MPs cry foul against the media

Accra, Mar. 11, GNA- Members of Parliament, on Thursday expressed disapproval of the language some portions of the media use in describing Parliament as a body and MPs as individuals in their reportage and stressed the need for the media to be circumspect in that regard.

Members were contributing to a motion by the Mr. Freddy Blay, Chairman of the Privileges Committee and First Deputy Speaker, for the adoption of a report on the front-page editorial in the January 22, 2004 edition of the Independent Newspaper.

The said editorial, captioned "Ala Adjetey's Boys and Girls need the 3 Ds," referred to the MPs as boys and girls and described the behaviour of some MPs, whose names it mentioned, during the presentation of the President's State of the Nation Address, as uncouth.

The editorial was brought to the attention of the House by Mr. Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader, who described the language used as contemptuous, and an affront to the dignity of Parliament and insisted that it was referred to the Privileges Committee.

After about six weeks of consideration, in which the Managing Editor of the Independent Newspaper Mr. Egbert Fabil Junior, was said to have admitted to wrong doing on the part of his paper, the Privileges Committee has come out with its reports and made recommendation for the next line of action.

Based on the recommendations of the report, the Speaker, Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey ruled that the Newspaper should send a written apology to Parliament through the Clerk and also publish an apology to Parliament and the individuals mentioned in the editorial in three consecutive issues of the paper beginning in the next seven days.

The Speaker also ruled that the paper should accord the apology the same prominence it accorded the editorial, adding that the Clerk should write to the Managing Editor of the Paper within the next 24 hours and inform him of the Speaker's ruling.

"Indeed the Clerk must also write to the entire media about the need for circumspection in the use of language in order not to malign and scandalise Parliament and its members unnecessarily," the Speaker said.

Mr. Kobina Tahir Hammond, Deputy Minister of Energy said "though the behaviour of some of the members of the minority during the President's address was not entirely appropriate, it does not give the Independent newspaper the license to insult members of Parliament."

He said the reference to MPs as boys and girls was only metaphorical but to say MPs were uncouth and rude was unacceptable, adding that no matter how the media and the public held about MPs, "we are and will remain honourable members of Parliament and we deserve to be treated as such."

Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey, NPP-Berekum, commended the editor and his editorial team of the Independent for readily accepting their fault and apologising to the Privileges Committee, adding that "I have no doubt that they will publish the apology as the Speaker has ruled." He said the media were partners in democracy and good governance in an effort to build peace and stability in the country, adding that it was imperative for the media to exercise caution in the way they related to the three arms of the government.

Capt. Effah-Dartey said, "even MPs are not allowed to say anything in Parliament and get away with it - how much the media who write to inform posterity about all kinds of issues - they need to say the truth and nothing more."

He said the media seem to be taking undue advantage of the repeal of the criminal libel laws and the existing freedom of expression to write all manner of things about politicians, most of which were not true.

"It is the duty of all politicians both in government and in opposition to ensure that the media reported the truth, because it is not a palatable thing to be maligned in the media, no matter what party you belong to."

Mr. Alex K. Korankye, NPP-Asante Akim South, said it was not an easy task for an individual to offer him or herself to serve one's nation as an MP, adding that it was so hurtful when one was subjected to all kinds of insults and descriptions in the media due to one's position as an MP.

"The print media are the worst offenders in this practice and I am inclined to believe that most of their reporters are not professionally trained," he said. "There was a time when the Daily Guide described some of us as mute MPs and I think that was unfair."

Mr. Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South described the media as "a blind man standing on a stone, put under his feet by politicians," saying that most of the stories published by the media were planted by some politicians.

"The media does not work in a vacuum, some of us politicians plant stories about our own colleagues in the media and when it suites us we praise the media, but when it hits us hard then we criticise the media," he said.

Mr. Kedem urged his colleague MPs and politicians to be courageous enough to admit to themselves that they were doing more harm than good, planting stories against each other in the media and stop that practice.

Mr. Bagbin said the media needed to observe the saying that "your freedom ends where another man's freedom begins" and must be circumspect in the language they used in reporting about Parliament and anybody else in the country.