The Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, has urged the media to embrace new technology to deepen professionalism and also safeguard press freedom.
She said that print media was under existential threat of different proportions as compared to electronic media, hence, the need for the former to be innovative to stay relevant.
Ms Muslim was speaking at the swearing-in of new national executive of the Private Newspaper and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), in Accra yesterday.
The members are David Sitsofe Tamakloe, President; Micheal Antwi-Agyei, Vice-President; Prince Kawuunda, Organising Secretary; Naana Aklerh Kubi I, Financial Secretary/Treasurer, and Emmanuel Opare Djan, Public Affairs and External Relations Officer.
Safety
Ms Muslim said the government had taken measures to ensure the safety of journalists in the country.
She said that the President would not allow abuses against journalists to go unaddressed because “without the media, there is no government; without the government, there is no media”.
In line with that Ms Muslim said the government was working to rebuild trust between the media and the public.
Challenges
The Chairperson of the National Media Commission (NMC), Prof. Akua Opokua Britwum, acknowledged challenges facing the press such as cost of production, literacy levels and new technology.
She said the challenges presented opportunities for reforms which would require collective efforts.
Prof. Britwum also said that national development must be linked with media growth, adding that “inputs, distribution, equipment and labour were all embedded in a national development space”.
She acknowledged that gender and time pressure limited readership, while social media had eroded ethical standards.
The chairperson called on the new leadership to rethink strategies for sustainability, and also anchor media practice on ethics and development.
Pledge
The president of PRINPAG, Mr Tamakloe, pledged to work towards strengthening the association through training and mentorship.
“Training will no longer be an occasional event, it must become part of our culture,” he said.
Mr Tamakloe also said the association would engage advertisers and state institutions for fair distribution of resources, as advertisement was not charity but value exchange.
On ethics, he said integrity must guide the private press, and entreated members to reject sensationalism and misinformation.
“We must raise the bar on professionalism.
We must reject sensationalism, resist misinformation, and fight against the temptation to trade truth for headlines”, the president said.
