A few days ago, I was in huge laughter about a close friend of mine who, immediately after picking up his graduation gown ahead of the next graduation ceremony, had no time to waste but to put it on and post pictures of himself clad in his prestigious cloth. In a joking manner, I had questioned his impatience, urging him to have waited for the big day.

So, when my own time came, I couldn't help but do the exact thing I had earlier criticised him for, in a manner of eating my own words, going an extra mile by even posting videos, compared to his single shot. "Why is it that you, too, didn't wait?" the hopeful lad had questioned me, leaving me with no response. This haste signifies how frustrating education can be, thus the need to celebrate every victory.

As I exit the gates of the journalism school, I leave with an intellectual mindset that I ought to share with the readers. According to the American Press Institute, journalism is "the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information." Therefore, this is what is expected of me as I leap into the media wilderness, call it "the field."

But how can I fulfil my role as a fresh graduate, given the hostile environment for members of the press in times of heated political moves within the country? From time to time, press freedoms are disregarded, even when it is our constitutional right, and some notable journalists have, on several occasions, been brutalised by security operatives, even when they were rightfully doing their work.

There's a lot to mention about the peanut payment attributed to the profession as well. And let me be clear, not all journalists earn less. How about those who do? How will they keep their 'watchdog role' in times when a victim wants to oil their hands to kill a story of national concern because he fears going to prison once the story pinning them is published?

Well, there’s also a positive remark about my profession and the environment we operate in. The availability of the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) can act as a platform where our grievances can be addressed. The government has not been hesitant to grant practising licences to media stations that meet the qualifications. We boast of diverse media stations, which were not a thing in the past.

Lastly, to be the reputable news writer I aspire to be, media ethics must be my daily bible. I must practise neutrality in all my publications, provide fact-checked information to the public, write the truth as the truth it ought to be, and refrain from being a servant to public officials.