By Gifty Amofa, GNA
Accra, Sept. 16, GNA – The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has launched a Legal Support Fund for Ghanaian journalists with a seed capital of GHC544,000.
The Fund is expected to support journalists and media houses facing legal threats or suits in the course of performing their duties in the public interest.
Dr Kojo Impraim, Programme Director, MFWA, who spoke on behalf of Mr Sulemana Braimah, the Executive Director of the Foundation, announced this on Monday at the opening of a five-day residential training on the legal framework governing media practice in Ghana.
The training brought together selected media personnel from across the country.
He said the Fund was established under the African Media Integrity and Resilience Programme (AMIRP), which was being implemented in Ethiopia, Ghana and the Central African Republic with funding from the European Union.
The programme is implemented in Ghana by the MFWA, in collaboration with DW Akademie Ghana through International Media Support (IMS).
Dr Impraim said AMIRP sought to strengthen the capacity of public-interest media practitioners to provide ethical and fact-based information that contributed to information integrity in the implementing countries.
He said the Fund would help promote freedom of expression, press freedom and the safety of journalists across West Africa.
Dr Impraim said the training would also help improve the quality of media and journalism education in Ghana.
Dr Daniel Kwame Ampofo Adjei, Programme Manager at the MFWA, who gave an overview of the Fund, said applicants must demonstrate that the publication or journalistic activity in question was directly connected to legitimate journalistic standards, rooted in professional practice and served the public interest.
He said applicants must also provide evidence of the legal threat, state the type of assistance required and indicate whether the matter was urgent.
Dr Adjei said upon receipt of an application, a committee would review it to determine whether it qualified for assistance before approval.
Ms Rebecca Ekpe, Vice-President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), said the Fund was timely and important, as it would enable media practitioners to work in the public interest without fear and intimidation.
Ms Ama Kodjo, Programme Director, DW Akademie Ghana, who presented the dummy cheque, said the organisation was committed to supporting journalists to work in a safe environment.
Mr Abdulai Awudu, President of the Independent Broadcasting Association, said legal suits were putting pressure on members and becoming a major risk to their businesses, with the potential to collapsing some stations.
He advised members to avoid legal suits where possible, saying continuous litigation could force news programmes to be reduced to entertainment.
He called for the development and enforcement of editorial policies to guide newsroom activities and help prevent avoidable legal suits.
Mr George Wilson Turkson, the Executive Secretary of the Private Newspapers and Online Publishers, expressed the hope that the Fund would be simple, transparent and accessible to all eligible beneficiaries.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe