Social Responsibility first

Journalists have a social responsibility role to play in societies that they serve. Research reveals that in order to achieve this, the press should be freed from both government and commercial interests.

Social responsibility means that journalists have to provide objective information and use the best ways to gather that information.

In essence, a journalist who pokes his or her nose into the private life of another person does not practice social responsibility. Again, the journalist who with holds information from the public is not doing well for society.

It all depends on the situation that is there. In the case of Maphala, social responsibility equates to covering story objectively, sending the right message to society than to the story out of context, making the public see more of what is in Maphala’s life than what Maphala’s case means in the Zimbabwean society.

The greatest question of the day still remains: was the Chronicle telling us about Maphala’s life or it wanted to use the example of Maphala to reflect society? In the end, a journalist should identify a misdemeanour and then offer solutions. Journalists are there to interpret for the public.