Media Independence: Key To National Development

It is not by accident that the media is regarded as the fourth estate of the realm. The media plays a very important role in every democratic system. In our part of the world, it serves as the easiest channel for the citizenry to have their issues addressed by the relevant authorities. It has also helped to champion the cause of the underprivileged and minority interest. The institution is a very important link in the developmental process of any country.

Since the inception of the 1992 constitution which helped to liberalise the media environment, Ghana’s democratic governance system has been touted as one of the best in sub Saharan Africa. This achievement can be partly attributed to the role the media has played in our fourth republic. The media landscape has experienced tremendous improvement in terms of the number of media organisations operating in the country, according to the National Media Commission as at September 2015 Ghana, there were 62 TV stations and 406 radio stations registered. The country can also boast of hundreds of newspapers.

All these media organisations have provided jobs for most of the unemployed youth in the country, it has also helped to discover talents in the industry and these talents are doing very well on the world stage. Discoveries like Komla Dumor (May God keep his soul), investigative Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas , Jefferson Sackey, Mabel Aku Banasseh, Bernard Avle and a whole lot of others have so far carried out their duties in a very professional manner. They have brought some dignity and finesse to an institution that had lost it shine during the military era. This has also lead to a lot of young people opting to read journalism for their first and masters degrees.

The transition into democratic rule has also helped this important institution to provide the citizenry with information, education and entertainment. The media has been at the fore front of exposing wrong doings and corrupt acts of government officials and unpatriotic public servants. It has done a lot to demand accountability from public office holders, the ability of the media to expose some of the major wrong doing of some of our public officials has made it a key ally in the fight against corruption. Alleged acts of corruption which would not have seen the light of day are now on the lips of citizens; all this has been made possible through the hard work of some media organisations and patriotic citizens.

The media has come very far under the current democratic dispensation. The inability of the Ghana Journalist Association to regulate the activities of journalist, poor remuneration, lack of training and tools for journalist to use in the performance of their duties are some of the few challenges facing the institution. Despite the challenges faced by the industry, it still strives to ensure that Ghanaians get informed about developments in the country and the world over.

Recent developments regarding the work of some media organisations should be a cause of worry to every concerned Ghanaian. Last year, the vice chairman of the New Patriotic Party accused some media houses of allegedly benefitting from government largesse with the sole aim of destroying the major opposition party in Ghana. The allegation from the top most member of the largest opposition party is something that every lover of democracy must seek to interrogate and help establish the truth in that allegation. This is so because the chairman is not only a political figure but also has a stake in one of the leading private media organisation in this country.

The vice chairman is not the only person who has complained about the current developments in the media landscape, top politicians, the clergy and other leading personalities and institutions have on one occasion or the other used various platforms to advise the media to ensure that they carry out their duties devoid of bias.

The advent of technology has brought about tremendous improvement in the way most of our journalist carry out their activities. Through the magic of technology, the citizenry are able to access news instaneously. Social media is now a very useful avenue for breaking news and other important information. Social media as an avenue for news and other information has also contributed to the falling journalistic standards in the country. It has produced a number of citizen journalists who have failed to observe the basic ethics of journalism. People use the avenue to peddle untruth and malign others all in the name of exercising their democratic right and breaking the news. Most people fail to check, crosscheck and check their stories before breaking them.

The liberalisation of the media landscape provided a lot of opportunities for individuals to invest in the media. Most investors realised the potential of the industry and since 1992, there has been a significant investment in that sector. It has provided an avenue for competition and alternatives. Thankfully, Ghanaians now do not rely on the state owned media to access information but have a plethora of avenues to choose from. The challenge with this development is that politicians have also taken advantage of the situation and have established media organisations where they use their agents or journalist working for them to champion their cause and set the agenda for listeners. Some of these stations have become mouth piece of political parties and their only interest is to push a political agenda and not the national agenda.

Sensationalism and the publication of half truths is the hallmark of some media houses in Ghana. News reportage and discussions on issues of national interest in some of the electronic and print media is nothing to write home about. Some media organisations have refused to abide by basic journalistic tenets and practice, objectivity, fairness, the right to a rejoinder by aggrieved persons, protection of minors and vulnerable persons are no more observed. They are more interested in making profits out of their unprofessional conducts than observing the best practices in the industry. These developments are a blot on the achievements of the media in our current democratic dispensation.

The media industry has come of age, it has helped to shape our governance process, as a medium that serves as a link between the citizenry and the three arms of government, it is incumbent on media houses to invest in their employees, pay them good salaries and recruit qualified personnel.

The media’s role in our democracy is to ensure fairness, balance and objective reportage on issues of national importance. It is also their responsibility to set agendas which are of national interest. The media should be able to interrogate the system, ask critical questions and help build a very prosperous nation by contributing positively to the national agenda.

The late Komla Dumor, Anas Aremayaw Anas and a few of our current crop of journalist continue to ensure that they do all in their capacity to promote high journalistic standards in the country but the few unrepentant ones in the system continue to erode the gains made by these patriotic men and women whose motivation is to ensure that Ghanaians appreciate the issues and seek solutions to many of our challenges.

In this election year, the media should do well not to fail the citizens of this nation. They are our only hope for accountability and good governance from people in authority. They must ensure that they keep an eye on these people and play their watchdog role effectively. They also ensure that the opposition parties come out with alternatives to government programmes and policies; they must move away from the pettiness and trivial issues and interrogate the opposition as well. As a potential government in waiting, we should not wait for them to assume the reins of power before critiquing them. We need to know their take on national issues, their programmes and policies to ensure Ghanaians can confidently see then as the right alternative.

The GJA, Media Foundation for West Africa and other interested organisations should continue empowering journalist and media organisations in order for them to uphold best practices in the industry. A vibrant media organisation is a key to national development.

Mustapha Jimah
Accra
[email protected]