Association of Digital Media Core Advocates ADMCA Anambra State chapter, Friday, presented a 14-point agenda to the incoming governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo
The President of ADMCA, Dr. Harris Chuma-Odili listed the 14-point demands as:
1. Government must engender a relationship that speaks partnership and not a master-slave rapport and this can be achieved with the re-orientation of government’s media team.
2. Avoid ‘divide and rule’ tactics. The media team of government must avoid the habit of creating cliques with a view to dividing the media body, because it is counter-productive and breeds enemies where there should be none.
3. Government must be open and accessible to the media
4. Regular town hall meetings with media men should form part of government’s culture in propagating its agenda.
5. Government and its officials should embrace live broadcast strategy and encourage the media to transmit same via their social media handles.
6. Government must avoid gagging the media and/or banishing those perceived as enemies from state functions. It creates room for enemies of government within to find willing tools to do their bidding.
7. On the other hand, the media must be responsive, responsible and result-driven rather than self-serving
8. Media must help government communicate its agenda in critical areas like revenue generation
9. Media should critique, not criticize. Let criticisms reveal alternatives and solutions to problems.
10. Media must help government in its re-branding activities with the aim of marketing Anambra’s tourism, entertainment and cultural heritage.
11. Media should take interest in accountability and flag issues concerning abuse of office. The new media is a democratic tool that enables citizens to demand greater accountability.
12. Media and government should work in partnership in the area of monitoring projects, with a view to communicating the progress and challenges to citizens.
13. Government should not attempt to regulate the media. Without freedom, the media will not be able to perform its responsibility. The freedom of the press and access to information is the oxygen of democracy and must never be compromised.
14. Beyond the reach of traditional media, social media is arguably changing the relationship between governments and citizens. Governments should recognise that these new media forums present a certain accessibility that citizens otherwise wouldn’t have. It enables them to express legitimate concerns and engage more directly with those who govern.
The group, led by the erstwhile Director of Anambra Media Excellence Awards AMEA, Dr. Harris Chuma-Odili, also called for continuous cordial relationship between media practitioners and the state government. This is in pursuance of the vital social and constitutional role of the media as the watchdog of every democratic society.