Use of proverbs in news broadcasting condemned

Kumasi, Sept. 16, GNA - Participants at a National Media Commission (NMC) meeting on language broadcasting have condemned the use of proverbs in news items as they tend to breach journalistic tenets and could cause confusion in the run-up to the December general election.

While affirming the importance of using local languages to reach the generality of Ghanaians not literate in the English Language, participants were, however, worried about the abusive use of proverbs thus rendering a slanted version of what is supposed to be a factual rendition of events.

Participants, including media practitioners, officials of the Electoral Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said local language broadcasting as practiced might lead to breaches of the peace. They appealed to owners of radio stations to stop their news readers from use of proverbs that might provoke people to cause mayhem. The Chairman of the NMC, Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, appealed to managers of radio stations to consider hiring linguists or journalists with linguistic backgrounds. He said it was time the Ghanaian media restrained themselves from junk journalisms that could not be defended in any public forum but had the latency of inflaming passions.

The Senior Governance Advisor and Head of Governance Unit of the UNDP, Ghana, Dr Clever Nyathi, tasked Ghanaian media practitioners to practice conflict-sensitive reporting and refrain from transmitting news that have the likelihood of turning the country into flames. The Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr George Sarpong, said it was imperative that the media discharged its duty with the outmost sense of responsibility if journalists were to continue to rely on the public for support in the performance of their duties. A Member of the NMC, Mr C.S. Buabeng, said too much commentary and vulgar language was being put on air by some radio stations as news, describing the situation as "horrifying".