Kampala– The digital revolution can empower journalists to serve the public better if the media positions itself to take full advantage of its platforms, the ICT minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi has said.
Dr Baryomunsi made the appeal on Thursday during a dialogue organised to commemorate World Press Freedom Day at Mestil Hotel in Kampala.
“The question should be how do we take advantage of this revolution to improve the way we do journalism. Because when you look at the landscape, there are now many emerging disruptive technologies that are coming up. While you might be worried about the digital siege, you should look at the positive side also,” the minister explained.
Dr. Baryomunsi also warned against what he described as internet misuse adding that government will not tolerate irresponsible use of internet. He reechoed government’s commitment to upholding media freedoms in the country.
The minister however said Ugandans ought to know that internet usage goes along with responsibility and therefore certain acts like attacks against people using the media platforms cannot go unpunished to ensure there is order in the society.
“Should we as state just keep quiet and leave the media to regulate itself or there should be some form of regulation? Some Ugandans are using social media to hurl insults at one another, announce live people dead and we say this is freedom of speech?” The minister wondered.
He says government will use the available laws to hold accountable all those misusing the internet.
The dialogue organized by the Uganda Media Sector Working Group in partnership with the Media Council of Uganda and Uganda Human Rights Commission among other organizations was held under the World Press Freedom day 2022 global theme: ‘Journalism under digital siege’. It attracted media practitioners, scholars, media owners and regulators among others
Speaking during the same function, H.E Paul Amoru, Uganda’s High Commissioner to Pretoria who is also a journalist by training said, “Journalists need to position themselves as a professional group that is able to generate content that is informative and can be able to influence policies consistently. The public out there will be able to tell the difference between real journalism from the confusion on the various platforms that the digital revolution has brought.
At the function, a Memorandum of understanding was signed for the establishment of the Uganda Media Sector Working Group (UMSWG) by state and non state media stake holders in Uganda.
Also UMSWG gave out awards to individuals and entities that have significantly contributed to the growth of the sector.
