Mr Konbowei Benson, new Chairman of House Committee on Information, Culture and Tourism in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, has challenged journalists to be guided by the ethics of the profession,

In a statement in Yenagoa, the lawmaker, who represents Southern Ijaw constituency IV, commended media practitioners in the state for keeping the people abreast with developments in the country.

Benson, however, reminded them that objectivity in news reportage was the hallmark of media practice, just as he admonished reporters to guard against sensationalism in information gathering and dissemination.

He added that accuracy and balance in news reporting were the essentials of professional journalism and reiterated that news reports should reflect all relevant sources and cross-cultural perspectives.

The lawmaker called on media practitioners to be conscious of how they framed the public’s perspective on major stories, just as he reminded them not to incite the public against constituted authority.

According to Benson, it is pertinent to consider the fact that news media now inhabit a radically pluralistic global community where the impact of reports can have far-reaching effects.

“In today’s world, news reports, via satellite or the Internet, reach people around the world and influence the actions of governments, humanitarian agencies and warring ethnic groups,’’ he noted.

The lawmaker reasoned that a major responsibility of media practitioners was to report issues and events in a way that reflects the plurality of views in order to aid different groups understand each other better.

In his argument, Benson posited that biased and parochial media reports could wreak havoc in a tightly linked world.

He recalled that since the birth of modern journalism in the 17th century, journalism has gradually broadened the scope of the people that it claimed to serve, from factions to specific social classes on to the public of nations.

While appraising the value of journalism service, the lawmaker reiterated that journalistic principle of serving the public interest had been understood tacitly or explicitly, as serving one’s own public, social class or nation.

The lawmaker argued that the principles of objectivity, impartiality and editorial independence, were limited by parochial understanding of who journalism actually served.

As according to him, “impartiality means being impartial in your coverage of rival groups within your society”.

On his new position, Benson assured media practitioners in the state of a cordial working relationship.

He, however, expressed the view that media practice with a global perspective was needed to help citizens understand the daunting challenges of poverty, environmental degradation, and technological inequalities.