Mr. Dan Botwe, Minister of Information has called on the media to begin to chart a national development agenda, aimed at meeting and advancing the aspirations of the people.
He warned that the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law must not provide a poetic license for certain journalists, and media houses to publish articles to defame, malign, and destroy the hard-won reputation of certain individuals, without regard to the media's own responsibility of cross-checking facts, before their publication.
According to the information minister, the society gets scandalized by the publication of stories, he described as, "unnecessary, that go to affect and do collateral damage to the reputation of others".
Mr. Botwe urged the media to remember where they are coming from, adding that not quite long ago, particularly in the 80s, the atmosphere in Ghana was not even ripe for the launching of newspapers, and cited the numerous arrests and detentions suffered by John Kugblenu and Tommy Thompson of blessed memory. The minister said it was imperative that while journalists savour the current atmosphere they should also be mindful that some of their colleagues had to see the inside of prisons, police cells, and faced death, to bring about the kind of media plurality that the country now has.
Mr. Dan Botwe observed that Tommy Thompson, Kodzo Dumoga, and others, died because of their belief in free press.
He noted that unsubstantiated stories in the media have the tendency to putting some people away from taking up public service appointments. He therefore challenged the media to be sensitive in the way they package their stories, adding that, issues on poverty alleviation, exposure of corruptible practices, dislocation of a village caused by rainfall, malaria, infant and maternal mortality, should also find space in the newspapers.
