Monitor contents shown on air; money shouldn't be your only drive - Shamima to media

Convener of the Alliance for Women in Media Africa, Shamima Muslim has called on media houses and journalists to pay critical attention to contents aired to the public, adopt modules to regulate and sensitize the system.

Mrs. Muslim observed that the media space has in recent times seen an influx in “prosperity-preaching” Christian programs coupled with less educative content for public consumption, a worrying trend she said needs to be tackled.

“From observation, over 90% of the content in the media are religious programmes. It’s serious… the media is such a powerful tool to leave it like that to anybody who has money to buy a channel to produce content that is questionable, that is really shaping the minds of the average Ghanaian to look somewhere else for their problems and not to get to work” she said.

The former radio anchor also noted that, although instruments of the 1992 constitution gives legal mandate for people to own businesses provided they meet requirements, the National Media Commission (NMC) mandated with the responsibility of registering, regulating and monitoring the activities of media houses in Ghana must play an active role in ensuring that they issue license to competent people only but not persons with money and influence.

“I see priests and priestess conjuring money and I ask myself, are those monies legal tender? Is anybody concerned? Because they saying publicly that they are able to conjure money and you can come to them if you’re financially burdened. Who is concerned about that?” she quizzed and further appealed to the media to collectively trumpet messages that carry value to their audience and contribute to nation building.

“It’s really a big issue and a big problem we have because this is what is shaping the people who you will be trying to convince as PR people to adopt certain attitudes or behaviors because this is the foundation of their belief and if you all don’t help us to confront that, your work will be difficult and ours will be difficult as well,” she said.

Shamima Muslim made the call while speaking at the 2018 Women in PR Ghana Summit held in Accra on Saturday, July 7 at the Oak Plaza Hotel.

The event attracted hundreds of women Public Relations professionals to share ideas and network.

The second edition of the annual event was on the theme: ‘Press for Progress; PR women making strides” which was fashioned along the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day celebration.

Different speakers took turns to encourage young female PR professionals to strive for progress within their professional capacities as professionals.