Professor Karikari made the call at a Media Development Forum, attended by managers of radio stations in the Eastern and Volta regions in Ho on Saturday, on the theme: “The responsibility of the broadcaster in promoting free speech in a democracy.” The forum was under the auspices of the foundation’s Ghana Media Standards Improvement Project (GMSIP), which was funded by the Royal Danish Embassy in Accra.

 Prof. Karikari noted that since the inception of the Fourth Republic, all governments had supported engagements on issues related to media legislations.  He observed that the nation’s constitution imposed a huge watchdog role on the media, which could only be accomplished by highly professional media people. He said if a thief would have no moral basis to catch a thief, then it would be difficult to fathom how a journalist who took bribes would be holding other players in governance accountable.

Prof. Karikari said radio stations must be seen to be voices of their own, not megaphones of any political party, adding that Ghana’s democracy could be endangered if society came to regard the media as pliable. He said radio stations and other media houses must reflect the national agenda, such as the mobilisation of society for the attainment of health programmes.

Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, GMSIP Co-ordinator said the project, meant to develop a culture of investigative and analytical journalism in Ghana, was launched nearly a year ago by the MFWA in collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association.  She said eight rural radio stations and four newspapers would be selected for training programmes to improve standards.

Ms Ajoa-Yeboah-Afari said the Media Development Forums were platforms for media self-examination as well as the exchange of ideas with the public to advance the profession.  She said the objective was to strengthen the capacity of the Ghanaian media to sustain democracy and advance freedom of expression. Colonel Cyril Necku, (Rtd) Deputy Volta Regional Minister said the media should be accessible to “as wide a segment of society as possible”.

He observed that the lack of “knowledge about governance and development issues seriously hamper the watchdog role of the media.”  On Friday, the GMSIP brought managers of campus and other institutional radio stations to a roundtable on how to develop the media landscape in the country.

GNA

 The statement of claim said on November 23, 2009, Mr Ameyibor who is a Chief Reporter with the GNA covered the launch of a Handbook on Tourism in Ghana in Accra. During the programme, the then Majority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin who was a Special Guest of Honour, complained about the poor services at the centre and the bad work ethics of the waiters.

 The Plaintiff said at about 1700 hours that day, he submitted the story to the sub-editors, who agreed that he should contact the Defendant for his reaction to the comments made by Mr Bagbin.  He said he obtained the Defendants number from a friend and despite several attempts to get him on the phone, he failed to answer the call.

Mr Ameyibor called the friend from whom he got the number of the Defendant and requested him to give his name and mobile number to him for his reaction.  He said his friend called back to say that the Defendant refused to make the call and rather sent a threat to deal with the Plaintiff if he published any Story about the centre.

In the Monday 30, 2009 edition of the Chronicle newspaper, the Defendant caused the publication of a story saying the Plaintiff was demanding GHc 5,000 cedis from him, to kill what he called “a negative story.”  The Defendant was quoted as saying: “What is the code of ethics including checks and balances in the Ghana News Agency that would prevent their staff to demanding ransom or alternatively paste a one-sided investment- damaging view of one person on Ghana web?”  The statement of claim said the defamatory words were the subject of newspaper reviews on radio stations.

 The Plaintiff said the publication was calculated to ridicule, belittle and bring his reputation into disrepute.  ”By reason of the said publication, the Plaintiff has severely been damaged  in his character and reputation and he has suffered considerable distress.”  Mr Ameyibor said at no point in time did he speak to the Defendant or any member of staff of the Holy Trinity Medical Centre as alleged in the advertiser’s announcement of Monday 30, 2009.

 The Plaintiff is therefore seeking general aggravated and exemplary damages for libel; an order restraining the Defendant from publishing similar or other materials or statements defamatory to him; further or other relieves and costs.
GNA

 The arrangement follows the success of the consortium in securing television rights for the coverage of the event, which is the biggest sporting festival on the globe.  The deal is the second to be formed by the three television stations under the umbrella of Optimum Medium Prime (OMP) Marketing Syndicate for sports event after a similar collaboration last year for four major sporting vents.  It also includes; radio rights and outdoor and public exhibition of the World Cup matches.

Soccer fans will have the opportunity to watch all the 64 matches, with 56 of them being shown live, eight delayed and 30 of the matches repeated. Fadi Fatal, Chief Executive Officer of OMP said his outfit will use its experience and expertise in the first deal to improve upon the 2010 consortium.  This, he said is to ensure that the needed revenue is raised for the consortium to meet its target.

