Let's Make Journalism More Potent - Journalists urged

Accra, Aug. 14, GNA - Mr Gideon Sackitey, an aspiring Executive Member of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Thursday urged Journalists to remain committed to the profession to sustain Ghana's fledgling democracy.

He said Journalists owe it a duty to be as objective as they could while respecting and guarding the image of the Association to preserve and promote the dignity of the profession.

Mr Sackitey said it was the only the way the profession could be made more attractive and urged all Journalists to stand up and be counted.

"It's important that Journalists and editors of media houses respect the GJA and its Code of Ethics since this is the only way we can earn respect for ourselves.

"We write, talk and say good things about other professions without caring or putting the same emphasis on ours. Let us develop strong attitudes towards our profession and the Association first," Mr Sackitey said.

In a statement to media houses, Mr Sackitey, a Senior Reporter with the GNA, said the Association has come a long way, and the input of all members, including those in government could make it more potent and attractive.

Mr Sackitey called on Journalists to rise up to the new momentum that has brought honour to the profession saying, "we are being noticed and becoming more relevant in the development of our democracy, so let us all give Journalism and the Association the needed push for it to meet the challenges of the times.

"We must all champion the cause of the GJA and democracy better by contributing our quota with the injection of new ideas in organizing ourselves to face the challenges of the time."

On discipline, Mr Sackitey said the days when the Association dealt "softly" with erring members should be a thing of the past adding: "There should be a collective decision to inject strict professionalism and strong regulations that bind all."

He said it would not be wrong to have a law that would mandate the GJA's disciplinary committee to suspend members or their medium for a certain period.

"The idea is not really to punish but to deter members from misconduct. There is nothing more hurting than the knowledge that one could lose the right to publish for a while.

Mr Sackitey called for a complete updating of the GJA Register to give a clear picture of those who are real Journalists and in good standing. He said those who are not Journalists but have found themselves playing that role should avail themselves to training programmes by the GJA and get acquainted with the ethics of the profession adding, "it is strange that some media houses rely heavily on non-professionals to do the job". He called on employers to increase training programmes for their staff and to improve on their salaries. 14 Aug. 03