biggest enemies. We shall support any move by the government to bring better living for Tanzanians, because at the end we are all fighting for a better life for ourselves and loved ones, albeit through very different courses.
But most importantly, we shall remain united and strong no matter how many storms we face or how many millions of unjustifiable attacks are directed to us.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
My Take:
Give me a break. Is this the best you can do?