Fatal indicated that the consortium will also beam live, the FIFA Women’s Under-17 and 20 World Cups to be staged in Trinidad and Tobago and Germany respectively. Reuben Nii Nortey Dua, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports who launched the consortium in Accra on Tuesday commended the three stations for the initiative noting that it will afford millions of Ghanaians the opportunity to be part of the event.
  He said it will also create the needed awareness and enthusiasm on the event and serve as a source of motivation for the Black Stars to go for the ultimate.
GNA

He was interacting with a section of journalists in Kumasi to solicit their support in the implementation of an ambitious community policing initiative launched by the Regional Police Command.  DCOP Timbilla said the initiative, which aimed at preventing crime in communities, needed the active involvement and support of community members to succeed.

 The media, therefore, has an integral role in the sensitization exercise to ensure its success.  He said the provision of complete, relevant and reliable information by the public to aid in investigations remained a serious challenge to the Police.  While most victims find it difficult to describe crime situations and objects used in criminal activities others are unable to narrate accurately the exact circumstances that led to the crime and this hamper investigations. 

Mr Timbilla said it was, therefore, important to educate the public to critically observe their environment, report and give accurate information on people, who they suspect to be about to commit crime to the Police.  He said preventive policing demanded sensitizing community members to be become more alert and security conscious.

Mr Timbilla said under the initiative, the Police would be interacting with the banks and other financial institutions, district assemblies, educational institutions, traditional authorities, transport unions and other identifiable bodies in the Region.  He said effective education of these groups of people was critical if criminal activities were to be prevented.

GNA

He said it was their responsibility to improve on their performance and live up to public expectation, because the growing public perception in recent times of un-professionalism and corruption in the Ghanaian media had left much to be desired.  ”We in the media must do all we can to erase this negative perception and overcome the challenges that confront us,” he said.

 Mr Monney made the call at the opening session of a three-day training workshop under the theme: “Improving Ethics and Professional Standards in Journalism” in Accra.  About 30 media practitioners are attending the workshop being organised by the GJA and sponsored by the West Africa Journalists Association (WAJA) under its Capacity Building Project (CBP).

  Topics to be treated would include Newsroom management, Ethics in Journalism, the Journalits/Media versus the Law and media Ethics and Professionalism for the Enhancement of Democracy. 

Mr Monney was hopeful that the workshop, other actions and activities that had been planned would provide media practitioners time for sober reflections so that collectively as professionals re-affirm their commitment to the ethics of the profession.  ”It is the only way we can re-assure the public of our determination to play our watchdog role in the society without fear or favour” he added.

Mr Monney said media practitioners should ensure accuracy, balance and fairness in their work and provide comprehensive information to enable the citizenry make informed choice and decisions. He said the workshop would help create awareness on the need for media practitioners to strive without compromise and any inducement to improve on ethics and  professionalism.  Mr Maigari Chamsou, a representative of WAJA-Capacity Building Project (WAJA-CBP) said since its inception in 2007, it had organised workshops to train 480 journalists on ethics and basic journalism skills.

In addition, it had organised six regional training workshop on elections coverage, investigative journalism in extractive industries area, journalism and human rights protection and collective bargaining agreement.  Mr Maigari said under the project manuals and reporter’s guides had been printed for the coverage of elections, extractive industries activities, judicial news and WAJA Code of Ethics in three languages English, French, and Portuguese.

 He said WAJA-CBP which started its activities in 2007 had three main components training, defence of press freedom, publication and dissemination of information.  Mr Maigari said WAJA-CBP was being assisted by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) to reinforce professional capacities of the media to promote democracy, ensure participatory governance and transparency in ECOWAS member states.  He announced that a WAJA-CBP safe house located in Bamako had been a haven for journalists in distress from Niger, Guinea and Gambia.

Mr Edward Ameyibor, a Media Consultant, said the freedom and independence of the media was paramount to the building of democracy in Ghana.  He said during the struggle some people shed their blood and others were imprisoned therefore their efforts must be cherished with improvement in the performance of the media.

Mr. Ameyibor pointed out that the new democratic dispensation in Ghana demanded that the interest of the people should be projected and that could be done through the media which should be responsible and set the standards.  He called for collaboration with other media associations to preserve their freedom and independence.  Mr Ameyibor was hopeful that WAJA would lead the way to champion the cause of freedom and independence of the media within the West African sub-region.

GNA

This was after the court had found him liable in a contempt application brought against him following a series of publications about Akwasi Osei-Adjei, former Foreign Affairs Minister and Mr Dan Gyimah, former Managing Director of the National Investment Bank, for various alleged roles they played in the importation of 300,000 bags of rice into the country.

