Rescuing journalism from the gutters

When in 1857 the Bannerman brothers with a vision and an abiding faith in themselves gave birth to a handwritten newspaper, the Accra Herald, in Ghana then Gold Coast the timing was perfect.

The period was the beginning of attempt to sow the seed of wicked oppressor colonial rule in our dear motherland. There was, therefore, the urgent need to put in place message delivering service to mobilise the people to become aware of the dreadful dream of the deadly oppressor for them to fight for self-rule now.

And today we are where we are because we stood on the shoulders of journalists who upheld the principles of journalism. For journalism today to be valued and respected by all the only way out is for its riders to strictly abide by its principles.

Principles can mean a basic truth, or a law or doctrine used as a basis for others or a moral code of conduct. These definitions are clear, easy to understand and indeed give meaning to the fact that the foundation of every true profession is its principles.

Presenting news and information to Ghana­ians, seeking only the truth, is an exciting and challenging lifework worthy of the best of jour­nalists. It is, therefore, of ultimate importance for riders of the media to always act in line with some noted principles. Journalists are supposed to have regard for the interest of the people, regard for truth and accuracy, regard for privacy and resist the temptation to accept favours.

There is no doubt that Ghanaian journalists are aware of these principles that have been out­lined. If this judgement is true then the question to be asked is: why are we not abiding by them? Why are we making complete nonsense of these principles? The answers are simple: We still see journalism as a game and there is also the extremely low income journalists receive in this country for the valuable work they do.

As a game, it is the result that matter. There­fore, one can consult juju men, influence referees, dope the players and even like Mike Tyson, bite the ear of one's opponent. Once one gets the best result, the supporters are happy. It must be noted by all that today, Journalism has also joined the· other noble professions such as Law and Medi­cine. A profession is an occupation with a num­ber of well-defined characteristics.

It has a set of operational principles and prac­tices that can be handed from one worker to another; it operates with a precise and growing body of knowledge; it has its base in general cul­ture; it possesses a code of ethical conduct; its practitioners are motivated by a concern for pub­lic welfare. Journalism in Ghana happily fulfills these conditions so well.

In Ghana if you earn less than thousand Ghana cedis a month then you are not living well. We all know this as a fact. If a journalist earns about two hundred Ghana cedis a month, for him or her to survive the harsh economic realities of the country, he or she will be tempted to shut his or her eyes on the principles of the profession.

Indeed the Ghanaian journalists have become mere spectators watching other people enjoy all that is best in the country. They have been rele­gated to the back seat of the social bus.

The reality of the situation is that our media houses do not mobilise sufficient money for them to create better conditions of service for the jour­nalists they employ. This is because investment made by organisations in advertising in the coun­try is low to go round all the media houses. Only a few get a share of the advertising money.

It must be noted that if there is anyone pro­fession that has contributed so much to the growth and sustenance of our multi-party democ­racy that we cherish today, that profession is jour­nalism. Only a few people will gather the courage to argue against this.

Therefore, unlike teachers, the journalist reward cannot be waiting in heaven. We have to take it here on earth. So that those whose sins will over flow the bucket and therefore will be dis­qualified from entering heaven will not feel cheated for the work they have done to grow their society.

One simple solution, to reward the Ghanaian journalist, is to encourage some media owners to go into merger with some other media houses to become stronger and more competitive to attract good share of the advertising money. The fear of partnership in Ghanaians is one of the factors that is killing a good number of our organisations.

As of September 2006, Ghana had 450 news­papers and magazines, 128 radio stations and 27 television stations authorised by National Com­munication Authority to operate. If some of them do not see the sense and act fast to merge, very soon they cannot stand the heat any longer.

What we need in the country is not just quan­tity but quality media houses upholding the prin­ciples of journalism and projecting a good image of the profession for it to be respected by all as the most prestigious profession on earth. Journal­ism deserves to be placed at its proper place in this country because it is a sacred profession that grows people and society.

It should be planted firmly in the heads and hearts of journalists in the country that it is their duty to protect the image of their profession and they can only do this by religiously upholding the principles of the profession.

If this is difficult for anyone to do, then he or she has no business staying in the profession only to give it a bad name and hang it. Anyone who loves his profession will do everything humanly possible to hold it to its highest standards.

We are journalists and that is indeed a proud boast. It is a great privilege to be a journalist. We must, therefore, meet our responsibilities by upholding the principles of journalism. There is an old Chinese saying that each generation builds a road for the next. The road bas been well built for us, and it is incumbent upon us, in our gener­ation, to build our road for the next generation. We dare not fail. Journalism is the light of the life of a society. Without it nothing is left, only dark­ness.

President Kwame Nkrumah, who published newspapers and used them to agitate for self rule, said, "Mass Media cannot flourish until mass lit­eracy and a new level of mass education have been achieved; but mass education programmes need the media for their implementation.

Economic development is necessary to pro­vide capital for the expansion of education and of the mass media; but economic development can move fast only when communications have been established and the general educational level raised. A 'new' country has to start somewhere: it seems that it must start with communications."

Credit: Ebo Afful (Daily Graphic)