GJA asks journalists to develop their skills

The Western Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr. George A. Naykene, has appealed to journalists to continually develop their skills to make them competitive.

He said they should respect the rights of others, promote the rights of marginalized groups and offer selfless sacrifices in their daily activities.

Mr Naykene said this at an outreach programme organized by the association to mark World Press Freedom Day at Tarkwa on Thursday.
He said the outreach programme was aimed at attracting more journalists into the GJA and to also foster close relationship among members of the association in the districts.

It was on the theme "50 years of Public Service Broadcasting and Governance; the challenges.”

Mr. Naykene said the media landscape was becoming dynamic and the demand by society on journalists to set high standards was increasing daily.

"It will be suicidal for journalists to ignore the ethics of the profession and also abuse laid down democratic procedures."

He advised young journalists to continually learn from their seniors and be ready to undertake any assignments for their own development.

Mr. Sam Mark Essien, the Regional Secretary, appealed to owners and managers of media institutions to encourage their staff to affiliate with associations that would assist them to improve their output.

He said public service broadcasting had become so relaxed that many owners and managers were willing to recruit but fail to upgrade the competencies of their staff.

Mr. Essien advised all journalists not to misinform the public but should balance truth with fairness and be objective and accurate in their reportage.

Mr. Clement Adzei-Boye of the Ghanaian Times said journalism was a craft that must be developed consistently and urged all young journalists not to be satisfied with their present status but work hard and improve on their knowledge.

Source: GNA