The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has been urged to uphold high professional standards and demand accountability from journalists to help restore public trust in the media.
The Association has also been encouraged to prepare journalists for the rapid technological and digital transformation while reconnecting the profession with society.
A veteran journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr, who made the call, said the failure of some journalists to verify information, coupled with the rise of digital media, had contributed to the spread of misinformation and eroded public trust in the media.
Mr Pratt was speaking at the 77th Anniversary Symposium and inauguration of five reconstituted statutory committees of the GJA in Accra yesterday.
The symposium was held on the theme: “Building on our Legacy, Advancing Ethical Journalism and Shaping the Future of Digital Media.”
The committees inaugurated were the Membership Vetting Committee, Professional Development Committee, Social Affairs Committee, International Relations Committee, and Finance and Resource Mobilisation Committee.
Mr Pratt said the future of journalism required more than the ability to use artificial intelligence (AI), stressing that journalists needed to question, verify and challenge information generated by the technology.
He disclosed that some media organisations recruited journalists based on their number of followers on social media platforms, warning that such a practice could undermine professional journalism.
Mr Pratt also expressed concern about the media’s focus on state officials, corporate executives and institutional authorities at the expense of people in other sectors of the economy, including farmers, fishermen and nurses.
He further underscored the importance of media economics, saying, “we cannot continuously demand fearless journalism from journalists while ignoring the conditions under which they work.”
He urged journalists to remain committed to truth, independence, the public interest and the dignity of citizens.
The President of the GJA, Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, commended the Association’s founders and past executives for their contributions to its growth and success over the years.
He said although the GJA was committed to promoting press freedom, it could not defend the credibility of journalism if journalists failed to uphold the standards of the profession.
Mr Dwumfour urged media organisations to develop clear editorial policies on AI and invest in the professional development of journalists.
He also appealed to government institutions to respect the role of the media and called for support from corporate organisations.
In a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, the Minister in charge of Government Communications, Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, highlighted the role of the media in advancing government policies and democratic governance.
“Ghana’s democratic journey offers very clear examples of what becomes possible when politics and journalism work in the national interest,” he said.
Mr Ofosu urged the media to uphold ethical standards and pledged the government’s commitment to deepening its partnership with the media.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY & NELLY QUARCOOPOME
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