By Rasaq Adebayo
The Lagos State Government has charged the community media practitioners to properly censor information before dissemination it to the people at the grassroots.
According to the government, proper gatekeeping is needed to ensure effective information dissemination.
Speaking during an interactive session with community media practitioners across the state at Alausa Secretariat, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Babatunde Durojaiye, stated that the media practitioners have important role in bridging the information gap between the government and the people at the grassroots.
He noted that the media practitioners are the agents to eradicate misinformation in the society.
According to him, the interactive session was in furtherance of the state government’s commitment towards helping the community media practitioners broaden their knowledge on grassroots information dissemination that will sustainably foster goodwill for the present administration, especially in projecting the policies, programmes, and achievements of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Government, implemented through the T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Agenda.
The SSA harped on the crucial role community media practitioners have to play in ensuring that the masses are properly informed on the programmes and policies of the government and how they can benefit from them.
This, he said, is the major gatekeeping role that community media practitioners should perform.
His words: “There is no doubt that community media practitioners play salient roles as intercultural gatekeepers who help cascade information on government’s programmes, policies and achievements to the grassroots.
“As privileged actors between the government and the people, Community Media Practitioners bear so much responsibility and power that one wrong information could result in the total collapse of a nation; hence the need for Community Media Practitioners to always ensure government information that reaches them is carefully gate-kept for the peace and overall development of the State.
“It is worthy to state here that the administration of Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu appreciates the pivotal role that Community Media Practitioners play in ensuring that the people of Lagos State, especially at the grassroots are kept abreast on the activities of Government; this is the reason Lagos State holds this the periodic interaction meetings with Community Media Practitioners.”
He , therefore, charged the media stakeholders to uphold the potency of their platforms to responsibly keep the government closer to the grassroots and vice versa.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the Assistant Director, Public Affairs in the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development; Mr. Kehinde Adebayo, appreciated the state governor for approving the interactive session.
He stated that the initiative allows the Ministry to have periodic interface with community media practitioners, thereby creating a platform where they can be properly informed on the numerous projects the administration of Sanwo-Olu has executed across the State.
Adebayo stressed the integral role community media practitioners play in a State like Lagos, adding that the role of an information gatekeeper is a privileged role that must be performed with integrity.
“While performing this role, we must ensure we are transparent about our biases and conflicts of interest, and ensure we do not use it to paint Government in a bad light or create agitations in our Communities. As an unbiased Gatekeeper, we need to be accountable to our communities, as well as the Government by ensuring we amplify the voices of those who need to be heard and douse the voices that can cause anarchy in the society,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the community media practitioners, the Publisher of the Lead Lagos Community Newspaper in Amuwo-Odofin, Adejumo Abayomi, appreciated the state governor for the continued engagement of community media in information dissemination of the State as he gave assurance of responsible reportage from the media stakeholders.
