Journalists Upgrade Skills

Accra,(Greater Accra) 27 Oct.

A five-day regional workshop for 25 media practitioners drawn from the print media opened in Accra today with a call on journalists to uphold the ideals of democracy and good governance. The workshop on the broad theme ''news desk reporting'' is being organised by the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) with participants from the Gambia, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana. Mr. David Wyatt, deputy British High Commissioner in Ghana, said CPU as an NGO engaged in assisting journalists from the commonwealth, should continue to uphold high journalistic principles. Topics to be treated include how to organise the coverage of expected and unexpected news, news sources and contacts, the multi- media journalist and learning how to brain-storm. Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr, past president of the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), said CPU's relevance will depend on what the Commonwealth does about human rights abuses. This is ''because the leaders of the Commonwealth are not doing enough to protect their people.'' ''They should stop jaw-jawing on whisky and champagne and settle down to important issues''. Mr. Pratt said journalists have the responsibility of exposing corruption and defending the freedoms of their people. They must also insist on probity and accoutability.