Journalist must use media to promote peace
A lecturer at the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) Prosper Kuosoh has called on media practitioners in the country to promote peaceful journalism through reportage that will promote understanding and reduce tension in the country.
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He said as the country prepared to go to the polls, journalists owed a duty to their audience by avoiding reportage that would increase the tension and lead to chaos.
Mr Kuosoh, who is also the Upper West Regional Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), said journalists should avoid inflammatory language and sensationalism, especially when reporting on conflicts.
Training
Mr Kuosoh made the call during a training workshop on ‘Conflict Sensitive Reporting before, during and after 2024 Elections' organised by the Upper West Regional Peace Council for media practitioners in the Upper West Region.
He encouraged his colleagues to use the knowledge acquired to help in the development of the region and the country as a whole.
It was organised in partnership with the Catholic Relief Services with funding from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and aimed at journalists gaining the skills to lead the fight against hate speech, polarised narratives as well as misinformation and disinformation.
The objective was to empower media practitioners with the knowledge to deal with sensitive issues that tended to cause conflict and to promote peaceful co-existence.
A member of the Regional Peace Council, Apostle George Apasera, also called on the media not to allow their platforms to be used as a conduit that would spark conflicts in the country.
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"Media practitioners should hold in high esteem the principles of accuracy and impartiality to promote peace in the country", he said.
Apostle Apasera urged journalists to avoid stereotypes and biased reporting since such acts could trigger violence and conflicts in communities.
He encouraged the media to work peacefully with society to safeguard the nation from conflicts before, during, and after the 2024 elections.