The Ghanaian Times congratulates the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on successful organisation of the 28th edition of the GJA Awards.
Being able to organise such an awards event 28 times speaks volumes of the efforts and the growth of the association, which must not be discounted.
Just ask yourself why even though the association was founded in August 1949, it could hold its first award ceremony in December 1985 during the presidency of Edwin Tengey, now of blessed memory.
The event has been characterised by a chequered history in which for lack of sponsorship it was not organised in certain years.
Therefore, if today, the awards ceremony is a true annual event, then the GJA deserves huge commendation and congratulations.
Among its aims and objectives, the GJA is required to promote professionalism and high journalistic standards and reward and honour
outstanding members periodically, hence the GJA Awards event meets a noble purpose.
It can, therefore, be said that those who win GJA awards are epitomes of the professionalism and the high journalistic standards the Association keeps striving to uphold.
With this in mind, The Ghanaian Times profusely congratulates all the award winners at the 28th GJA Awards event, which climaxes the 75th anniversary of the GJA.
However, we extend special congratulations to Edward Adeti with Reporters Without Borders, for clinching the 2023 Paul Archibald Vianney (PAV) Ansah Journalist of the Year Award, and to The Ghanaian Times’s Jonathan Donkor and Benedicta Gyimaah Folley on bringing honour to the paper. All of us working on the paper give shout-outs to two of you for demonstrating journalistic excellence and bringing honour to all of us.
We think the successful organisation of the GJA Awards is an honour to all journalists in the country, both old and young, both those on retirement and those in active service.
Let’s all help in the growth of the Association and contribute to sustaining the annual awards event.
While we say that, we wish all journalists to take particular note of the essence of the admonition given in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s speech given at the 28th GJA Awards.
The President is urging the media to safeguard the country’s democracy by fiercely combating misinformation and disinformation as the general elections draw near.
He says the responsibility of the media in helping to consolidate the country’s democratic gains is a crucial matter that journalists must not lose sight of when executing their duties this elections period.
The fact is that journalists know the challenges or problems associated with disinformation, misinformation, fake news, and sensationalism.
It is, however, unfortunate that in spite of this, some journalists take delight in these journalistic evils for certain motives, particularly selfish gains.
Unlike years past, these evils have become commonplace today and so the question is “why is this so?”
Who support the partisan or political party-biased media outlets which churn out all these evils and attendant invective, vilifications, defamation and vituperations against political opponents?
Once the President has taken the trouble to speak against these evils, particularly their potential to undermine the credibility of elections in the country, the whole country must wage a war on the evils just as it is being done against galamsey.
Just admonitions without actions like harsh laws to contain them would end nowhere.
Once again, congratulations to GJA and 2023 GJA award winners.