It is my pleasure to join you today to open this important strategic planning workshop. A Free Press is essential to Democracy: I cannot overstate how important your work is to the development of your nation. It is far more than just a job. As a journalist, free to practice your profession, you are each a building block for the future of this country. When you are free to investigate stories, or report the news, or share opinions, you add another brick in the foundation that is Botswana’s democracy.
Your reports and opinions and investigations open a window of knowledge and awareness for Batswana so that they can understand what is happening in their country … and so that they can participate in it.
Your currency is the free flow of ideas and it is an incredibly powerful force for progress.
As individual reporters, as media organizations, as associations supporting the work of the press … you fight corruption, you demand accountability, you call for transparency, you challenge assumptions, and you entertain.
Your freedom to carry out these essential duties is crucial.
However – with freedom comes responsibility. Because the media does indeed wield significant power for progress, there is also a very real responsibility associated with it.
Your role in building this young democracy demands the highest standards of professionalism, ethical behavior and quality. As media practitioners, you are called on to report news accurately and indeed to choose what becomes news. This demands accuracy … objectivity … transparency … accountability … responsiveness … and most of all, honesty. You are also called on to share opinion, and to prompt and even provoke public sentiment. However, as opinion makers, you must always act responsibly and be aware of the power you hold. For journalists, after honesty, there is no more important ethical standard than the wall that separates opinion from news. Never mix the roles of news reporter and opinion maker. When you slant a news report with opinion, whether intentionally or not, you sacrifice a journalist’s most vital tool ÔÇô credibility. Your public must be able to know that the news they receive is as factual, correct, and free of bias as is humanly possible. Otherwise, the trust the public places in the media will eventually erode ÔÇô and in today’s world of instant communication and infinite sources of information ÔÇô the essential role of journalists could be usurped. My Challenge to You: Botswana’s media fraternity boasts some very strong minds and performers. True as that is, never cease the pursuit of constant improvement.
You do your job well ÔÇô you could do it even better. I understand the economic challenges that face the media in Botswana ÔÇô low circulation and broadcast penetration, high cost of essential equipment and supplies, and scarce resources for training and professional development.
These challenges will not disappear soon. This is why it is even more important that you take the tough steps to ensure that you maintain the highest standards of your craft.
While sensational headlines may sell a few extra papers or garner some extra listeners today, it will be those journalists and media outlets that establish credibility with the public that will flourish in the long term. The United States supports freedom of the Press and we support you.
The United States recognizes and supports the role of a strong, independent, responsible media. We have been a strong voice for media freedom in the world, and we have been a strong partner for Batswana journalists.
Whether it is through assistance to journalism training institutions, or bringing expert media professionals to Botswana for workshops, or sending Batswana journalists to the United States for training or for actual reporting assignments ÔÇô we are committed to working with you and assisting as you develop your profession.
One such is example is your colleague David Moepeng, who will soon participate in the U.S.’s prestigious Edward R. Murrow Fellowship Program for journalists.
We stand by your side as you and your colleagues around the world fight to ensure that the media remains free to perform its essential role of informing the public so that it can participate in democratic development.
Where media freedom is in jeopardy, all human rights are under threat.
The right to a free press and the freedoms of thought and speech that free press entails … these are fundamental and universal human rights that ought to be enjoyed by all.
This belief is displayed in the U.S. Constitution, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the United States’ history of combating censorship and media control domestically and abroad.
Press freedom is one pillar on which my country was built, and we will stand by Batswana as you too build your nation with the benefit of a free press.
Again, I want to congratulate each and every one of you for the work you do … and I want to challenge you to continue that effort and to improve on it.
I would like to thank the Botswana Editors’ Forum for the work you do to support the media community.
Good luck in determining the way forward in the strategic workshop, and I look forward to hearing and seeing ÔÇô in the media ÔÇô the positive outcomes that emerge.
Do not stray from the ethical standards that a free press demands, and do not lose sight of the critical need for quality and objectivity.
You can have a strong hand in how this nation grows … use it wisely.
Thank you.
*Gavin is the United States Ambassador to Botswana. She was delivering a speech at the Botswana Editors Forum strategic planning retreat over the weekend
