By Zainab Joaque
As sports journalists across the country meet in Bo this weekend to plan the next two years in the life of their association, including electing new executives for both the national and regional chapters of the oldest professional sport reporters' body, Sports Writers Association of Sierra Leone (SWASAL), they have no alternative but to put the interest of the association above all personal pre-dispositions.
The Mohamed Fajah Barrie executive has served two terms of two years after taking power in an election preceded by a period of inertia in the affairs of SWASAL. An awakening was brought about by some young sports journalists who saw it fit to fill the vacuum by forming a parallel association called Sports Journalists Association (SLAJA).
After several meetings and negotiations under the auspices of the former president of SLAJ Umaru Fofana, an interim body was set up to lay bear all the concerns of both SWASAL and SLAJA members. The discussion culminated in the election that brought Fajah Barrie to office.
SWASAL has come a long way from the days when getting members to attend meetings was a very big challenge. SWASAL members only attended meetings if there was money to share or elections were looming.
But the young, committed and promising sports journalists that have entered the profession in the last four years have lost no opportunity to push their executive hard to create better working conditions in their niche area.
One of the biggest battles the association has fought centers on the question of SWASAL members serving as Public Relation Officers in all sporting disciplines. Many objected to that because they argued that holding such offices renders a journalist incapable of reporting fairly and effectively and providing the necessary checks and balances.
It’s fair to say that, the inclusion of the said Article 11 in the SWASAL constitution which disqualifies members holding such offices from contesting for any executive position was a prudent move.
Article 11 (2 &3)
2. Any member of the National Executive who is appointed to serve in any Sporting Association must resign his/her position in SWASAL to avoid conflict of interest.
3. SWASAL members holding executive position in any Sporting association shall not be eligible to contest for any position.
Sports journalists today are trying to change the narrative and image of middle-aged men writing the back pages of the country's newspapers with the recent injection of young and energetic journalists taking advantage of modern technology to communicate. Sadly only a few women have come through the glass ceiling of sport journalism in Sierra Leone during the period under review.
I think adequate knowledge in the different sports should help raise the bar and replace concocted and flattering stories with critical and investigative pieces. The way some of our colleagues report gives a clear signal as to the state of professionalism in sport journalism in this country.
After all, if sport journalists can’t be trusted to take care of their own specialist area, how can they be trusted to fairly look into issues as complex and emotive as match-fixing, doping and the failure of governance in sport.
I am a diehard member of SWASAL but I think there is need to transform and modernise our ways of handling issues affecting our members to reflect everyday needs if we want maximum respect in our discipline and remain relevant.
I also think that there is an urgent need for refresher classes for all sports journalists across the country with an intention to determine where in the wild field of sports journalism members' interest are. There is now an urgent need to break grounds into other sporting zones instead of daily feeding the people a diet of football, popular though the sport is.
It is becoming clear now that many sport journalists are moving away from their actual roles to now serving as advocates for different voices in the many disputes facing sporting associations instead of preserve themselves as honest and upright people who report all sides, allowing the public to judge. It makes no sense becoming plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers, and judges in all of these internal disputes.
The recent accusations that some members were actively involved in the SLFA drama is a serious cause for concern perhaps it points to one thing - our integrity is being auctioned to the highest bidder.
Some colleagues prefer to play the patently undignified role of confusionists and working for their selfish and parochial interests. Though the executive sometime cannot be held responsible for the sins of some of its members, we have always been fortunate as an association to have the support of some proprietors or editors of various institutions to support our institutional standpoints. But have we turned this to our advantage?
People are calling on sports journalists to defend their association, I would rather defend my newspaper, over which I have control.
New media has also changed journalism practice completely. I can’t remember what the job was like before but the whole mentality has changed.
Social media tools like Twitter, facebook, Whatsapp, Blogs etc have become an integral part of sports journalism practice. The way we receive our sports news has changed dramatically. Before, we did long interviews with players after matches to publish as exclusive stories twenty-four hours later and then wait for another day or two for reactions. Now in the world of social media, immediately you obtain a quote from a player via a press conference or any other means as soon you upload that you receive automatic replies from interested parties
This is more entertaining than re-adding dry copy about a player saying such and such after practice and then having to wait until the next day to read the opposing side to see if any player responds.
This is one way social media platforms are causing journalists to re-evaluate their sources as these platforms have emerged as valuable sources for sports journalists because of the number of players or athletes who maintain active accounts on the same platform. Coming back to the issue of the week, let’s be honest the Fajah Barrie led executive had lot's of its successes and some challenges.
The new executive should be able to work on those challenges as they implement the manifesto pledges they have bombarded us with in their relentless campaigns.
One of the key challenges faced by Fajah Barrie and his team was on the question of uniting SWASAL members in taking key decisions. Support for SWASAL programs has never been universal. The reason I say so is that almost all SWASAL members are not media owners, so obeying a SWASAL directive to boycott activities of the SLFA can be very tricky.
The new executive needs to familiarize themselves with the management of media houses where their members operate to seek their support to stand-by SWASAL in future.
It is also true that not all sports journalists are SWASAL members, so a serious membership drive should be undertaken by the new team aimed at bringing those colleagues on board.
In any democratic institution dissenting views are encouraged but let the point be made that all rebellious tendencies should be geared towards the good of the association and not for individual benefits.
© Politico 21/05/15
