Media should avoid political sensationalism - Vanderpuje

Journalists should avoid political sensationalism and instead focus on development issues, Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodio constituency, Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuje, has said.

“Let us make a content analysis what is said on radio and examine if they help develop the Nation. We all agree that radio plays a critical role in the forward match of every nation because it is to educate, inform and entertain its audience. If we would wake up in the morning and talk about the plight of towns that do not have good drinking water, good roads, health, education, agriculture, etc. so as to raise the living standards of the populace, I would be very happy," he said.


He added that if we dedicate two or three hours to developmental oriented and social issues and relegate politics, we would develop greatly as a nation.


The veteran broadcaster, who is now a legislator, was adding to President John Dramani Mahama’s claim that the format of morning shows on radio in Ghana does not encourage development but promotes sensationalism.


The President said the sensational nature of radio in the country makes it difficult for pertinent issues affecting the ordinary Ghanaian to be highlighted.


He therefore urged editors to cut down on the amount of politics discussed on the airwaves and rather focus on developmental issues.

President Mahama made the comments during a meeting with senior editors and executives of the Ghana Journalists Associations at the Flagstaff House in Accra on Friday.


The MP for Odododiodio agrees totally with the President and believes that “if the issue of unemployment, sanitation, potable drinking water or the issue of ‘okada’ is discussed as main topics in the media, insults would not come in.


“It would eliminate irresponsible comments and castigations but if we focus on the NPP and NDC and what they have said about each other, then we would not be pushing our development agenda enough and that does not help us and the country."


Hon. Nii Lantey Vanderpuje noted that “all Kenyans agree that the relative peace and quiet they have enjoyed after their presidential elections, even though one party is contesting the results in court, was as a result of the manner in which radio stations, communicators and presenters handled the elections”.


He was of the view that, despite the many developmental challenges confronting us as nation, some Ghanaian journalists seem to have an agenda to destroy personalities either because they have been paid to do so or have aligned themselves to one particular political party or the other.