Journalists urged to uphold national interest

Kumasi, July 22, GNA- Dr Anthony Bonnah Koomson, a senior lecturer at the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, on Thursday appealed to journalists to always uphold the interest of the nation in the performance of their duties.

He said journalists should be mindful of the need to promote peace, unity and co-operation at all times by exhibiting fairness, accuracy and truthfulness in their reportage.

Dr Koomson was opening a two-day seminar on political reporting on the 2004 general elections for some journalists and media practitioners from the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and West regions.

The seminar is being organised by the National Media Commission (NMC) in collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Electoral Commission (EC) with funds from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES).

Dr Koomson said some journalists had shirked their professional responsibilities and were using unethical means in the performance of their duties.

He urged journalists to always improve upon their knowledge to enable them to perform better.

Mr Alfred Monney, an executive member of the GJA, said many countries had been torn apart because of irresponsible journalism. He said journalists had an onerous responsibility to help deepen the democratic principles in the country and urged them to do a lot of research before writing stories.

Mr Emmanuel Opoku-Agyarkwa, Programme Co-ordinator of the FES, commended the political parties in the country for signing the code of conduct for the 2004 elections.

He said he hoped the parties would abide by the tenets of the code to ensure peace in the country.