Are Ghanaian Radio Presenters Listening?

A GNA Feature by Boakye-Dankwa Boadi

Accra, Jan 4, GNA - The advancing forces of democracy have captured the Ghanaian airwaves and there is no let or hindrance. Hurray! Freedom at last! Freedom now and forever!

The numerous radio stations serve very hot and juicy news at the breakfast tables daily with a few opting to serve snacks at 1700 hours. Radio Presenters have become celebrities overnight. It takes only the ability to speak the language used on the radio station and quite a measure of self-confidence that borders on arrogance to become a hero or heroine overnight.

Since some of these Presenters have not been schooled in the noble art of effective communication they sometimes dish out poison. The irony is that while they expect people to listen to them some of them have refused to listen to the admonition from some of their listeners and those they might have wrongly accused. Some feel that by sitting in front of a microphone in a studio they have become more powerful and important than anyone else. These Presenters call Ministers of State to answer questions on radio and the politicians that they are, they scuttle to offer answers, which sometimes may not be the best and thus compounding the problem. Meanwhile they, the politicians, could have politely told the Presenter that since they were not aware that they would be called they did not have the relevant documents readily available and could, therefore, not offer a well-informed answer.

Thus after they have offered wishy-washy answers they come round to sometimes say things which are at 180 degrees variance. One wonders how long this wasting of the people's ears would continue.

One-thing journalists should not forget is that they are dealing with a very delicate product, which required very careful handling. It is by exercising circumspection that they would avoid falling into trouble like the type, which has befallen their counterparts in Nigeria for their indiscretion.

According to a press release by the Lagos-based press freedom organization, "Media Rights Agenda" on 23 December 2005, two journalists with the privately-owned radio station Rhythm 93.7 FM, in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State in the Niger Delta Region, were put before a Port Harcourt High Court on charges of broadcasting "false information" and remanded in custody until January 3 2006.

Klem Ofuokwu, the station's news editor, and Cleopatra Taiwo, a news presenter, were reportedly arrested by agents of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria's intelligence service, on December 19 and have been detained since then.

Their detention was in response to a report aired on the radio station on December 17, claiming that the Choba Bridge on the outskirts of Port Harcourt had collapsed and trapped seven vehicles. The report, apparently based on telephone calls from unnamed sources, later proved to be incorrect.

Following the report, armed Policemen and SSS agents shut down the radio station on December 17 and arrested David Obi, news director, and Loknan Dombim, programme manager, both of whom were detained overnight and released the next day. The station was re-opened hours later, but Ofuokwu and Taiwo were subsequently arrested.

Although the Management of Rhythm 93.7 FM initially denied airing the report, on December 19, Roy Murray-Bruce, President of Silverbird Communications, owner of the radio station, apologised to the Police and the Rivers State Government over the story.

In a statement issued in Lagos, Murray-Bruce said that, after a thorough in-house investigation, it was discovered that, although staff initially denied it, his station actually had aired the controversial story.

He told the Police and the Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili that those responsible would be punished.

Obviously dissatisfied with the station's retraction, apology and promise of disciplinary action against those responsible, the State Government decided to initiate criminal proceedings against Ofuokwu and Taiwo for alleged false reporting.

In a two-count charge against the journalists and others, said to be at large, the Government is alleging that they conspired among themselves to publish and disseminate, through the medium of a radio broadcast, a false news item with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb public peace and thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 516(A) and 59(1) of the Criminal Code of Rivers State.

Each of the counts carries a penalty of three years' imprisonment. After the charges were read to the journalists, their lawyer, Ken Atsuwete, requested that they be granted bail pending their trial. The State Director of Public Prosecutions, R. N. N. Godwin opposed the request and asked the judge to remand them in custody.

The judge ordered that they should be remanded in custody until January 3 2006, when he will decide whether to grant them bail pending trial.

How would Ghanaians have received this piece of news? The airwaves would have been saturated with total condemnation of the Authorities for daring to put the journalists on trial.

Some of us would have argued that the trial made nonsense of the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law and since journalists were not gods they could make mistakes.

Ours is really a free country. Let us all do everything to ensure that Ghana, our beloved country continues to exist.