Upper East journalists call for more professionalism

Bolgatanga, Dec 07, GNA - Journalists in the Upper East Region at the week-end called on media practitioners to adhere strictly to the ethics of the profession and accept their responsibility under constitutional rule to use their power constructively.

" While remaining impartial and thorough in our investigations we should be circumspect in stories affecting the privacy of individuals and should further respect the provision of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Code of Ethics," they said.

The journalists made the call in a communiqu=E9 issued at the end of a one-day workshop on "The Challenges of the Media in the Promotion of Human Rights/Democratic Governance: Reflections on the Report of the National Reconciliation Commission" held in Bolgatanga.

The communiqu=E9 called on media practitioners to be non-partisan in their professional work and to vigorously pursue human rights education even as they condemn all forms of human rights abuses in society.

It appealed to media practitioners to be less emotional in their coverage of issues of national importance and asked editors to take their gate-keeping role seriously.

Media houses should also comply with the constitutional requirement on the publication of rejoinders. It urged journalists to pursue the anti-corruption agenda and be balanced in their reportage of government activities.