Media Irresponsibility Resulting In Fatalities In Society According to Vladimir Bratic and Lisa Schirch, the media play a wide range of roles in our lives. Some of these roles are constructive and some are destructive. Between 1992 and 1995, more than 150,000 were killed in the Bosnian civil war between Serbs, Bosnians and Croats. The Dayton Peace Agreement ended the violence in 1995 and instituted the Office of the High Representative, OHR, and a provisional, internationally run governing body in charge of peace implementation. One of OHR’s initial assessments of the Bosnian conflict was that all three sides in the conflict utilized radio and television broadcasting to further their conflict goals and demonize their opponents. On April 6, 1994, the plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Cyprien Ntaryamina of neighboring Burundi, crashed under still undetermined circumstances. This event sparked a massive killing spree over the next three months that left up to one million Rwandans dead and two million refugees. Rwandan media have been accused of inciting the hatred that led to the violence by using an ethnic framework to report what was essentially a political struggle. In September, 2005, a conservative Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten, published a series of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in unflattering poses. Islamic critics charged that the cartoons were a deliberate provocation and insult to their religion designed to incite hatred and polarize people of different faith. Muslim groups in Denmark complained, and the issue eventually led to protests around the world, including violent demonstrations and riots in some Muslim countries, resulting in more than 200 reported deaths. In 2002, Abuja, the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was scheduled to host the Miss World Pageant and the ladies had arrived in the country for the event. An article by a 22-year old Nigerian reporter Isioma Daniel in This Day newspaper sparked protests from Muslim groups across the nation. This Day issued an apology but it was too late: On the same day, Muslim youths responded to their leaders’ calls for action by taking to the streets of Kaduna, burning This Day’s regional office and attacking and killing Christian bystanders in a stunning display of violence. Before the week was over, dozens of hotels and churches in Kaduna had been burned, at least 200 people were dead, hundreds more were injured, and thousands had been displaced as they fled their homes in fear for their lives. A second apology on November 21 called Isioma's comment “not only unjustified but utterly provocative”. This notwithstanding, on November 26, three days after it was announced that the Miss World pageant had been cancelled and moved to London, the Deputy Governor of the northern state of Zamfara issued a fatwa against Daniel. She fled Nigeria. There is an Akan saying which literary means that if you administer poison you will also taste it. The media have never been spared in aftermath of their recklessness and irresponsibility. It is an acknowledged fact that the fundamental role of the media is enhancement of society and not incitement or provocation of a section of society. As journalists we ought to know better at all times. This is because history has always been a guiding post for the present and the future. Self-censorship must not be encouraged but greater circumspection by abiding by our gate-keeping function and respect for our code of ethics or conduct must be adhered to. On the other hand, it does not lie in the hands of anybody to take the life of another in the name of religion no matter the level of provocation. Religious extremism in all forms is dangerous to society and, the media have a greater responsibility in partnering the leaders of the major religions in educating the population on the true teachings of their religions. It is sad that media irresponsibility have almost always resulted in hurting society. That is why it is extremely critical for the media and for that matter practitioners to be measured in what we broadcast or publish. By: Seth Kojo Eyiah, A Journalist GBC