JOURNALISTS TOLD TO ABIDE BY CODE OF ETHICS (PAGE 19, DEC 19)

THE President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, has called on media practitioners to abide by the code of ethics of the profession in the discharge of their duties.
He urged them to strive to be balanced, accurate, fair and objective in their reportage to enable the media to effectively contribute to the country’s democratic governance.
Speaking at a press soiree in Koforidua on Thursday, Mr Tetteh reminded the media practitioners that “it is only when we abide by the code of ethics of our profession that we can win the goodwill of the public and uphold politicians, businessmen and individuals alike accountable”.
The event, which was organised by the Mac Dic Royal Plaza Hotel in Koforidua, was attended by members of the Eastern Regional branch of the GJA.
It was aimed at creating a flexible atmosphere for members of the inky fraternity to interact with the management of the hotel.
According to Mr Tetteh, members of the public had lately had concerns to express strong reservations about the negative attitude and reportage of the media and its practitioners, a situation which he said was gradually making the media to lose the goodwill of the public.
He indicated that as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, the media reserved a great power to hold members of society including politicians, businessmen and individuals accountable for their actions and conducts.
“However, we can only be in a better position to hold these public holders and individuals accountable when we ourselves behave professionally by being accurate, balanced, fair and objective in our reportage,” said the GJA President.
He told members of the association not to cultivate the habit of destroying the hard-earned reputation of businessmen and individuals.
“Rather, we must hasten slowly to cross-check every information with our sources and endeavour to partner businessmen to develop their businesses to create wealth and jobs for the people.”
He also told media practitioners to be prepared to admit and apologise when they erred in their reportage, saying that “as human beings, we are likely to make mistakes, but when we do, let us be prepared to apologise for our wrongs and make sure that we do not repeat them,” he added.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the GJA, Mr Edmund Quaynor, appealed to members of the association to help champion the development of business entities in the region.
He, however, urged other corporate bodies to join hands with the media to ensure the socio-economic progress for their mutual benefits.
The Managing Director of Mac Dic Royal Plaza Hotel, Nana Kofi Twinin, who briefed media practitioners on the commencement, successes and challenges of the facility, indicated the readiness of his outfit to co-operate with the media to grow business in the New Juaben Municipality to create more employment for the people.
He acknowledged the power of the media in the socio-economic development of the country, adding that “we must use this power to team up with business entities to ensure their successful growth”.