Journalists have been advised to uphold professionalism through credible and effective reporting, before, during and after the 2024 Elections.
The advice was given to journalists at the last of the nationwide training series organized by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) with support from the Electoral Commission (EC).
The training was to equip the journalists for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections which are fast approaching, with the special voting scheduled on December 2nd.
The training focused on the EC’s expectations of the media in the elections, the safety and security of Journalists and reporting guidelines for journalists to follow in the upcoming elections.
President of the GJA, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour emphasized that the training series has prepared journalists well for the tasks ahead in responsible accurate and credible reporting.
He said GJA expects journalists to put the training they have received to full practice to combat misinformation and disinformation while stressing the need to prioritize their safety before, during and after the elections.
On his part, the Director of Training of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe underscored the need for journalists to play their role as key stakeholders in maintaining peace in Ghana.
He said journalists can do this by remaining circumspect in their election adding that they ought not underrate the impact of their stories.
“Avoid publishing hearsay,” he said “Now with this time of proliferation of social media, people can be very mischievous; and if you don’t take care, it will help people to perpetuate the bad things that they intended to do. So check, and check, and check, and check before you also do anything.”
The Chairman of the Greater Accra Chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Charles Benoni Okine, also cautioned journalists against becoming entangled in potentially dangerous situations at polling stations.
He said it is important for them to maintain a safe distance from potentially volatile situations, utilizing tools like camera zoom capabilities to gather information remotely rather than venturing into the midst of any potential chaos.
“As an individual, reporter, don’t be the news. You are there to report the news. So you need to be very careful to avoid incidents that are trapped sometimes by the political parties just to sway you to a certain direction…So your safety is in your hands.”
Journalists who benefited from the training were drawn from the southern zone of Ghana including reporters, editors, show hosts, news anchors and photojournalists.
Read more stories @ atlfmnews.com
Source: Aba Aikins/ATLFMNEWS
