World Press Freedom Day marked in Accra
Media practitioners have been challenged to verify the authenticity of stories before publishing them.
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The Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, who gave the advice, said it was wrong and unprofessional for journalists to pick information from social media platforms and use it for news without verifying it.
He also said the media had the responsibility of providing credible information to enable people to make right decisions and choices and that must be done bearing in mind the national interest.
Flag raising ceremony
Dr Boamah was speaking at a flag-raising ceremony to mark the World Press Freedom Day in Accra yesterday.
The day is meant to celebrate the heroic work of journalists, take stock of their work and address the challenges they face in the course of exercising their right to free expression.
The event was held on the theme: “Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality and Media Safety in the Digital Age”.
It was attended by veteran journalists, managers and editors of media houses, as well as stakeholders in the communication industry.
Dr Boamah said the media industry was becoming more complex with the emergence of digital and citizen journalism.
He added that the ministry had been called upon to protect the privacy of individuals who were negatively portrayed in social media, indicating that such practices must not be sustained.
For that reason, Dr Boamah said the ministry would implement appropriate measures to promote rights and responsibilities within the cyber space in the country.
The minister commended journalists for holding the government accountable.
World Press Freedom Day
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following a recommendation by UNESCO. Since then, the anniversary is celebrated on May 3, worldwide to assess the state of press freedom accross the world and also pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
A representative of the United Nations, Mrs Cynthia Prah, noted that gender imbalance continued in the media 20 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Change, adding that only a few women journalists were able to reach decision-making positions in the media.
Media safety
Speaking to journalists later, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Affail Monney, condemned attacks on journalists, which, he said, “were attacks on free speech and press freedom”.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, urged all stakeholders to ensure that journalists practised their profession safely.