By Vanessa Adjei
President of the Ghana Journalists Association, GJA, Roland Affail Monney, has called on the security agencies to devise new ways to arrest Media Practitioners, who flout the laws on publication of false news. His comment comes after the arrest of Class FM presenter, Bobie Ansah which most people describe as a Rambo style.
At the World Radio Day celebration at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Mr. Monney said though media practitioners who flout the laws should be dealt with, the way they are handled leaves much to be desired. He said this can affect the freedom of the media to critically assess issues.
“Radio is quickly degenerating into a standardless profession and it threatens to give radio an irreparably bad name. We however state that we do not or cannot justify inhumane ways of arresting journalists.”
Radio as a medium has for so many years helped Ghana shape its democracy. It has given many the opportunity to air their concerns about issues. Which is why this year’s world radio day is themed “Radio and Trust: The Ghanaian story in the fourth republic”.
It focused on how much people have personalized and trust radio up till this time. GJA President, Roland Affail Monney, said, as much as radio continues to contribute immensely to the country’s democratic dialogue, there are still some bad nuts. While calling on Media Authorities to crack the whip on such persons, he cautioned media practitioners to be decorous to avoid arrests.
“The growing use of prosecutorial power to punish journalists can exert a significant chill in press freedom. Accordingly we Authorities devise simple remedies to deal with media infractions.”
“Indeed we don’t need zoomlion to fumigate the media space but practitioners themselves to deodorant the media space with critical sensibility” he added.
The Deputy Minister of Information, Fatima Abubakar, debunked claims by some people that there is a culture of silence in the country, saying government has ensured that people responsibly air their concerns publicly.
“There have been concerns in recent years about the culture of silence in Ghana but this is far from the truth as the government has made efforts to commit to free speech in all parts of the media for which radio is no exception”.
“The fourth republic has been the most successful period of democratic governance in the county’s history and seen the establishment of more radio stations and also the progress of free speech as most people have the opportunity to responsibly air their views on issues especially during morning and other prime time shows.” She said….
Mad. Abubakar however said the use of local dialect in the dissemination of the news has helped in public discourse.
“This success can be attributed to the use of local languages in Broadcasting which has become a very powerful medium even among people who do not have formal education.”
Solidarity messages from other speakers cautioned media practitioners not to take press freedom for granted.
Read Also: https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/?s=Roland+Affail+Monney