The media on media: Journalism – a passion and an ordeal

Sanela Halkovic

I have learned the rules of journalism in school. At the time, everything seemed clear and simple. Adhere to the rules and achieve the goal to offer the readers, listeners and viewers high-quality information.

High-quality information is prepared in this way – first offer an answer to all important questions: where, who, when, how and why; then include all the participants who might offer explanations, data, and opinions, as well as the injured parties, those who are responsible and the neutral ones; ask for expert opinions and find out the reasons behind a certain outcome. We were told to ask questions and do the searching with the aim to offer the audience a full and complete information.

Of course, there are many other fine points acquired by practice, but the main concept, as you can see, should be fairly simple.

I was delighted when I finally got the chance to do this job that I had wanted so much. I thought that everything was going to be fine, I would knock every door, search for answers, ask many questions, wait, research...

But everything is different in real life and this is why I want to offer you a sincere point of view. I have not written these lines with a desire to criticize anyone, but hoping that those to whom they are intended will read them and change – at least slightly – their opinion about journalism.

At the classes of journalism, no one told me that journalists in small towns need much more persistence, inventiveness, and conflicts... Sometimes it is impossible to acquire even the most basic information, even while writing affirmative and positive items and articles.

Journalistic questions that are quite simple and acceptable for (national) politicians and officials are often a taboo in Sjenica.

I have seen a recent TV report on a national TV broadcaster. Journalists have shown a pile of rubble in the capital city and criticized the officials. After only a few minutes, people from the mayor's office made a live phone-in appearance on the programme and said that they had not been informed about the problem and that they would clear everything in the morning. They invited journalists to check it. On the next day, the same TV station showed that the problem had indeed been solved. No one of the officials blamed the journalists who had reported on the site. Everyone does their job. Simple, isn't it?

At an informal political gathering, one of my acquaintances said that journalists were to blame since – in his opinion – they do not ask the municipal officials the "right" questions.

He suggested me to make a picture of a muddy street in the middle of the town center and then ask the officials why it has not been paved, whose job it was and whether the person responsible has taken the money for it. This is his opinion!

Well, I am writing these lines to clarify the situation to all the people who have a similar opinion.

Of course we know how the job should be done, but this is what happened when we made a report on the construction works performed in a street by a municipal company tasked with such activities. We have made a video report on the site and asked the director information about the value and type of works. He referred us to a municipal official in charge. Carrying our recording equipment on our backs – since we do not have a car – the cameraman and I went to see the official, who said that he did not know anything about this and that the director was doing everything on his own. We then realized that we have run into a conflict among the members of the ruling coalition and that we were not going to get any information. We threw away the video report, losing the whole day of work. And this is not all. The next time he met us, the director yelled at us, saying that he "was only joking when he referred us to the official". He added that he was not going to give any further statements to our media house because he was forbidden to do so. Further, I have later heard him saying to other officials that the best strategy is to tell journalists that "you refuse to be interviewed by their TV station and they will not bother you again".

Of course, I am not naive, and journalists are not called the fourth estate for nothing. I am aware that I have the means to publicly criticize such people, but that is not the solution. I want to have answers – why the streets have not been paved, why the bridges have not been built, whether there is money available for such tasks or not, and if not, why... These are the questions asked by the people I work for, and on whose side I am, which are the viewers, listeners, readers. I do not want to pick a public fight with the officials, I just want them to explain us why something is the way it is. I am not asking them to tell us what they cannot, only the truth. I want to do my job, and I want them to do the same.

Later in the course of my work others were offended and called me biased... If I praise them (yes, there are those who deserve praise), everything is fine, but they are all angry if criticized. They view us journalists as door-to-door solicitors who sometimes appear at their doors.

These circumstances force journalists – especially in small towns, where there may be only two or three of them – to give up on acquiring a lot of information. I have a choice, whether I will report on events, ceremonies, meetings... which is much easier, or whether I will ask some questions. If I ask questions, and have to deal with those who don't want to give any answers, my articles and TV reports will be one-sided. I will talk only about the problems, but without any answers. How can I teach those who are paid to work transparently that they have to answer the reporters' questions? If I stop asking, I will betray my viewers and my profession. I don't want to make compromises and write reports that are rosy, saying that everything is fine at the time when many people barely survive. I will try to gradually change the attitude of those who perform public duties. Let them get used to the fact that sometimes they will be praised, and sometimes criticized.

I easily forget all these troubles when people on the street – whether I know them or not – praise me and tell me "work well done!".

The author is a journalist from Sjenica

Author: Sanela Halkovic
Source: Danas – Sandzak, August 6, 2010; page: 2

MC Newsletter, August 13, 2010