Reading through the Dr Njombor section of freedom newspaper yesterday, the editor did the decent thing by taking down the malicious piece on Fatou Jaw Manneh and then said, "he takes the comments of his readers seriously".
A few moments later, he is now playing the victim card by accusing us of publicity seeking and that we are his haters.
Instead of salvaging a battered image, Editor Pa should know that, focusing on other people's personal lives is a sign emptiness and a breed of idle mind.
Damage control is never as good as damage prevention. The Editor never wish to learn his lessons. He shouldn't crown himself as above the law of professional ethics and decency.
The freedom newspaper has done wonderful things in highlighting the criminality of Yahya Jammeh and his inner circles, yet the paper over the years refuse to block temptation of going after 'tabloid tales' brand of intimating and harassing ordinary simple Gambians.
Many Gambians that the paper attack have nothing to hide, but the mere fact, you are accuse of things abhorrent, you hardly have the stamina to engage anyone on unhealthy issues. The management of Freedom newspaper should come to the realisation that, enough is enough.
Fatou objected to discussing a impending article by the freedom on her for ethical reasons. Pa Nderry Mbye should know by himself that, exposing the private life of an individual is unnecessary and lacking taste. Why should Fatou advise Pa Nderry on the Freedom's editorial line?
If Pa cannot estimate the damage a piece will cause to others, then he needs to rethink his chosen profession.
Permutations of disquise assault on ordinary folks will not gain Gambian productive outcomes. The freedom should stop wallowing in playing the victim in sensitive matters like this. I see that approach as mere policking and sulking in pretense crocodile tears.
It is the reputation that freedom created for itself which culminated in fostering the disquiet of sound minded Gambians. No one is an enemy of the freedom, we are an enemy of bullying. Bullying Editor Pa must stop.
All i see is, the editor of Freedom asking himself, 'what rhymes well with today's news article?. Let the editor plays healthy rhymes, Gambians will always be quietly grateful.
I for one is not calling for any censorship of important broad base issues, in fact i relishes them. This is why, supporters of Halifa mistake ordinary Gambians with public figures. In as much as faceless, nameless folks are trying to mixed up the politician and the private Gambian, i know the boundaries to question the policies of Halifa Sallah. Never have I gone after his private life. But no one can also stop Gambians on discussing legitimate public interest issues. What concerns us all is a subject we should discuss.
The Freedom newspaper is not the victim here, but an aggressor and a paper that has gone beyond the limits.I fear that, the freedom is slowly turning into a monster that will hardly verify who is a legitimate target and who is not. A monster which will be the cause of its own demise. Post Yahya will we have any use for news papers like the Freedom is the editor continues on this line of journalism? I doubt it.
The freedom editor never write anything against his own immediate family, so exposing the privacy of ordinary peaceful Gambians who have nothing to do with Jammeh regime is unacceptable.
Finally, I for one don't seek any fame from this palaver, in fact, commenting on the subject further will only affect fatou more than anyone. I have platforms to air my views, I have never given the Freedom my photo to accompany any thing I previously wrote on the paper, so really, publicity is the last thing I seek. Anyone who goes through the content of what I write will see the subject I covered. I don't seek the approval of anyone. If I am honest and upright with my opinion, I am sincerely satisfied.
On the other hand, reading the Freedom weekly, one cannot but constantly see the editor making the paper into his personal life story. Full photos, cheap bragging and so on. The cheap accusations are an expression of his personal short comings.
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