A social commentator, Sydney Casely-Hayford is of the view that Ghana’s media space is being adversely affected by some mediocre journalists within the space.
“The only thing holding us back is the quality of the journalist rather than the actual process of journalism and the reporting that we do. We have a lot of newspaper outlets and radio stations in the country but we have a problem.”
“Even with the big radio stations, when I listen to their reporting and some of the analysis that they do, you can see that an attempt is made to get to the bottom of issues but they don’t really delve into all the angles. So it leaves us the listeners who are a bit more dissenting asking what the point is,” he said.
Speaking on The Big Issue, Mr. Casely-Hayford maintained that more quality journalists are needed in the media terrain to boost higher standards.
Casely-Hayford made the remark when the World Press Freedom day marked on Friday was being discussed on The Big Issue on Citi TV/FM.
The social commentator who is also a member of the pressure group, Occupy Ghana said, unlike other countries, journalists in Ghana are able to perform their duties without any restriction.
“When you come to the freedom of the press in this country, I am not sure there are any state coordinated efforts to stop the press from saying what they have to say, where they can go or what they can do.”
Other voices on World Press Freedom Day
A number of people made remarks on World Freedom Day commemorated yesterday, Friday with a call on the government to ensure the security of journalists.
Others also called on media owners to pay their journalists well.
Former president John Dramani Mahama urged the government and security agencies in the country to guarantee the safety of journalists as they discharge their duties.
In a statement to mark the global celebration of Press Freedom, John Mahama urged journalists and bloggers to discuss ways of remaining relevant in the context of the 2019 theme which focuses on the contribution of journalists to the growth of democracy and holding of elections in the face of the challenge of disinformation.
Reporters Without Borders in its recent World Press Freedom Index saw Ghana losing its spot as the best-ranked country in Africa for press freedom.
Globally, the country dropped from 23 in 2018 to 27 in 2019 out of 180 countries.