Be ethical in your reportage- media practitioners advised
The Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, has asked media practitioners to be ethical in their reportage in the interest of national development.
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He said the tenets of journalism enjoined practitioners to provide the public with factual, balanced and accurate information in an atmosphere of circumspection and professional integrity.
The call was contained in a speech delivered on his behalf at the maiden graduation ceremony of the Multi-media Institute of Ghana (MIG) in Accra last Saturday.
Event
Sixty-two students who went through eight months’ courses in Science and Technology, Business and Arts were presented with certificates and diplomas.
The event was on the theme: “Redefining the role of the Fourth Estate,” and witnessed by parents of the graduands and representatives from the Ministry of Communications, the Ghana Education Service (GES), among others.
Sensationalism
Dr Omane Boamah further called on the media to be neutral and also stay away from sensational reportage, saying such unethical behaviour could plunge the country into chaos.
“You must not write anything just because you want to attract listeners or sell your paper. The media can easily set a country ablaze,” he stated.
According to him, “Many people take decisions and make choices based on the information they get from the media. So journalists ought to be guided by the fact that they owe it a duty to society to be educators, informers or entertainers of the public.”
Skills
The Administrator of the MIG, Mr Roland Botwe Benjamin, said the fact that technology was the driver of change called for journalists to acquire skills on the use of multimedia.
He said the institute had designed a special programme to train local language broadcasters on the ethics of the profession to ensure professionalism in their work.
The Director of the MIG, Nana Kwaku Duah, urged the graduands to put the skills they had acquired to productive use.
He encouraged them to continue to learn on the job and pursue further studies to sharpen their skills.
Outstanding students and lecturers were presented with special awards.