MEDIA MUST NOT AS AGENTS FOR POLITICIANS (PAGE 15)

A VETERAN journalist, Mr Alhassan Imoru, has cautioned media practitioners against the habit of parading themselves as “public relations agents and propagandists” for politicians and political parties in the country.
“Our role as media practitioners must remain one of making every actor on the political landscape accountable to the people; in fact the media should be the voice for the voiceless and we must listen to the citizens at all times,” Mr Imoru stressed.
He gave the warning at a two-day capacity building workshop to ensure free and fair elections in the December polls in Tamale.
Forty-five participants made up of journalists and staff of the Information Services Department attended the workshop.
The topics discussed were “Election and Conflict”, “Overview of Conflicts in Northern Ghana”, “The role of the media in marketing of politics” and “Ensuring Free and Fair Elections”.
The workshop was organised by the Shay-Mah Media Consult and sponsored by the German Development Service (DED).
Mr Imoru, who is also the Media Director of Rural Media Network (RUMNET), a non-governmental organisation operating in the Northern Region, pointed out that the media could be the voice of the people without necessarily “becoming sectional and partisan in pursuance of what is believed to be social justice and progress”.
“We must be circumspect in our reportage and exercise a high sense of responsibility whenever reporting rallies and campaigns likely to involve personal attacks or use of abusive language against other candidates and politicians,” he emphasised.
He reminded media practitioners to ensure that electoral coverage was comprehensive and fair to all with information gathered presented as “objectively and impartially as possible”.
“From now until the election day on December 7, 2008, the media should emphasise citizen-based election coverage; by this I mean our coverage should report on the realities of daily life, rather than an agenda set by political parties,” Mr Imoru stated.
The General Manager of Diamond FM, a Tamale-based radio station, Mr Edward Ameyibor, entreated the media to concentrate on real issues like poverty, health, education and security of individuals.
“The media must take up the challenge to make the people vote so that we have a government that is truly representative of the people,” Mr Ameyibor noted.
A media consultant based in Tamale, Mr Mahama Sayibu, urged the media not to encourage issues that divide the people but should rather inform the electorate on the election process including programmes and policies of political parties and their respective candidates.