The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ballanta Academy of Music and Performing Arts, who also doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Premier Media Group Limited, Dr Julius Spencer, engaged students of the Mass Communication Department, where he lectured them on “Subjective Language used by Journalists in Sierra Leone: Implications for Credibility, Ethics and National Discourse”, on Monday 15 December 2025.
Dr Spencer was speaking as a guest lecturer on the invitation of Mr Joseph Lamin Kamara, module lecturer, CMIS311 Use of English, in the Faculty of Communication, Media and Information Studies, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
The interactive lectures were filled with energy, with lots of examples of daily use of subjective language on the front pages of newspapers in Sierra Leone, while revealing personal experiences and testimonies of his journey in the media.
The guest lecturer, one-time Minister of Information, Communication, Tourism, and Culture, Dr Julius Spencer, divided his lectures into three categories, ranging from the importance of language in shaping public perception to objective versus subjective language and its relevance to Sierra Leone’s media landscape.
The guest lecturer described subjective language as one that is influenced by personal opinions or emotions, which often contains loaded adjectives, judgements, praise, or attacks on individuals, institutions, or heads of MDAs. He said many a time that those who use subjective language contrast with objective, fact-based reporting.
Dr Spencer revealeds that some journalists use subjective language in their reporting due to either political polarisation, commercial pressures, insufficient training, cultural communication norms, or social media influence.
He confirms that, due to these reasons, subjective language is often presented on the front pages of newspapers in the form of emotionally charged headlines, such as “Greedy Politicians Loot the Nation While Citizens Suffer.”
He informed the students that in the headline, the journalist uses words like ‘greedy’ and ‘loot’ to express judgement rather than verifiable fact. He urges the journalism students that the more objective alternative to the headline would have been “Government Officials Accused of Misusing Public Funds”.
While addressing the students ahead of their professional practice as journalists after graduation, Dr Spencer admonished that after their studies, they should be sure to abide by the principles and ethics of journalism, pointing out that their writing must always be objective, balanced, and verifiable.
On the consequences of the use of subjective language by journalists, Dr Spencer said that if such practices continue, it will erode public trust, it will promote division or hate speech, it will damage professional integrity, it will mislead public perception, and hence, it will weaken democratic processes.
He said journalists should stick to facts and neutral vocabulary, attribute opinions properly, endeavour to separate news from opinion pieces, and urge for more training with a stronger editorial oversight.
In conclusion, Dr Julius Spencer confirmed that when journalists embark on objective language, it builds trust; it promotes responsible journalism, which contributes positively to strengthening democracy, while acknowledging that objective language means a journalist is committed to ethical and neutral reporting.
The interactive session ends with a question-and-answer session between the students and the guest lecturer on the use of subjective language. Students were allowed to ask questions about the use of “Subjective Language Used by Journalists in Sierra Leone: Implications for Credibility, Ethics and National Discourse.”