Pa Baimba Sesay
In the influential volume, Communication and Change in the Developing Countries, co-edited by Daniel Lerner and Wilbur Schramm, political scientist Lucian W. Pye argued that communication is a vital instrument for political and social development; that when the press abandons its essential role, it not only hinders its own evolution as a social institution but also deprives society of a critical element for national development: the benefit of objective criticism.
This assertion remains profoundly relevant. All public institutions need mirrors held up to them; mirrors that reflect their shortcomings and push them toward accountability. These mirrors are the press and civil society. Even in the weakest democracies, the media must retain at least one of its most fundamental roles: serving as the inspector general of the political system. It is through this function that public criticism is generated, helping to maintain a degree of political integrity among those in power.
Communication is an indispensable tool of policy wherever development is the goal. The journalistic profession is unique in that its core responsibilities extend beyond internal practices to include the continuous scrutiny of other institutions within society. This role of offering objective criticism is fundamental to the tradition of journalism in its most developed and impactful form.
Communication is a vital tool for advancing accountability and driving development. A free and independent press serves as a crucial watchdog scrutinising those in power, promoting transparency, and enabling citizens to make informed decisions. This dynamic relationship between communication, accountability, and development is particularly critical in democratic dispensations and effective public administration. It is therefore both unrealistic and counterproductive to advocate for purely idealistic forms of journalistic critique while, at the same time, expecting the press to serve as passive apologists for government actions.