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NDC Government to guarantee press freedom
Accra May 31, Ghanadot/GNA
– Mrs. Zita Okaikwe, Minister for Information, has said that the
National Democratic Congress (NDC), government would regarded
the media as a partner in development and ensure that press
freedom was guaranteed.
She advised journalists to be objective and avoid
misrepresentation, tribalism and factual errors that could
inflame passion.
Mrs. Okaikwe, who was speaking at a two-day workshop for
parliamentary press corps in Accra, reminded the media that the
escalation of conflicts and chaos in some African countries were
due to irresponsible journalism.
The programme that was under the theme: “Reporting Objectively
in the Face of Challenges, the Role of the Parliamentary
Reporter”, was sponsored by the UNDP.
Mr. Edwin Arther, Dean of the Parliamentary Press Corps, said
that professionalism and journalistic ethics “had been thrown to
the wind and the media today is polarized and is being
manipulated by the politicians.”
He said journalists engaging in such practices lacked
credibility and the moral right to call others to order.
Mr Arthur urged the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), to
initiated measures to prevent negative journalism, which he said
was dividing the country.
He said that “Some Journalists have neglected the coverage of
other issues and are concentrating on politics giving room for
politicians to capitalize on it”.
Mr. Arthur said that with the mushrooming of Journalism training
institutions in the country, most of which were producing
half-baked media practitioners, the profession could be
endangered.
Mr. Affail Monney, Vive President of GJA, called on Journalists
to specialize in specific areas of reporting because it was “the
hall mark of professionalism.”
He said Parliament required elaborate coverage since members
represented people of the entire country and urged parliamentary
reporters to have a good grasp of how the law making body
operated.
Mr. Monney advised media houses to maintain their parliamentary
reporters for a long period to enable them to learn and be
abreast with parliamentary procedures.
GNA
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