The Central Regional Minister, Mr Thomas Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, on Wednesday said it was the responsibility of media practitioners to hold public office holders to task but not to report untruths about them.
He said it was important for journalists to always endeavour to investigate and cross-check their facts before coming out with their reportage, this he noted would help reduce the number of unrepairable damage caused to people in the media.
Mr Quansah said this at the end of a three-day capacity building workshop for members of the Central and Western Regions Media Network on Social Accountability held in Cape Coast.
The Workshop organized by the Ministry of Local Government in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and sponsored by the World Bank is to train the members of the Network to embark on an eight week educational campaign in the various districts on the need for the citizenry to participate in the district assembly budgetary process.
The Regional Minister said journalists have the duty to hold public office holders accountable but that they should do it responsibly and urged them to always be truthful in whatever they wrote, this he noted would help build public confidence in the Ghanaian media.
Mr Quansah also tasked the staff of the Information Service Department (ISD) to be up and doing, since they were the mouth piece for the government and the various MMDAS and should therefore educate the public on relevant issues in their various districts, Municipal and Metropolitan assemblies.
He pointed out that in most cases the staff of ISD got information before some radio stations and newspapers and urged the various media houses to always liaise with the staff of ISD to cross-check their facts, this he said if well done would reduce the number of libel cases in the country.
The Regional Minister said the ISD should serve as the Public Relations (PR) outfit for all the Regional Coordinating Councils and district assemblies.
He in this regard advocated that the Head of the PR in the various RCC should be the regional directors of the ISD, whiles the district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies should have their PRs from the district Information Officers.
This, he stressed, will curb the politicization of the PR in the RCC and districts assemblies.
?Let us institutionalize PR and not politicize them,? he said.
For her part, Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, Board Chairman of the Graphic Communication Group Limited, said it was time for Ghanaian Journalists to play advocacy roles instead of only reporting daily on the activities of politicians.
She said there were a lot of things of concern which journalists could report on, noting that many journalists reported on what the politician said without taking into consideration the needs and aspirations of the citizenry.
Dr Dartey appealed to journalists to move away from ?jack/flock journalism?, stressing that as pack journalists it did not allow them to make the necessary follow-ups on stories.
She said content analysis of newspapers in Ghana showed that many stories reported in the media were either ?hanging or unfinished? and urged them to follow up on their stories to help their reading public to be properly informed, educated and entertained.
Dr Dartey admitted that journalists worldwide did not like reporting on issues of mathematics and figures and urged them to overcome the fear of figures and develop the interest in the budget process of MMDAs, adding, that was the only way journalists could encourage the citizenry to participate in the district assembly budget process.
GNA
