Media practitioners urged to uphold ethical standards
The Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Mr David
Newton, has called on media practitioners to uphold discipline and good
ethical behaviour which are the hallmark of the profession.
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He
said the dynamics of politics tended to have greater impact on the
profession, but that should not in any way compromise ethics and
professional standards.
He made the statement when speaking to
the Daily Graphic during the Student Chapter Conference organised by
the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) Ghana in Accra.
The
2nd conference, dubbed: “Bridging the gap between Theory and Practical”
,was aimed at encouraging students to interact with seasoned
practitioners to forge closer relationships and promote networking
amongst the students and practitioners.
Mr Newton said the
current pluralism on the media landscape needed to be monitored and
evaluated occasionally to ensure that practitioners adhered to
professional standards, while those contravening the ethical standards
were sanctioned.
He said some media houses had deviated from
their traditional roles of educating, informing and entertaining the
public and were not educating the public enough on critical issues of
national concern “as they rather seek to execute programmes that will
promote their selfish and parochial interest”.
He said there
was no structure in place to guide the use of Information Communication
Technology in the profession hence the need to critically examine the
relevant legal framework to provide the needed guidelines.
He
said the institution saw it necessary to bridge the gap between students
and practitioners thereby enhancing their employable skills for the job
market.
“As we are preparing students for specific
professions in the media industry, we felt that there was the need to
build a strong network between students and practitioners hence the idea
of establishing students’ chapters,” he stressed, adding, “Students are
advised to take up certain advantages by sending proposals to
organisations thereby creating a working relationship with them.”
The
Vice-President of IPR, Mr Perry Ofosu, said students must follow the
footsteps of those who were already in the profession in order to
acquire the requisite knowledge and skills in their studies.
“I
charge you students to learn hard to be professionals when you find
yourselves in the field of the practice, remembering to be bold and
assertive at all times and never compromise on the ethics of our
profession,” he said.
He said the practice had gained
considerable acceptability that needed to be given the serious attention
by limiting the tendencies of people reducing the credibility of the
profession.
Mr Ofosu added that management of IPR was in the process of making available senior practitioners to mentor students with the aim of ensuring that the profession grew and became attractive to others.
Story: Jennifer Ansah
