By- Aruna Rashed Toma Bangura

The Independent Media Commission has on Thursday 15th June, 2023 held a one day workshop for both print and electronic media journalists in a bid to educate pressmen on elections coverage and reporting and to also sensitize the press on the new IMC media regulations of 2022 at the Congress Hall along Krootown, Freetown.

Giving his welcome address, the Chief Commissioner for the Independent Media Commission, Dr. Victor Massaquoi told participants that he will address them on 3Cs which are collaboration, compliance and communication. He noted that the media has been very collaborative with the IMC, adding that there has been 98% of compliance with the Commission and the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone and has been communicating to tell the public about what is ongoing and the activities of the Commission.

“Journalists are ordinary people doing extra ordinary work,” he averred.

Giving his presentation on the Fact Sheet of the IMC Elections Regulations, 2022, Commissioner Emmanuel A.B Turay told journalists that the Commission has reviewed Part 5 of the IMC Code of Conduct and Practise after the repeal of the seditious and criminal libel act and their role is to popularize the Commission’s 2022 regulations as these regulations apply to media practitioners.

He continued that the objective of communication is to support national development initiatives and programmes, promote national dialogue, facilitate access to information, facilitate access to information, promote national cultural heritage and identity, support timely, orderly and effective growth of information and communication and to promote regional and national cohesion and international cooperation.

According to Commissioner Turay, the headlines of some newspapers sometimes scare away tourists and investors and therefore admonished all journalists to not only focus on political news but aspects dealing with health, security, tourism, Gender sensitive issues and so forth, in order to attract funding that will soon be disbursed to the Commission to help bolster media houses.

On his own part, Commissioner James Tamba Lebbie during his presentation on the Overview of the IMC regulation 2022, told pressmen whether or not the media agreed or aggrieved, the new IMC regulation has become law, adding that Journalism is a unique profession which is a right based profession.

He said that journalists are public trustees and it is unethical for journalists to be political, adding that he is admonishing all pressmen to refrain from politics and to be apolitical.

He called on both print and electronic media to cover activities of all political parties and popularize their manifestoes but not to cherry-pick but cover all phases of the ongoing political campaigns.

Commissioner J.T Lebbie also called on Journalists to report on governance issues rather political comments made by the incumbent. He added that as the nation heads to election, the atmosphere is toxic.

He called on media houses and media practitioners to effectively read the new IMC regulations of 2022 to guide them properly during their practice in order not to fall prey with the regulations.

Commissioner Lebbie disclosed that the least fine for defaulters is NLe5, 000 and the maximum is NLe20, 000, adding that the Commission’s complaint committee shall determine complaints referred to it by the commission within one month unless it requires further investigation.