Unfold the untold stories of the voiceless

Tamale, Jan. 19, GNA - Mr. Kabral Blay Amihere, Chairman of the Medi= a Commission, has appealed to journalists to let dignity and integrity determine their work and they must go beyond what politicians say. Mr. Amihere, who was speaking at a forum for media practitioners, said the media's role in setting agenda for the public was getting lost, there= by raising issues of concern.

He called on journalists to be guarded by the code of ethics that regulated the profession to help practitioners become more responsible. Mr Amihere said journalists should not take undue advantage of media diversity and press freedom by getting the public alarmed on least things that could lead to public criticisms of the media.

"As journalists, we would be judged by our actions; what we write an= d say," he said. He said media practitioners needed to celebrate the freedom and media diversity enjoyed because things had become different from the past when only the national media alone operated.

Mr Amihere said challenges confronting jour nalists such as poor logistical support, have forced some media men and women to implore old fashioned ways of sending stories to their mother organizations. He said poor remuneration should be addressed by the various institutional leaderships.

Mr Amihere called for the establishment of a Media Development Fund an= d said when this was effectively done it would help in the establishment of a university to serve the three regions, a research center for practitioners to access international programmes and information to up grade themselves. Dr. Audrey Gadzepo, a lecturer at the School of Communication Studies, appealed to journalists to transcend the limitations of their individual organization and be artistic in their reportage. Mr. Yakubu Abdul Majeed, a representative of the Northern Regional Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association, lack of transport, lack of internet facilities in most offices and emergence of charlatans caused embarrassment to the profession. GNA