When ‘off the record’ stirred media discourse in Nigeria

A news medium, Oak TV, released a video of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed “off the record” statement thereby stirring up issues of media ethics.   Just when the global media space is inundated with the issue of fake news and how to contain it, professional ethics was called to question […]

A news medium, Oak TV, released a video of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed “off the record” statement thereby stirring up issues of media ethics.

 

Just when the global media space is inundated with the issue of fake news and how to contain it, professional ethics was called to question in Nigeria, in a matter involving the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The Minister had told newsmen in Abuja “Off the record” that the Federal Government was spending N3.5million monthly to feed detained leader of the Islamist Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim El-zakzaky. However, OakTv broadcast the video which triggered controversy about the confidentiality of a source and statement given in confidence.

Though, the station apologised to the minister in a letter from the management dated November 8, 2018, that the video was released in error, debate of journalism ethics was thrown into public space.

According to the letter, all those involved in making the video public have been sanctioned while the station pledged to do more to tighten its gate-keeping.

According to the video, the Minister was stressing that it was wrong to relate what was happening to El-zakzaky, whose followers engaged security agents in confrontation since his detention, to what happened to the late leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf.

He pointed out that El-zakzaky was undergoing criminal trial in Kaduna State and the court had denied him bail and that he was being held in a facility of the Department of State Services and not in prison.

On why he gave such information, Alhaji Lai noted that the issue is “sensitive.”

However, an Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Ismail Ibraheem, said the action of Oak TV falls short of time honoured ethics that have served the profession so well in the past years.

According to him, “Off the record” information are basically detailed and often sensitive information that sources provide to journalists to make them better understand the context of a particular issue.”

Associate Professor Ibraheem rhetorically asked: “How would journalists feel if they are also being compelled to disclose sources of information they are not willing to disclose?”

He explained that trust is a very important virtue in journalism and where the virtue is compromised, the entire profession is put at risk.

A retired Assistant Director, (News), Nigerian Television Authority, (NTA), Alhaji Idris Akanmu, said in journalism parlance, when the three words, ‘off’, ‘the’ and ‘record’ are used in that order, it simply means that a specified information being made known to journalists by a news source should not be made public.

According to him, sometimes, some news sources request for “off the record” on some information revealed to journalists because of varied reasons which is either the life of the interviewee will be in danger, the news source may lose his or her job, the information released if made public may negatively affect the family life of the interviewee, damage the name and reputation of the source and or cause similar adverse impacts, “hence the need to keep the information away from public domain.”

Akanmu also gave reasons why some journalists comply and others don’t in cases of “Off the record” matters. He said “those who favour such being used advance many reasons, such as, unless an agreement has been reached before, that the interview is ‘off the record’, journalists or media houses are loyal to their listeners, readers and viewers…but not politicians or political leaders, that the expression ‘off the record’ is not in itself legally binding as long as the said information is in the public interest.”

He explained that to journalists who comply with “off the record” plea, they hinge their reasons on the fact that it is morally wrong to betray trust.

“When trust is betrayed, it tarnishes the image of that journalist and the organization he or she represents. Therefore, they want to maintain their own reputation, and to ensure future access to information,” he said.

Akanmu, who reported for NTA from Ghana for many years, said experience has shown that journalists in government-owned media keep “off the record” trust than their counterparts in the private media establishments.

He noted that while government media guard against controversy or disunity in the polity, private media on the other hand, mostly, are commercial-oriented and dance to the tune of their proprietors.

A newspaper publisher based in Abuja who does not want his name mentioned stressed that though “the Minister was not forced to talk on the matter and the recording was not in secret the reporter should have respected the intention of a news maker.”

The Code of ethics for Nigerian Journalists approved by Nigerian Press Organization tagged “The Ilorin Declaration” signed on March 20, 1998 gives insight into “Off the record” clause.

The officials who signed the Code were Mr Lanre Ogundipe, National President, Nigerian Union of journalists, Mr Ray Ekpu, General Secretary, Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Mallam Garba Shehu, President, Nigerian Guild of Editors and Haj Alade Odunewu, Chairman, Nigerian Press Council.

Specifically, Section 4: Privilege/non-disclosure stated that “a journalist should observe the universally accepted principle of confidentiality and should not disclose the source of information obtained in confidence and a journalist should not breach an agreement with a source of information obtained as “Off the record” or as “back ground information.”