2017 GJA Journalist of the Year, Bernard Avle, has said that Ghana as a country does not value the essence of Journalists; reason why there has been several reports of abuse on personalities in the field.

He said a society that values information and truth will not beat journalists.

Bernard Avle made the remarks in an exclusive interview on the programme Starr Chat hosted by Bola Ray on Starr FM.

”So unfortunately we have developed a society where every individual feels inferior and starts to torment lives of certain Journalists. Such people do forget their time will also come to the unfortunate scene” – he said.

He described such actions against media people as needless stressing the usefulness to information in nation building.

Mr. Avle’s work as a journalist has received numerous commendations for its depth and quality.

He has led Citi FM to win several awards through the Citi Breakfast Show and other quality news reports geared towards national development.

Recently, he spearheaded the station’s successful campaign against illegal small-scale mining which drew the interest of other media organizations and Civil Society, leading to a decisive government action against the phenomenon.

The Ghana Chamber of Mines honoured Bernard and the Citi Breakfast Show with an award in excellence for the campaign against illegal-small scale mining.

Also, he led the Citi News team to bring to the fore the rising challenge of abandoned health infrastructure projects in the country.

Bernard further acknowledged veterans such as Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr. and Dr. Charles Wereko Brobbey who contributed to media pluralism and press freedom in the 90s, saying their efforts prepared the grounds for the current media.

He holds a Bachelors of Arts in Economics with distinction, and he’s a Chevening Scholar with an MBA in Marketing from the Warwick Business School in the UK.