Media charged to exhibit professionalism to regain public confidence

The somehow dented image of the Ghanaian media in the eyes of the public can be regained if the media begin to exhibit standard professional ethics in their line of duty, Mr Suleman Braimah, Executive Director of Media Foundation for West Africa(MFWA), has stated.

According to Mr Braimah, majority of the Ghanaian populace appear to have lost trust and confidence in the media as a result of the unprofessional presentation of stories and pronouncements that are made particularly on the airwaves.

He observed that what was becoming more challenging for the survival of the media presently was the waning of citizens' trust.

He said public commentary on journalists was not sympathetic and that the public felt that many journalists were unprofessional in the discharge of their work.

“The biggest threat in the media today is citizen's trust; we must try and be professional and get the confidence of the public back. We must be sure about the importance of our work and be professional at any point in time. We must push for ideal standards in order to regain the public confidence,” Mr Braimah encapsulated his thoughts with elegance.

These and other issues took centre stage in Accra on Tuesday at a meeting with editors and media managers to discuss how to improve professionalism in media practice in Ghana.

The meeting formed part of a project being executed by the MFWA and dubbed, “Promoting Professional Standards and Enhancing the Watchdog Role of the Ghanaian Media” with funding from STAR-Ghana.

The project seeks to, among other things; promote the professional standards while enhancing the influence and watchdog role of the Ghanaian media.

The meeting brought together editors from Daily Graphic, Public Agenda, Daily Guide, Chronicle, The New Crusading Guide, Peace Fm, GBC Radio, TV Africa, and TV3, among others.

The meeting emphasised the need for all media houses to have editorial policies that were aligned to the Ghana Journalists Association's code of ethics.

Again, it recommended that media owners needed to be brought on board to discuss the issue of professionalism since they dictated how the media houses should be run.

Similarly, it was proposed that the Media Development Fund, established by the Government, be used to improve professionalism and to uphold media standards.