KAMPALA – The management of Next Media Services has taken disciplinary action against a news producer and a reporter at NBS TV for false reporting about the recently-concluded Measles-Rubella & Polio vaccination campaign.
Mr. Moses Alsayed Lubega, the news producer, was fired while Stephen Olweny, the reporter, was suspended over the story that last week generated heated public debate.
“Effective immediately, Mr. Moses Alsayed Lubega will no longer be a part of the Next Media Services family, as his contract of employment with us is terminated following his role as news producer on duty when facts were misrepresented in a report on a press conference about the recently-concluded Measles-Rubella & Polio vaccination campaign,” the company staff memo issued on Monday, November 18, 2019, reads in part.
“Relatedly, Stephen Olweny, the reporter of this story, has been suspended from duty for two (2) months. Warning letters have also been handed out to other employees that were involved in the same process,” it adds.
Last Friday, NBS TV in a social media post quoted Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng as confirming that there dangers associated with the Measles-Rubella and Polio vaccine after several social media reports indicated that a child had died after vaccination while another had suffered serious burns.
But NBS TV later pulled down the post after bashing from the minister. ” It’s a shame that someone purporting to be @nbstv is coming out at night to confuse the population by posting false information and associating it to a statement I made today to update the public on final results of the MR campaign,” Dr Aceng said later.
NBS TV insists that their reporting is professional and will not be compromised by careless individuals.
“Next Media Services stands for accurate, relevant and timely content at all times, and we are guided by our professionally-approved Editorial Policy. Please always make effort to internalize these guidelines as you go about your duties,” it says.
