Kabiru Yusuf: Media must uphold fairness

The Chairman of Media Trust Group, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, has urged journalists to uphold fairness, accountability and independence in their reporting.

Speaking on Thursday at the official unveiling of the company’s converged newsroom, the chairman described journalism as “history in a hurry,” noting that journalists must strive to report accurately and fairly despite the pressures and complexities of the profession.

“If you choose journalism, you will be misunderstood and you will misunderstand others,” he said, adding that Media Trust recognised the possibility of errors and the need to address them responsibly.

According to him, the organisation provides opportunities for people to respond to reports through its right-of-reply column and issues apologies when mistakes are established.

“We have a column where we give people a right to reply because we know that in this business, there is nobody who is always right or who is always wrong. So, when we make these mistakes, we apologise,” Yusuf said.

He stressed that journalists must remain committed to asking questions, listening to different perspectives and correcting inaccuracies where necessary.

He maintained that fairness required journalists to listen even to people they regarded as opponents or those who considered them adversaries.

“Fairness demands that we should listen to even people we consider enemies, or they consider us enemies. That’s what fairness demands,” he said.

He acknowledged that maintaining professional standards could be difficult in an environment where attempts to influence media coverage were widespread, but said Media Trust remained committed to the principles of neutrality and accountability.

He said the organisation was not perfect but continued to strive towards the standards expected of a responsible media institution.

“At Media Trust here, I would say that we aspire, we are not perfect, to live up to this standard, at the risk of being misunderstood,” he said.

The chairman added that journalists must remain conscious of their responsibility to the public and avoid allowing external pressure to compromise their independence.