Ighodalo on TVC set
Team Asue Media Organization (TAMO) has expressed dismay over the misrepresentation of the statements of Dr Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State by Television Continental (TVC) during a live interview session on Thursday night.
TVC had displayed bodly on its scroll bar: “PDP did not run an issue based campaign — Ighodalo,” a completely opposite and total misrepresentation of what Ighodalo repeatedly said during the interview.
In a statement issued in Benin City on Friday morning and signed by Erhabor Emokpae, TAMO said all through the program, Politics Night hosted by Olajumoke Olatunji, Ighodalo consistently maintained that the PDP ran an issue based campaign and actually stated this fact nine (9) times in the course of the interview.
TAMO expressed disgust and worry at such an embarrassing professional negligence by a national and global television.
TAMO said, “we cannot but express our concern regarding a significant misrepresentation that occurred during Thursday night live interview featuring Dr. Asue Ighodalo. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Ighodalo clearly stated, on multiple occasions, that “the PDP ran an issue-based campaign.”
“However, to the amasement of millions of viewers, TVC displayed a scroll bar stating, “PDP did not run issue-based campaign – Ighodalo,” which directly contradicts Dr. Ighodalo’s statements.
“This mischaracterization not only undermined the integrity of the discourse but also misled the audience regarding the opinions expressed by Ighodalo and did incalculable damage to TVC’s professional accuracy and integrity.
“The decision to display that misleading information while Dr. Ighodalo was still present on set answering questions was particularly troubling. It reflects a lack of painstaking attention to accuracy and expectedly severely damages the interview .
“We believe in the importance of responsible journalism and the ethical representation of guests’ viewpoints. Therefore, we respectfully request a public apology for the offensive scroll bar that misrepresented Dr. Ighodalo’s statements. This action would demonstrate your accountability and dedication to maintaining high standards of integrity in your broadcasts,”TAMO stated.
