By Kemo Cham
 |
| Inside an unknown Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone |
[First published on www.politicosl.com] The media’s coverage of the Ebola
epidemic revealed the need for guidelines for the reportage of emergencies,
Sierra Leone’s Independent Media Commission (IMC) has said.
The media regulator said it has
therefore instituted plans to develop comprehensive guidelines for reporting on
Ebola, other major diseases, and natural disasters. IMC officials said they
have secured US$16, 000 from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to bankroll the project that has been estimated
at US$18, 000. The IMC will foot the remaining $16, 000.
“This project is important to us
particularly when we consider the fact that the Commission’s Media Code of
Practice is limited and does not make specific provisions to guide media
practitioners in the reportage of such outbreaks and other major national
disasters,” said Allieu Kanu, Chairman, IMC.
He told journalists at a press
conference last week that the guidelines were expected to significantly
contribute to professional and responsible reporting, press
freedom and
self-regulations.
According to the IMC, a twelve-man
committee, comprising representatives from media institutions, the civil
society, the Ministry of Health, the Office of National Security, the
University of Sierra Leone, and the Commission itself had been set up to
develop the reporting guidelines.
(C) Politico 10/02/16
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