Media urged to pursue responsible reporting

A SENIOR official has called on media outlets to be responsible in their reporting of government processes and procedures.
Personnel Management Department acting deputy secretary, policy and reforms, Elison Kalimet made the statement during a media roundtable workshop in Port Moresby yesterday.
“About 80 per cent of the population are illiterate and they believe whatever information that is reported by the media,” he said.
Kalimet said journalists should investigate information properly before putting them out for public consumption.
He said in many occasions, the media did not understand the processes and procedures involved in the appointment of provincial administrators and heads of departments in order to write their stories correctly.
He said that most times, some departmental heads were upset with their officers because their stories were not properly reported even though the media was responsible for the misleading information.
He said the workshop aimed to help media outlets understand processes and procedures involved in reporting the right information.
Kalimet said the media had played a key role in influencing the public and therefore, as urged to be responsible in its reporting.