A journalist must strive to maintain his credibility at all times.
That’s the word from Martha Steffens, professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism on the second day of a five-day print journalism-training workshop sponsored by the United States Embassy, Bridgetown, Barbados.{{more}}
The workshop, which was held at the Fort Young Hotel in Roseau, Dominica, ran from May 10 and ended May 14 with the participation of 18 journalists from media outlets throughout the Caribbean.
“Your personal reputation and the reputation of your publication suffers when you make mistakes,” said Steffens, who has been in journalism for over 30 years. She explained that it is very important for a journalist to honour the public trust, “as journalists are representatives of the public and have the responsibility to be accurate and credible”.
Steffens was of the opinion that things like misspelled names and wrong addresses may seem simple but in fact do a lot to affect credibility as the print media has a special role of documenting history.
“It’s almost like a contract that journalists have with the citizens of the future as they chronicle events of their own day,” added Steffens.
She also spoke about the fact that scandals have developed at popular newspapers in the United States. This, she says, shows that credibility is something that should never be taken for granted.
Journalists at the workshop came from St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua, St. Kitts/Nevis and Dominica.