SECTOR 4 the information. And they need to do follow-ups to a story to provide the full picture.’ Another major issue in the inaccuracies noted is language use. ‘Small mistakes can distort the meaning of something and there is a need to pay attention to language.’ ‘A common inaccuracy is the misinterpretation of the speaker and this may have to do with the language used in public forums. For example, the king once said (in siSwati) that “‘people must vote for believers”, ’, but which journalists interpreted this as being “‘Christians”. ’. But the translation from vernacular, especially when proverbs and poetic verses are being used, doesn’t always carry correctly and they end up translating into English incorrectly.’ Aside from the language issue, panellists posited possible reasons for the inaccuracies noted, including: • the workload of reporters, who are under pressure to deliver at least three stories per day at the daily newspapers; • the editing process, during which an editor might change the context of the story without confirming said changes with the journalist first; • the inexperience of reporters (and some line managers), whose mistakes compromise fairness and quality; • the fast turnover of staff in newsrooms; • a lack of in-depth knowledge or acquaintance with the issue being reported on; • a lack of knowledge of or respect for the basic principles of reporting, including codes of conduct; and so forth. To improve reporting standards, ‘some papers are trying to ensure audits regarding accuracy and fairness. What is also helping to improve standards is seeing publications employing people with qualifications in journalism. In the past, anyone could come in.’ Panellists also noted the need for a revival of SNAJ, to uplift the profession and engage the media more actively on these issues. ‘Part of the reason we have challenges is that there is no vibrant association of journalists.’ It was also suggested that the media need to do better to evolve with the times. ‘The more things change, the more they remain the same! Qualifications, technology and all these things are improving, but a lot is holding back the development of the media in reflecting today’s society. Everyone is on social media, yet there’s no online newspaper that does breaking news online. But in the region, you can see others doing better. I don’t know if it’s by design that these innovations are not seen in the newsroom, but the quality is not being expressed in the way one would expect.’ 46 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ESWATINI 2018