A lecturer with the Department of communication Studies at the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Michael Yao Wodui Serwornoo says the press plays a critical role in the country and it behoves on the government to protect journalistic freedoms.
Speaking to ATL FM NEWS on the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2022, he said government must ensure the risks journalists face such as discrimination, violations, and intimidation become a thing of the past so that journalists can go about their work without fear.
This year, the celebration is under the theme: Journalism under Digital Siege and according to the 2022 World Press Freedom Index Ghana has slipped from its 30th position to the 60th position among 180 countries, globally.
This, Dr. Serwornoo attributes to the influence of politicians and business owners who have interest in how the press works.
“We have seen a reduction of press freedom in our country not necessarily because of attacks on journalists but because of the fact that the press is completely consumed by politicians and business owners who have an interest in how the press works and with that, our press freedom rankings will go low,” he notes.
He believes addressing the problem of ownership of the press, a major challenge to journalists will lead to the press working effectively as they are mandated.
“We are hoping that government will see the need to uphold press freedom at its highest call and to ensure that anything that is inimical to the press is taken away,” he adds.
World Press Freedom Day
In 1993, the UN General Assembly proclaimed May 3 as World Press Freedom Day following a recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. It is observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression.
It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
Theme
Dr. Serwornoo indicated that the work of the press is under threat in recent years as a result of the enormous digital control.
Moreover, he believes the Ghanaian press space was unprepared for the shift from traditional press forms to digital forms as at the time digital technology evolved in the country.
He noted “as we speak, newspapers are online and radio stations are online and all these digital technologies seems to be controlling the way the press runs. It is a siege because we are really unprepared for it, we have not handled the shift from traditional press to digital form well.”
He is also of the view that the press in Ghana is under a siege because the nation’s educational curriculum has not responded to this digital age well because students are not trained well enough to understand the new forms the press is taking.
According to Dr. Serwornoo, there is also a mismatch in the Ghanaian press space because those who understand the digital platforms are not necessarily journalists whilst journalists who know the ethics of the profession are also not digitally sound.
He believes, new and existing journalists are experiencing an overwhelming feeling because they were not exposed to those new technologies during their training.
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The Lecturer further emphasized the need to incorporate technology into journalism, and advocates for the training of new and existing journalists to use technology in their work so as to make their work more effective.
“Incorporating technology into media platform is a whole culture on its own. What we have to do is to train existing journalists to learn the craft of digital journalism and the educations must start from the classroom.
He also urges media proprietors to make it a priority to invest in digital technologies as the need arises, as well as to pursue journalism out of passion rather than profit.
Press Conference
Relatedly, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned portions of the 2022 World Press Freedom Index which tagged the Akufo-Addo administration as “intolerant of criticism from citizens and the media”.
The party argued that, in contrast, the media under the NPP is the freest ever.
Speaking at a press conference, Director of Communications of the party, Yaw Boaben Asamoa noted that the party’s contribution to the growth of the media under the Fourth Republic is rather exceptional.
He said the NPP believes Ghana’s media is the freest ever and that its contribution to media growth are unparalleled in the Fourth Republic.
Mr. Buaben Asamoa also highlighted some contributions to media freedom by the party to debunk recent reports on government’s alleged aversion to free speech.
Source: Emmanuella Ama Gyamfi/ATLFMNEWS
