The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has condemned the practice by some television stations of requiring prospective presenters to have a certain number of Facebook followers before they are employed.
He described the practice as “a complete affront” to professional standards and said media organisations risked undermining journalism when social media popularity became a condition for employment.
Mr Pratt made the comments at the Ghana Journalists Association's (GJA) 77th anniversary symposium in Accra on August, 19, 2026, where he urged media organisations to review how they recruit journalists and presenters in an industry increasingly influenced by social media.
He said some television stations now considered the number of followers an applicant had on Facebook when deciding whether to employ the person as a presenter.
“I know some television stations you don't get employed as a presenter if you don't have a certain number of followers on Facebook,” he said.
Mr Pratt described the practice as “a complete affront to all of our standards” and said media houses that adopted such an approach “should bow their heads in shame”.
“They are contributing significantly to undermining our credibility,” he said.
His comments formed part of a broader discussion on the growing influence of social media platforms on editorial decisions, audience measurement and the recruitment of media professionals.
Mr Pratt said journalism should not be reduced to a contest for attention, stressing that the duty of journalists was to establish what the public needed to know rather than simply maximise audience engagement.
He said digital platforms often rewarded attention through controversy, outrage and sensationalism, while journalism required professional judgement.
“The journalist's task, however, is not simply to maximise attention, but to determine what the public needs to know,” he said.
He added that a journalist could be the first to publish a story and still be wrong, while another journalist could publish later and produce the most important story of the day.
“The internet rewards speech. Journalism requires judgment,” he said.
Mr Pratt therefore urged newsrooms not to allow the speed of digital publishing to erode the standards that distinguish professional journalism from general online content.
Ordinary Ghanaians
Mr Pratt also challenged Ghanaian media organisations to reconsider whose experiences dominate national news.
He said major news bulletins often centred on state officials, corporate executives and institutional authorities, while farmers, market women, fishermen, teachers, nurses, unemployed young people and entire communities received less sustained attention.
He said ordinary citizens should not feature in national news only when disaster strikes.
“These people are not merely background scenario to the national story. They hold the country in place,” he said.
Mr Pratt urged journalists to recover what he described as “the responsibility to listen and not only the ability to speak”.
He said journalists must pay greater attention to citizens who do not hold press conferences and whose experiences are often reduced to economic statistics.
“If journalism is serious about telling the people's story, it must go where the people are,” he said.
Media credibility
Mr Pratt's comments formed part of a wider argument about the future of Ghanaian journalism and the need for media organisations to maintain professional standards while adapting to digital platforms and artificial intelligence.
He said the challenge was no longer simply access to information, but how journalism could establish the truth in a society overwhelmed by information.
He said media credibility had to be built through accuracy, verification, fairness, courage and a willingness to investigate people and institutions in positions of influence.
Mr Pratt also questioned the influence of ownership, funding, advertising and political interests on editorial independence, arguing that freedom from government censorship was not the same as freedom from pressure.
He said media houses could not demand fearless journalism from journalists while ignoring the economic and professional conditions under which they worked.
The GJA's 77th anniversary symposium was held under the theme, “GJA at 77: Building on our legacy, advancing ethical journalism and shaping the future of digital media.”
