HUMBLE GUIDELINES FOR ONLINE NEWSPAPERS by Sekou Toure

I am one of the regular visitors to your website and would genuinely like to see it improve. Your websites deserve a lot of credit for opening debates amongst Gambians.

There are some things that I believe must be gotten rid of in the interest of democracy, fair play, and responsible journalism. I am not a journalist, but I am a professional and these are mere observations:
1. Guidelines must be set for all articles published; any article which falls below these guidelines should NOT be published (no matter how “juicy” it might seem). A Journalist must not compromise his professional standards for any reason whatsoever.

2. Some writers to your sites make it a habit to settle whatever personal differences they have with other writers in the form of articles and this very unpleasant for genuine news-seekers. If individual writers have any personal scores to settle they should do so by writing personal e-mails to the writer in question. Too much space is given to journalists "reacting" to another's point of view instead of fresh and healthy articles.

3. There should be no place for INSULTS on your websites, more so for public servants of The Republic of The Gambia. The OFFICES of this nation MUST be protected regardless of the poor caliber of individuals currently occupying some of these posts.

4. The value of your article would be greatly enhanced if they ended with SUGGESTIONS as to how to improve the problems you identify with the current state of affairs in The Gambia.

5. Articles from "insiders" within the Gambian Administration must be respectful and to the point...not inciteful and designed to cause panic. You have to think about the future of The Gambia once the current administration is out of power. Sometimes, the hate and anger emanating from these articles reminds me of a certain radio station in Rwanda prior to the genocide. Please think long and hard about the effect and implications of some of your articles in the health of our nation in the distant future.

I would like to end by reminding you that this message is not intended to pull you down in anyway, indeed more grease to your elbows! All I'm trying to say is that you should be good ambassadors of our nation. It doesn't help any of you to make unpleasant comments when other nationals visit our sites and make unpleasant comments about them. The opinions they form are with regards to ALL Gambians and not just the owners of the site. This is not to say that we should try to please others, but that we should please ourselves and our founding fathers... Long live the Smiling Coast of West Africa, may God give us Strength and Good Leadership in the Future.