Minister of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Peya Mushelenga, has expressed concern about what he termed ‘lazy journalists’, urging them to carry out their duties with the utmost professionalism.

Mushelenga made these remark at a breakfast meeting with news editors in the capital on Wednesday.

He said some journalists nowadays are too lazy to even take notes when someone is speaking at an event, and would rather wait for a copy of the speech from a minister.

‘Journalists do not want to read readily available information and instead want to take a shortcut or ask someone when such knowledge is easily accessible. Sometimes you give journalists printed copies of a speech, and they still come up to you and ask what was said, even though this is freely available information. If you read the hard copy, the information is there,’ Mushelenga said.

He further stated that when he is hesitant to answer reporters, it is not because he does not want to answer them, but because he wants to assist them in doing their jobs as media practitioners.

‘The MICT office gives pdf formats to journalists, not hard copies,’ he added.

At the breakfast meeting, the minister further emphasised the importance for all stakeholders to participate in order to make the Editors’ Forum of Namibia a success.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency