Concentrate On The Weightier Matters, GJA

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) yesterday condemned the April fool pranks put up by some media houses on Friday in a news release – a boring routine that has hallmarked its operations over the years. To some of us who have never been impressed with the GJA for its failure to strike when it matters most, such condemnation, coming three days after April 1, was a waste of time.

A colleague died in a grisly highway slaughter last year and we have not heard any conclusion as to what really happened. But why are we surprised? The GJA president himself, days after that heart-wrenching incident, put the words of a politician who was not on the bus above the account of a journalist-turned-victim who was battling for survival at the hospital.

A serious association would have demanded a full scale probe – with its member represented on that committee – and updated us regularly till a logical conclusion is reached. But, shamefully, the GJA only issued a statement – a recurring decimal in its modus operandi. When the wife of the late colleague complained that she had still not heard anything about what actually caused the accident days after her husband’s funeral, it dawned on me that I had taken the best decision not to have anything to do with the GJA as a Journalist.

But the riddle is not ended yet. The state funeral held for the late Journalist passed without a tribute being read by members of the presidential press corps of which he was a member. The group’s tribute was in the funeral programme booklet but they were not allowed to read it although an executive of the GJA moderated the event. Last year was, doubtless, Journalism in Ghana’s annus horribilis.

The President, touted as a communicator and media-friendly personality, has still not said a word about the unfortunate incident. Not even a statement to Ghanaians that a full scale investigation will be launched into the matter. That is yet another miserable insertion in the chronicles of journalism practice in Ghana. When joy fm decided to dig into the crux of the matter with a documentary in the heat of the shocking incident, some members of the presidential press corps declined to comment. When journalists in a democratic dispensation fear to speak their mind, it speaks volumes of the brand of democracy being practised.

In 2007, Samuel Enin, the Ashanti regional chair of the GJA was murdered to the shock of the fraternity. The GJA as usual only issued a statement condemning the incident without demanding justice to be served. Till today, we don’t know who killed him and for what reason(s). Journalists have been assaulted by politicians, security officers and other public office holders in the line of duty, but the recurring decimal from the GJA is a news release, that is if they find it relevant.

At this year’s colourful independence parade which gave Ghana a new President – Uhuru Kenyatta – Photojournalists were packed into the bucket of a tipper truck like hopeless hardened criminals on their way to face the fury of a no-nonsense judge. The GJA condemned the incident, describing it as; “not only most demeaning but crude”. I found it interesting!

The statement continued; “the rough arrangement was carried out in the full glare of our foreign guests, smacking a lack of respect for local media personnel. It also portrayed a continuous lack of concern for the safety and security of media personnel in the line of duty”. The elders say, he who wears rags does not engage in rough play.

The GJA condemned organisers of the independence parade for demonstrating “continuous lack of concern for the safety and security of media personnel in the line of duty”, when it has become a monument of same. Journalists work in terrible conditions, abused and despised by newsmakers who see media personnel as nothing short of hungry school dropouts who feed off the cramps on their tables and the GJA loses its voice at such crucial times. What moral right does the GJA have to question the actions of an abuser when it has continuously neglected the abused that look up it? Offering yourself as a measure of righteousness when you are no saint exposes you to downright ridicule, the sages opine.

So how do we describe an association that fails to protect its members in the face of life-threatening attacks and even death? Fill in the blank space. A staff of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was assaulted by a staff of the Office of the President. It presented a litmus test for Affail Monney, the GJA president, who is a senior staff of GBC to demand justice on behalf of his staff to demonstrate to the fraternity that he has balls. But alas, his silence over such disturbing incidents –as usual - became noisier.

The GJA, in my opinion, needs to be re-christened, “Ghana News Release and Awards Association”, to reflect its operational interest. But wait a minute, even with the annual awards ritual, the accusations that trail the list of winners can only be better treated under a different topic.

Journalism in Ghana is purely one of survival of the fittest, an-each-one-for -himself affair. That is why some journalists are now “verbal assassins” for their political paymasters and greedy moneybag business folks. Until a new association of journalists emerges to serve the overall interest of practitioners, newsmakers will continue the contemptible treatment with impunity.