Socialisation will lift up journalism - Ajoa

Accra, Oct 1, GNA - Ms. Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, a veteran journalist and one of the candidates contesting the Ghana Journalists Association presidency has identified disunity and low quality of journalism as the most crucial challenges facing the profession.

She has therefore, suggested socialisation among members and training as the only solution to uplift the image of the profession. Ms. Yeboah-Afari, addressing the Ghana News Agency chapter of the GJA on Wednesday as part of her campaign tour said: " we need to keep in touch and communicate, we need to talk about issues and share experiences".

She said the GJA currently needs an independent person who does not belong to any faction to unite the association into one big family. "We need a consensus and a healing candidate to unite the Association. And I think I am the right person for the position". Ms. Yeboah-Afari, who was shelled with questions on who is a journalist and the mode of selection for the best journalist of the year award admitted that she had proposed that the public should be given the chance to do the selection when she was the chairperson for the awards committee.

"Even though I was not here when it took off, I now feel guilty for proposing that, listening to the recent controversies surrounding the award and I think that issue should be revisited".

She proposed that all media practitioners should be brought under the umbrella Association to be guided by the regulations and principles, adding, "we should encourage the up-and-coming ones to have formal training".

Ms. Yeboah-Afari denied speculations that she was purposely brought down to contest the Editor position of the Daily Graphic and because she lost that position, the GJA presidency was to compensate her.

"Nobody brought me down, I came home because I felt I had finished with my contract abroad and I did not want to be like an orphan in somebody's land whiles I am a royal in my own home", she explained. She also suggested that the private media be supported since they served as a job opportunity for some retired journalists whose experience were enormous.

Ms Yeboah-Afari therefore, urged journalists to vote for her to continue with the good work started by her predecessors. 01 Oct. 03