Journalism: Losing self, loving the job!
With the passing on of the legendary Nelson Mandela, and the overwhelming outpouring of words on marble on his life, times and work, I bet it would be time for those who are deeply reflective to spend an extra amount of time doing just that – reflecting about their own life and what it is they have done in their individual capacities to make this world a little better for mankind! As journalists, real journalists, we tend to think that’s really what our calling is about. The true journalist is one that is consumed by a deliberate and articulated hunger and desire to bring about change in society. Never mind what you see all around you nowadays, which some of you must have termed the failure of journalism, especially Nigerian journalism. The truth is that this is the reason why some of us really brought ourselves here. And it is the same reason why some of us get frustrated when things never seem to change, no matter how much effort we put into trying to right the wrongs that we see all around us.
In my days as a young King’s College boy, in those days when The Guardian published an evening paper called Guardian Express in Lagos and the then young Aviation Correspondent, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, wrote a column for the Express, as a journalist of the true tradition of the profession, he wrote a ‘last piece’ in that column where he expressed his frustration and basically told readers that he was doing his last piece because those he thought he was talking to and hoping that they were reading and would change were not changing but getting worse! That was in the late 1980s, but things still haven’t changed. The real journalists amongst us still lose ourselves and get utterly, utterly frustrated by those who should do something but just wouldn’t act. It gets even worse when those who were once on this side start talking about “sorcerers reading body language” of leaders who are not delivering the goods! It’s not too far from what someone said not too long ago – that babalawos (soothsayers) were responsible for the frequent plane crashes that occurred during a certain period of the last decade!
But life as a thoroughbred journalist, not to talk of an editor, can be strangely punishing. It’s a job in which you often, if not completely, lose yourself while doing it. In Nigeria and some other harsh environments, particularly in the developing world, it could be a hellish life. Those of us who love the trade or profession (whichever side of the debate you fall into) often get torn apart from what is supposed to be a natural instinct to be selfish by looking after ourselves. And in a country without real, purposeful and genuine safety nets, life often becomes Hobbesian and the journalist finds herself caught in the middle seemingly frustrated by her inability to work up those who should do something about the situation to act!
How do real journalists manage to lose themselves on the job? Well, the journalist is a chronicler of history. But she does that work in a hurry, hence the reason journalism is described as history in a hurry. Why is she always in a hurry? Well, she sees an awful lot and takes in so much in a short space of time and must retell the stories in quick succession, each time hurrying off to capture the next unfolding development. But it is often the way she goes on to punish herself by worrying about the things she takes in that is the hallmark of the journalist. It is often not enough for the real journalist to just observe and report; the journalist adds the burden of getting consumed by a need to want to see changes to what she sees as bad for society. And because there are often people responsible for disorganising society, either directly or by failing to handle their responsibilities properly, the journalist thinks it is her responsibility to ensure that these bad people are made to take responsibility for making society bad for everyone to live in. In all of this, the journalist’s own self doesn’t matter. She is driven by everyone else’s problem. It is the reason why Daniel Pearl was killed in Pakistan; it’s why Sunday Times’ Marie Colvin was killed in Syria; it is why Dele Giwa was killed in Nigeria – I can go on and on! There’s almost an overwhelming selflessness surrounding how real journalists pursue their work.
Yet, the environment plays a crucial role in shaping and changing journalists. My observation is that there is a fundamental problem with journalism in Nigeria. It is not a problem only around the way it is practised, but in the whole organisation of it, as both a business and in the execution of its fundamental principles. Across board, in both the public and private sector, structure and organisation of the profession is fundamentally flawed. The disconnect between the management of it as a business and its fundamental principles is so huge that real journalists must daily operate in environments that are challenging.
But in losing the self on this job, the society as well as the structure and the organisation of journalism in this country seem deliberately pauperising! It may seem to me that the profession is not insulated from the larger malaise that afflicts the general society. It is indeed a problem that those who are the custodians of the profession must rise up at some point in its history to address. It is important so as to provide genuine justification to those who have chosen to lose themselves in a profession they see as providing an opportunity for them to make some contribution to changing society for the better. After all, if they cannot do anything close to what Mandela did, real journalists want to be able to make those little contributions that they make to bring about small changes in different walks of life.
And here’s why I am talking about journalistic selflessness. Yesterday was a big day for Phillip Jnr. He took part in his last play at school. He’s been such a sweet little boy. Even though we have had our occasional disagreements and arguments over what should or should not be done at certain times, that last play was something I so much wanted to sit in the audience and watch. But then things came up. Things to do with my journalism work. I planned so desperately not to be in Nigeria yesterday, but I failed! I am now sitting here thinking how I am ever going to live through this. I am praying that Phillip Jnr. will again understand and not make it a point for our next arguments when I get back for Christmas! Fingers crossed!
By: PHILLIP ISAKPA