Ghana's media watchdog commends press

The National Media Commission on Tuesday commended the media for their "thorough and incisive" coverage of the processes leading to and after the presidential and parliamentary elections last month.

The NMC also commended the executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Private Newspapers and Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) and the Association of Public Broadcasters (APBC) for their leadership role in this direction.

A statement in Accra by the NMC chairman, Mr Nutifafa Kuenyehia, after a meeting in Accra, said the extensive coverage by the numerous radio stations helped in no small way to address lapses that could otherwise have marred the peaceful and free nature of the election.

"...The members noted that the presence of the media at the collation centres facilitated the early release of the results by the Electoral Commission, and deploying staff throughout the country ensured a continuous flow of information on the election results to keep the interest of the public high."

The statement said the NMC also mentioned the discussion and analysis programmes of the election results as well as that of the transitional arrangement and stressed: "it has now become evident to all that free and responsible media are indispensable to democracy."

The NMC said such positive contributions by the media enhance their relevance to national development. The commission therefore condemned the attacks on some media personnel, especially the crew of TV3 at Nungua in Accra by people in uniform as Ghanaians now appreciate the media positively.

"The commission hopes that all stakeholders would co-operate with it in the New Year towards the greater promotion and defence of the freedom and independence of the media," it said.