By Benjamin Akoto
Sunyani (Bono), Sept. 22, GNA – Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has called for adequate resources for media establishments to enable them to employ and retain competent professionals.
He said adequate resources would enable media organisations to investigate stories and maintain strong newsrooms, while helping media practitioners to become financially independent and build respectable careers without necessarily depending on politicians.
Mr Nketiah made the call when he addressed the fourth edition of the Bono Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards in Sunyani.
He underscored the importance of maintaining professional standards in the media space, saying the pursuit of high ethical values and standards remained paramount in journalism.
The event, held on the theme: “Ethics, Integrity and Impactful Journalism – Essential Ingredients for Societal Transformation,” honoured nine deserving media practitioners and journalists.
Mr Nketiah congratulated the award winners and said although the awards would contribute to their professional careers, the reputations they built as journalists would matter even more in the long term.
“People eventually come to know which reporters checked their facts, which interviewers understand their subjects and which journalists can be trusted when issues become politically sensitive,” he said.
“That reputation is built slowly, sometimes over many years, and it deserves to be protected,” Mr Nketiah added.
Professor Julius Caesar Puozo, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Sunyani Technical University, said journalism played an integral role in informing citizens, promoting accountability, creating awareness and contributing to national development.
He said those responsibilities required a strong commitment to ethics, integrity, accuracy, fairness and professionalism.
Prof Puozo called for stronger collaboration between academia and the media industry, saying universities should not operate in isolation from the professional environment.
He said journalists, editors, broadcasters, communication specialists and media organisations had valuable practical experience that could enrich teaching, mentorship, internships, research and curriculum development.
Prof Puozo also urged universities and media organisations to strengthen collaboration to equip emerging journalists with the requisite practical knowledge and professional values to advance their careers.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Benjamin Akoto
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