By Gifty Amofa, GNA
Accra, Sept. 16, GNA – The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) on Tuesday opened a five-day training programme for journalists on legal frameworks, media rights and redress mechanisms to promote safer journalism.
The training, organised in collaboration with DW Akademie and the European Union, brought together media professionals from the southern sector of Ghana to upgrade their capacity in understanding the potential legal consequences of their work.
Dr Kojo Impraim, Programme Director of the MFWA, who opened the training on behalf of Mr Sulemana Braimah, Executive Secretary of the MFWA, said the course was designed to equip journalists with knowledge of laws governing their work, their rights and responsibilities, and the steps to take when faced with legal threats.
He said the training would also help journalists identify stories that could attract legal risks and understand how to respond appropriately when their rights were challenged.
“Being a journalist is not only about knowing what to report on, but also understanding the law and knowing what to do when those rights are challenged,” he said.
Dr Impraim said journalists, in the course of their work, were sometimes confronted with arrests, threats, lawsuits, injunctions, cyber-related prosecutions and other forms of legal pressure.
He said the fear of such consequences could sometimes discourage them from pursuing important stories, noting that the legal environment surrounding journalism could be complex.
He, therefore, urged practitioners to understand both the stories they pursued and the potential legal consequences of their work.
Citing some of the occupational hazards journalists had faced over the years, Dr Impraim said such challenges should not instil fear in practitioners but rather encourage them to become more conversant with the law to prevent avoidable legal crises.
Participants will be taken through freedom of expression and media freedom, the rights and responsibilities of journalists, defamation, cyber laws, civil and criminal liabilities, arrest and detention, and avenues for redress when their rights are violated.
The occasion also saw the launch of a GH¢544,000 Legal Support Fund to assist journalists who face legal threats or suits in the legitimate discharge of their professional duties.
Dr Impraim said the Fund would support journalists who exercised due diligence in their work and acted in the public interest but were subsequently harassed, intimidated or threatened with legal action.
He said the Fund formed part of the African Media Integrity and Resilience Programme (AMIRP).
Ms Ama Kodjo of DW Akademie, who presented the dummy cheque, said the organisation was committed to supporting journalists to work in a safe environment.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe