Journalists urged to fight the cause of the underprivileged

Wa, July 11, GNA - Mr Andrew Awuni, Deputy Minister of Information, has asked Ghanaian Journalists to strive to use their power to champion the cause of the underprivileged in society. They should also have the national interest at the back of their minds anytime they decided to publish anything since whatever they wrote in newspapers or said on radio and television greatly influenced the beliefs and behaviour of society.

They should particularly be circumspect in their reportage of sensitive issues so as not to inflame passions, either overtly or covertly; neither should they goad the people on to become violent or lawless.

Mr Awuni said these while interacting with staff of the various media houses at Wa to round off a day's working visit to the Upper West Region.

During the visit Mr Awuni visited the various media houses in Wa to learn at first hand, the problems they faced. The Deputy Minister advised media practitioners to give their readers and listeners the broad picture of issues they wrote about so that the people could make their own independent judgements. Mr Awuni asked media practitioners to consider themselves as specially selected by God to serve the nation and should, therefore, not abuse this responsibility entrusted upon them.

He reminded them that "the weapon you are holding is a powerful weapon," adding that it could either be used to build a united and peaceful country or plunge the country into war.

Mr Awuni gave the assurance that the government was determined to see to it that the media got all its freedoms pointing out that when the Freedom of Information Bill now before Parliament, was eventually passed into law, the frontiers of free media would be extended beyond imagination.

He said when the Freedom of Information Bill is enacted no information would remain a secret as officials holding such information would by law be obliged to make it public upon request.

Mr Awuni, however, advised that as professionals, who shaped opinions of the society, they could not afford to make disastrous mistakes because of its implications.

Mr Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister, said he welcomed the Deputy Minister's visit to the Region and expressed the hope that it would inspire confidence in media personnel working in the Region to give of their best.

He pledged to help to find solutions to problems facing the staff of media houses in the discharge of their duty.