The\nDeputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah says he is concerned with the way\nsocial media is killing professional journalism in Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oulanyah,\nwho was speaking at a seminar for journalists from across the country at Arch\nHotel in Ntinda on Thursday, 28March 2019, said the fact that everyone with a\nsmartphone can post any information puts stress on the professional practice of\njournalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEveryone\nfrom anywhere can now post anything without verifying information and without\ntaking responsibility for it. This has killed investigative journalism,\u201d said\nOulanyah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oulanyah\nadded that even essential roles of media such as civic education are slowly\ndying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\nmay think that social media has opened the civic space but it has closed it.\nWhat goes on there is hate, emotional outburst and tribal sentiment,\u201d said\nOulanyah adding that, \u201csomebody posts wrong things about you, you try to\ncorrect them and they start insulting\nyou\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oulanyah\nexplained that regulating social medial in Uganda may not be a foreseeable\nachievement considering the fact that even those who invented it have failed to\ntotally regulate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nurged media agencies to consider a massive campaign on responsible use of\nmedia. Oulanyah said there is need for online agencies, Facebook users and\nbloggers who are credible so that the public can look to them for accurate\nnews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nsaid that unless that is done, traditional media such as radio would be\noutcompeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople in radio, if you don\u2019t become\ncreative, your days are numbered. You are lucky that in Uganda, few people have\nsmart phones but for those countries where the majority own smart phones, no\none goes to radio for news,\u201d Oulanyah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oulanyah\nhowever, said that social media puts some level of restraint on leaders.\nAlluding to a recent incident where a traffic officer was allegedly harassed by\nRtd. Maj Matayo Kyaligonza and his officers, Oulanyah said leaders will learn\nto control themselves in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the past, you could grab the journalist\u2019s camera and smash it, but with social media, by the time you grab the camera news will be all over, \u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parliament News<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah says he is concerned with the way social media is killing professional journalism in Uganda. Oulanyah, who was speaking at a seminar for journalists from across the country at Arch Hotel in Ntinda on Thursday, 28March 2019, said the fact that everyone with a smartphone can post any […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":8959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-8958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n