 In the publications Archer had described Osei-Adjei as “rice master,” and contended further that the former Minister had made secret moves to
bribe witnesses who had appeared before the court.  The court presided over by Mr Justice Bright Mensah handing the sentence admonished Archer with a bible quotation Proverbs 28:13 which reads: “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from
them, they will receive mercy.”

The court said it had taken into consideration submissions of both counsels and accepted his apology.  Admonishing Archer to be of good behaviour, the court entreated him also not to repeat his actions. He should also inform his friends not to repeat his actions.  The trial judge said he would “not condone any actions that would put the nation in flames.”  Archer’s counsel, Mr Tony Lithur, earlier informed the court that they had complied with the orders of the court by rendering an apology to the court through the registrar.

According to him, they had also given a copy of the apology letter to  Osei-Adjei and published a retraction and an apology on the front page of
the Enquirer.  Offering a copy of the newspaper to the court, Mr Lithur asked the court to tamper justice with mercy and caution and discharge Archer. Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, Osei-Adjei’s lawyer, prayed the court to be guided by the rules of the contempt saying Archer was not a first offender.

According to him, five years ago, Archer was convicted but he had not repented adding he was a habitual contemnor. “In the first case he was fined but that did not deter him and he continued to publish defamatory articles. To serve as deterrent, the court should give him a lenient custodial sentence or a substantial fine,” he said. He drew the court’s attention of what his client had gone through in trying to serve him with the court processes and prayed the court to award a punitive cost.

Sympathizers who thronged the court nearly caused commotion as they chauffeured Archer to the court’s registry to pay his fine.  Some of them, however, vented their anger on Mr Abraham Quartey, a security man who prevented them from entering the court with drums.  Mr Quartey had told them that they were not supposed to beat the drum on the premises.  Mr Wellington Lamptey, Head of Security at the Fast Track High Court
premises, told journalists that Mr Quartey’s shirt was torn following his struggle with the sympathizers.

GNA

 ”Our attitude to each other especially those we perceive as political enemies stinks, to say the least, and the exceedingly bad political odour is reflected in the emotional overdrive with which issues are discussed and comments made on the airwaves and in the private newspapers,” he said. Mr. Monney gave this advice when he launched the 2010 Students Representative Council Week celebration of the Valley View University Students Association (VAVIUSA) on Tuesday.

The celebration, which ends on February 21, is on the theme: “Deepening Democracy in Ghana: The Way Forward and Role of the Tertiary Student.” He called for the elimination of deep seated hatred exhibited by representatives of different sides of the political divide and even those who wear the same political colours.  ”It is obvious that the red hot anger, the blood thirsty instinct, the combative posture and the high voltage tensions that characterized election 2008 had their roots in political intolerance.

 ”Education, they say is a process and not a place so political parties should make the gospel of peaceful co-existence a regular feature and not only in an election year.”  Mr Monney advised the media to weigh the full implications of the information disseminated in order not to inflame passions and lead media consumers into political temptation.  He called for the strengthening of governance institutions such as Parliament in order to serve as a check on the over-bearing influence of the Executive.

Mr. Monney noted that deepening democracy in Ghana had imposed enormous obligations on the citizenry, especially students, to build their capacity and address the serious leadership deficit in society.  ”Tertiary institutions can be described as mental factories for the production of strategic minds as well as self-confident, visionary, strong-willed, risk taking and goal-oriented leaders.

Mr. Wonder Madilo, President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), urged government to institute measures in order to address the problem of school drop-outs and protect the lives of the country’s future leaders.  He called for an independent investigation into the food poisoning incident at Archbishop Porter Girls School.

Mr Emmanuel Tawiah Tetteh, President of VAVIUSA, advised students to promote grassroots participation in the country’s democratic dispensation instead of relying on politicians to lead them.  Dr. Daniel Ganu, Vice President of Valley View University incharge of Academic Administration, said the institution equipped students with holistic education in order to prepare them for the challenges in life.  Activities lined up for the celebration include a sports fiesta, drama, educational fair, bible quiz, eye screening, seminar, food and banking fair, social trip, and gospel musical night.  Valley View University was established in 1979 by the West African Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists (now Ghana Union Conference).

In 1997 it was absorbed into the Adventist University system operated by the Africa-Indian Ocean Division (WAD) of Seventh-day Adventist with headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The Ghana Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, organized in 2000, serves as the local manager of the University. 

The University was initially called the Adventist Missionary College, and was located at Bekwai-Ashanti. It was transferred to Adentan, near Accra, in 1983 where it operated in rented facilities until it was relocated to its present site near Oyibi (Mile 19 on the Accra-Dodowa Road) in 1989 and was renamed Valley View College.

