Press Union of Liberia (PUL) President, Mr. Charles Cuffey, has challenged personnel of Lux FM 106.5 to be the standardbearers of professional broadcasting. He said the station will be scrutinized critically by listeners because it is owned by the University of Liberia, operated by the Mass Communication Department as a training institution and others will be learning from it.

Speaking at the reopening ceremony of the station on Thursday, July 23, 2020 in Fendall, Louisiana, Mr. Cuffey said most of the cases that the PUL goes through before the National Media Council for ethical transgressions involve personnel who are not from the university. According to him, Lux FM and the communication department are not just impacting students, but they are involved with practical activities, hence, the union is confident that professionalism will be the hallmark.

He expressed confidence that once students go through the academic and the practical aspects of learning, it will help the union in ensuring that professionalism is highly exhibited in the media in Liberia.

The Press Union President thanked the Administration of the University of Liberia and called for more support for the radio station, noting that it’s going to help the Press Union.

Mr. Cuffey used the occasion to explain that the PUL has upgraded its membership status, allowing university graduates with bachelor degrees in Mass Communication to practice for only two years to attain full membership. For others who acquire university degrees in any other discipline, he said, they are required to practice for three years, while those who do not go to university are to practice for five years, followed by rigorous evaluation before acquiring full membership.

“We are trying to address these things. We want to weed unprofessional people out of the media. We will not put them out, but we want to train them,” he concluded.

For his part, Mass Communication Students Association representative, Daniel Sirleaf, thanked the administration of the University of Liberia and the department for the opening of Lux FM. While Lux FM was off air during the past five years, student Sirleaf recounted that they faced a lot of challenges doing internships at other media institutions, saying the reopening of the university radio station came as a relief to students.

He also thanked the university administration for giving Mr. Euriahs Togar the opportunity to chair the Mass Communication Department. According to him, there have been exceeding changes in the department since Mr. Togar took over, expressing confidence that they will achieve more under his administration.