FAIRNESS, AS A JOURNALISTIC CODE OF CONDUCT

Fairness means exploring all sides of an issue, reporting and finding accuracy in journalism. It means that a journalist should strive for accuracy and truth in reporting and not slant a story so that a reader draws a reporter's desired conclusion. Some critics argue that journalists never succeed in being completely balanced and fair in telling all sides of a story.

What are leaders and agenda setters without transparency is the question. From a calculated perception, fairness is the important part of the journalistic code of conduct in Namibia. It comes with transparency, objectivity, accountability, independence and integrity. Fairness means that when covering hard news, reporters dont convey their own feelings, biases or prejudices in their stories. That's objective fairness. A reporter is not only objective and fair but also conveys an image of being objective and fair. Without fairness, journalists won't be able to find and write or report on a accurate stories without no harm.

Fairness and objectivity is a discipline to test bias against evidence. It attracts public recognition and acknowledgement from society and mass media. Journalists who select sources to express what is really their own point of view, and than use the neutral voice to make it seem fair, are engaged in a form of deception. This damages the credibility if the craft by making it seem unprincipled, dishonest and biased. Impartial reporting, I think and fairness are integral for the future because abandoning fairness makes people passive recipients of news rather than aggressive analysts, and that is not fair at all as they are the audience for which news or stories are being produced. Fairness and objectivity also protects journalists from consequences and loss of credibility because it is important to come as close to the truth as possible to avoid bad accountable actions.

Fairness is the medium to success in journalism. It has no harm and gains trust of the audience.  Would media institutions have gone this far making profit? Would they have had constant consumers of their stories. At last but not least, how immensely would legal issues arise in the company and what would happen to the company's reputation?