By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), has called on the government to help save the country’s media industry from dying.
The group is again urging the government’s media handlers to be proactive and to engage media owners, editors, and senior journalists the more in an attempt to find ways to sustain the Ghanaian media industry, especially those in the private sector.
The call was contained in a statement issued and signed by the President of PRINPAG, Mr. Andrew Edwin Arthur to mark the 2023 commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day which falls today, May, 3, 2023.
According to Mr. Arthur It is the prayer of the association that, the Government, through its handlers will put in place mechanisms to ensure that, all media outlets are supported to stand on their feet, which he believes is feasible to do,
This, he reiterated, will go a long way to foster a close partnership and collaboration between the media and the government in the interest of the development of mother Ghana.
“We again urge the Government’s media handlers not to discriminate in their dealings with the media but to open up and to bring all media practitioners and their organizations on board to promote the national agenda.
PRINPAG is of the view that, as we celebrate this year’s World Press Freedom Day, it is the desire of the Association and its members that, government reconsiders or restrategizes its media policy, particularly the distribution of state-sponsored adverts so as to benefit the majority of media houses in the country, a move PRINPAG believes, will go a long way in sustaining the Ghanaian media and saving them from eventual collapse.
PRINPAG again urges the Government and its media handlers to consider bringing all media houses onto a common platform, irrespective of perceived political persuasion as a way of making information readily accessible to all to avoid the situation where due to lack of information some media houses are left with no option than to engage in speculations and conjectures to survive,
This way, the Government and its media handlers will be promoting press freedom and pluralism of the media, which is crucial for our development in these contemporary times, not forgetting the need to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
For us at PRINPAG, the theme for this year’s World Press Freedom Day emphasizes the crucial role of press freedom, media independence and pluralism as well as the freedom of expression in upholding all human rights.
The theme also marks the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day and coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Conference and its Declaration and Programme of Action on Human Rights, as well.
PRINPAG is of the firm belief that, our Common Agenda in the fight against media oppression and press freedom, is to enforce the right to access information that allows us to seek, receive and disseminate information, ideas, concepts and beliefs across borders and cultures.
As a result of the widely accepted role of the media in today’s contemporary World, PRINPAG is amazed by the continued attempts to silence the media around the globe, with old methods of censorship, violence and harassment accompanied by increasingly pervasive digital attacks.
On this occasion of World Press Freedom Day, PRINPAG calls on all media stakeholders, especially the government, to as a matter of urgency, prioritize the welfare and well-being of journalists throughout the country so as to ensure that, they are better placed to lend support to the national agenda through the practice of their chosen profession.
We also call for a swift release of outcomes/information on investigations into deaths and attacks on Journalists in their line of duty in Ghana.
For us at PRINPAG, we will continue to uphold the fundamental human rights of all persons and also use our mediums to protect and promote the rights of all persons in the country and these we will do by strictly displaying professionalism and the understanding of the nuances of the journalism profession.” Portions of the statement read.