Watchdog-Not Watched Dog -By Jerome Kalu

“As long as journalism is concerned, one of its essence of establishment remains to make the world balance, through truthful and credible information.”

A watchdog is an individual or a group that monitors the activities of another entity, be it government or individuals, on behalf of the public, to ensure that the entity does not behave illegally or unethically.

Watchdog journalism is a form of investigative journalism whereby the author or the publisher fact checks and interviews political figures and authorities, thereby verifying the validity of their actions and statements.

Watchdog journalism as the journalistic paradigm, stands as one of the most important contributions of the press to democratic life. It is identified with reporting that ‘denounces wrong doing’ in government and private sector with the hope of increasing accountability and spearheading positive changes.

Therefore, the media or journalists is hence seen as a source of trust by the public due to their timely and credible information, which informs and educates the people on the happenings far and near them. Most especially in this period of COVID 19 pandemic, the media has been at the forefront of the pandemic so as to educate and inform the public on the outcome and preventive measures of the CORONA VIRUS.

But sadly nowadays, the watchdogs are now being watched,by both individual and group.

On February 26,2020,a journalist named, Li Zehua,in Wuhan,China, was chased and detained by some security agents because he took a video of a sceen while he was driving during the CORONA Pandemic period but was later released.

In Nigeria, a reporter to ‘Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)’, Maxwell Bashan, was found bound, gagged and near death in a farmer’s field in Adamawa State.
These scenarios proves that journalist are being watched, both in Nigeria and all over the world. For that, some journalist don’t have a particular home for settlement, they now live like refugees and report their information with an anonymous identity. If this hide and seek out of trauma and fear should persist in the heart and mind of journalists, “who then would speak for the voice of the voiceless? “.
The regulatory function of the watchdog journalism came about in the effort to improve the lives of individuals living under what the author considers at that time oppressive or inadequate conditions. The media today can be seen as having four major responsibilities which are: to persuade or present opinion, to inform, to entertain, and to regulate. All these are in favour of the public.

But sadly nowadays, the public now watch the media in great mistrust due to some reckless and unethical way they disseminate news stories.
Some Media House or journalist report fake news or defamate a personality, in which evokes the anger of the public or the government, either to speak bad of them, hunt them down, fine them or even withdraw their license , as a result of unethical behavior in professionalism.

All these should not be so; either government against journalist, journalist against government or the public against journalist, is not right and uncalled for.
Government or prominent individuals should be more transparent with journalist or Media while the Media in turn promote good principles and wake up from their ethical slumber in reporting credible and factual information, to make the world balance.