In a message dated 6/22/2008 3:25:16 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Breaking News
Point Director
Pap Saine Disappoints His Journalists
By Solo, Banjul correspondent...........June18th, 2008A
[young sports reporter at the Point Newspaper by the name of Mr. Ebou Manneh
has received the
shock of his life recently when he wrote a story indicating that the new
coach for the Scorpions Paul
Put was not happy with the ministry’s plans to hire a Gele-Gele to
transport the Scorpions to Dakar
ahead of their match with Algeria.]
Ma Yero:
Was there a plan to transport the Scorpions or their entourage to Dakar by
Gelegele?
I would also call Monsieur Put to assess his view and feelings on such plan.
If there was no plan for such by the ministry, what was Mr. Put expressing
disappointment to? Right here is where the veracity of the story can be
established even without talking to anybody.
1. The coach of the team is a high official within the sports department. It
would be silly for him to be informed of the ministry's plans for his team
and their entourage by an apprentice reporter from The Point. If Mr. Put had
indeed been made aware of the Gelegele plan by Mr. Manneh, then it is time for
Mr. Put to resign as coach of the scorpions. It will have indicated an
onerous sleight of him. If we bury our heads in the sand and agree the story is
untrue and that Mr. Put was being made aware for the first time by a reporter,
before he expresses his feeling on it, as a professional, he should have
verified the existence of such a plan before he opines on it to a reporter.
2. Is the Point and Pap Saine members of the GPU? I remembered at a meeting
of the GPU and the VP, the latter acknowledged the strained relations between
the media and the state. Surely therefore, Mr. Saine must have been aware of
potential rift between all his reporters and all the state. Further, if Mr.
Saine really wished to smoothe relations between the Point and the SOS, the
avenue is to forward his complaint to the GPU, which acts on the behalf of
Gambia media houses in matters of state. It is when each media house postures to
enhance relations between their outlet and the state that the GPU is further
weakened and selective treatment and favors are corruptibly doled out.
3. Therefore, I do not believe Axi called Mr. Saine for he would have called
Mr. Saine prior to this report by Ebou. And if Axi was so dumb as to call
Pap on one of his reporters, Mr. Saine ought to have referred the good SOS to
the GPU. This is what happens when you try to cover lies and mischief.
Remember, fear of a lawsuit from Axi was not issue because Axi does not rely on
lawsuits to yield himself relief, remember? He therefore must have gotten the
idea from somewhere. After the fact. To come in line with the cockamayme story.
4. I think all newspapers must omit teary eyed stories of adoptions and
relations between parties that are extraneous to professional demarche. Forgive
me if I don't flip sommersaults at their generousities. They are all
intimidation tactics. I encourage Mr. Manneh to file suit of the threat by the SOS and
seek other employ either from Gainako, The Gambia Echo, Freedomnews,
Senegambianews, AllGambian, or The Gambia journal. Or indeed the Daily observer. At
best, he cannot write what he wants to write or be honest about what he
writes in the future especially on sports in the Gambia if he remains at the Point
newspaper. I prefer death to insiduous employ.
5. Let us assume the story is wrong and Mr. Saine declined to publish it. If
as he said that he had his reporter's best interest at heart, why would he
even bring the issue up with the SOS? Because when he drops the story, that
takes care of his fear of a suit of libel or slander by the SOS dudn't it? And
your reporter still has to write stories on sports that may be of more import
than gelegeles and circumstance. And with confidence. Sans intimidation.
6. With the complexities of running a whole state department, this SOS has
the time and latitude to commit felonies threatening the lives of reporters.
What if there is really something about his ministry that the head of state
needs to know about. I suppose he will brief Yahya on the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth? The mediocrity and misplaced priorities sickens
me to the core.
In effect Yero, I would discourage Gainako from waiting for sides of a
one-sided story. In journalism, the veracity of a story is not established solely
by talking to all parties concerned with the story. Journalism school teaches
information processing in its early pre-requisites. Why would Pap Saine and
Axi only share their friggin side with The esteem Gambia Echo when The Echo's
editor called them for an interview? If the story was not true, and it was
dropped by the Point for that reason, but Gainako ended up standing by the
lowly reporter after due diligence and a review of past reof these mango-heads,
you'd think Gainako's phones will be ringing off the hook in their efforts to
correct the story which Gainako will be only too glad to publish. No
dropping there as we all know. They are therefore and unawares, inserting a wedge
between The esteem Echo and Gainako. These idiots!!!
I am always reachable and I answer my phone pleasantly. Or I could be
reached here if all else fails.
Mbaleh Jam. Masoud.
4.
2.
According to sources at the Point Newspaper, Mr. Pap Saine, the Point
Director who was not keen
in publishing the story not only dropped the story but called Mass Axi Gai,
the Secretary of State for
Sports and told him what the boy wrote; but that he Pap Saine has dropped
the story.
Sources close to the Point further indicate that the Secretary of State for
Sports, Mass Axi Gai later
called the reporter Mr Ebou Manneh and accused him of being used by
somebody
to undermine him
Axi. Impeccable sources added that he told the young reporter that he is of
age now because he is
over 56 years but did not stop there. He was said to have threatened the
reporter as thus,” If anybody
is trying to kill me, I will kill you,” he told Ebou Manneh.
Sources further revealed that the big man later went to the young man’s
father to ask for mediation
between him and the boy; that he wants bygones to be bygones.
Mr. Manneh who was visibly shaken by the threat was said to have notified
the FA about the matter.
Information circulating among the media practitioners speaks unkindly of
Mr.
Pap Saine as Director
who should be the protector of all the journalists especially the young
ones
but has instead endeavored
to put the young man’s life and profession under threat by his exposure of
an internal report which was
dropped. They said he should have known better than to stoop so low.
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