Pay journalists well — Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso

A non-partisan, research-focused and solution-oriented think tank, Frimpong-Manso Institute (FMI), has called on the government and private employers to urgently upgrade the salaries and working conditions of journalists.

That, it said, would be the best form of appreciating the inestimable sacrifices of journalists. In a statement signed by the President of FMI, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso and released to the Daily Graphic in Accra to mark World Press Freedom Day, the FMI said, " While motivating journalists on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day to scale up professional standards and contributions to democratic good governance, FMI regrets that journalists are the least paid as compared to other branches such as the executive, the legislature and the judiciary."

Unperpaid

It said despite the endless working hours and the enormous risks journalists faced constantly, many journalists earned below the minimum wage. The statement, however, said the FMI was proud of the fearless, resilient and robust streak of Ghanaian journalists and saluted them most profoundly for going to great lengths to serve the public, hold duty bearers to account, expose acts of corruption and oil the wheels of democracy.

"Though journalists constitute the enviable fourth branch of the tripartite government, in some instances, the little they earn is even in arrears," the statement mentioned and said there were worse-case scenarios where a significant percentage of journalists were not paid at all.

That, the statement said, festered mediocre outputs and ethical misconduct which in turn poisoned the entire fabric of society. 
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Election 

On this year’s general election, the FMI in its statement pointed out that another crucial election beckons on December 7, this year, and called for distinctive media coverage which would promote a free, fair, transparent and peaceful conduct of the polls.

The statement, therefore, urged the media to empower voters through their information dissemination to make informed choices of men and women of substance and integrity whom the nation could trust to purify "Our democracy, protect the public purse and accelerate national development."