Journalists, chiefs urged to seek the common path

Accra (Greater Accra), 14th April ?99 ?

Mr Sam Quaicoe, General Manager of the Ghana News Agency, on Tuesday stressed the need for traditional authorities and the media to find acceptable ways of reporting on sensitive issues affecting the chieftaincy institution. Citing recent episodes of conflict between the media and chiefs, Mr Quaicoe said dialogue is the only way by which the media can produce reports acceptable to chiefs and the general public.

Mr Quaicoe was delivering the 11th in the series of the annual Sam Arthur Memorial lectures organised by the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ). The lecture, which is under the theme "Strengthening professional ethics in journalism", forms part of activities marking the graduation week of the institute.

"Modernism should not uproot our cherished traditional institutions and beliefs. But, by the same token, outmoded and unworkable traditions should not be perpetuated because we came to meet them. "The old order should, indeed, give way to the new but it should be in a dignified and acceptable manner," he said. Mr Quaicoe said efforts by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and donor institutions to increase awareness about responsible journalism are not yet over.

The Complaints Settlement Committee of the National Media Commission and the Ethics Committee of the GJA to ensure that their adjudications are prompt and their findings respected. He justified the need for upholding professional ethics in journalism, saying men become curious about their own actions and reflect on them when they are not sure what moral principle governs a particular decision or the very meaning of that principle. "I believe that all a code can do is to call attention to the many minefields that exist. How we steer our way clear is left largely to our individual consciences and what the larger public considers to be right."

Mr Quaicoe noted that even though journalists sometimes have to adopt unorthodox means of getting information "in the public interest", they must distinguish between public interest and public curiosity or vendetta. Mr Isaac Andoh, Editor of the Catholic Standard, who presided, advised the students against acts that will make their political inclinations obvious. They should also avoid breaking the rules until those who made these rules bend or modify them.