  The National Accreditation Board (Ghana) granted it national accreditation in 1995, thus allowing the university to award her own degrees. Valley View University was the first private institution in Ghana to be granted national accreditation.

GNA

Prof. Fiadjoe made the call at the commission’s maiden encounter with the media in Accra.  He appealed to the media to allocate special airtime and space in their publications to reportage on the review process.  The nine-member commission was established by President John Atta Mills to ascertain public view on the strengths and weaknesses of the 1992 Constitution, articulate concerns of the people of Ghana on amendments that may be required and make recommendations to government for consideration.  They are also to provide a draft bill for possible amendment to the constitution.

 Prof. Fiadjoe said the commission had a target to complete the process a year ahead of Election 2012 and was confident that with the help of the media in collating public views they would achieve their target.  He said so far the commission had identified 39 main issues for consideration during the review process, about 25 private submissions had been received and processed but some of the issues were outside the identified areas.  ”Submissions have been received from within and outside the country,” he said.

Prof. Fiadjoe noted that currently, the commission had only one permanent staff, the Executive Secretary, and volunteers who help in receiving submissions from the public. He said the process was estimated to cost 2.7 million dollars but as at now the commission was constrained and had been raising funds from three main sources – government, development partners and the private sector to undertake its work.  ”The funds have not arrived yet but we have begun the process to get it so we can have extra permanent staff at the secretariat to work more effectively,” he said.
  

Prof. Fiadjoe said in the meantime the commission’s team of research volunteers had been receiving written and verbal submissions as well as by email through atuguba@yahoo.com.  ”We are also setting up a website to make submission easier for the public,” he added.  Chairman of the Commission urged organized groups like religious bodies, political parties and civil society organizations to collate the views of their members and submit them in bulk.  He said the commission would also be using the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies and the traditional councils as avenues for submissions and consultation.

Prof. Fiadjoe said there were plans to hold consultations with specialized groups including gender, youth, political, industry, professional bodies and associations across country. He noted that the possible outcome of the review process could be an amendment to or a repeal of portions of the constitution, retaining of the constitution as it is, retaining the constitutions with the institution of some corrective administrative actions only or retaining and further developing portions of the constitution.

Prof. Fiadjoe however, noted that an amendment of the constitution could only be undertaken by a two-thirds majority in Parliament and not by the commission. He said with regard to the entrenched provisions of the constitution, it would take a referendum of the people of Ghana to touch them. Prof. Fiadjoe assured the public that the commission was an independent body and did not represent any particular interest group therefore; their operations would be open, impartial and transparent to afford all Ghanaians at home and abroad the opportunity to contribute.

GNA

A statement signed by Mr Ransford Tetteh, President of GJA, said the complaint the GJA had received from its Brong-Ahafo Regional Branch alleged assault on some of its members during the event. “We believe the 1992 Constitution provides a reliable framework to deal with breaches by the media.  The attack on the media can therefore not be justifiable,” the statement said.

It noted that the attack was an indication that there were still people who were highly intolerant of the media and ready to take the law into their own hands in resolving their differences with the media. “This does not augur well for our democracy and the security apparatus must act swiftly to avoid any further occurrence of such incidents,” the GJA said.

It asked the leadership of the Regional Coordinating Council as event organizers to also conduct their own investigations into the matter and bring to book officials that might be guilty of misconduct. ”The (GJA) National Executive will closely monitor developments in the coming days to decide on further steps necessary,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, members of the Brong-Ahafo Regional branch of the GJA have resolved to boycott all official functions of the Regional Co-ordinating Council and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) until further notice. The association said it would reverse its decision if the culprits in last Saturday’s physical attack on journalists were arrested and brought to book.

A number of reporters were allegedly beaten up by some NDC members and supporters at the B/A@50 awards ceremony in Sunyani during which the ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings were the guests of honour. The association condemned the attack, saying it was unwarranted and should be condemned by all right-thinking Ghanaians.

It said the assault on Mr. Motey of the Ghanaian Times, Mr. Moses of TV Africa, Mr. Dennis Peprah of the Ghana News Agency, Mr. Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah of Daily Graphic and Michael Boateng of the Chronicle was unwarranted and should be condemned. The statement said the attackers snatched two mobile phones and a wrist watch from Mr. Ampratwum-Mensah and Mr. Moses, whilst the wallet of Mr. Peprah, his reporter’s notebook and that of Mr. Motey were also forcefully taken away.

 The regional association expressed regret that none of the dignitaries at the function “restrained their members as they callously beat Mr. Dennis Peprah to pulp.” The statement said the irate mob smashed the side screen of a taxi cab that wanted to whisk Mr. Peprah away.

GNA