October 21, 2021
By: Ilyasa Baa
Popular Sierra Leonean rapper, LAJ has called on newspaper editors to avoid being too sensational in their headlines.
LAJ was reacting to a caption published by Voice of Sierra Leone Newspaper which read: Justice Stevens Sentences LAJ, others for Sexually Penetrating 8 Years Old Pupil.
“My phone has been ringing since yesterday morning on this rumor”, the rapper released on his blog.
He said editors should make sure they spell out people’s names together with their nicknames. He said his fans were moved seeing such a demeaning caption especially when they don’t have the time to read through the story.
In the article, the name Hassan Sesay aka LAJ was mentioned to have been found guilty for sexual penetration and sent to jail by the no nonsense Justice Momoh Jah Stevens of the High Court of Sierra Leone.
An editor with over twenty years’ experience in newspapering has said readers should endeavor to read through the newspapers and grasp the content before the scatter the news. He said sensational captions help to sell the papers which need to survive so journalists can continue writing.
A fan of the rapper, Alimatu Kamara said she was worried for the rapper when she heard that he had been sentenced. She said she did not want to see him in jail having been missed a lot while in jail in the U.S.
