Mr Affail Monney, Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) had urged journalists to place balance and fairness over speed, saying that one-sided reporting had tranquillizing effect on readers.
"One-sided reporting is irresponsible and unprofessional and creates a narcotic effect on readers," he said at a Workshop organised by Newmont Ghana Limited to educate journalist on the Mining and Minerals Law.
The GJA Award Committee this year raised questions, in it final report, about the quality of journalism in the country, giving credence to public concern about the bias and unfair manner in which journalist practiced their profession lately.
The quality of journalism training institutions, lack of in-house training at media houses, political and other influences on journalists, among other things, have been identified as the causes of the falling standards in the inky fraternity.
Mr Monney noted that fairness, balance and clarity of reportage were not only required basic principles in journalism, but also impacted on the journalists own integrity and credibility.
"If you don't have the other side of the story hold it until you do," he said.
He noted that a good story was one that had more than one source speaking to different sides to give the reader a holistic picture of the matter under discussion.
Mr Monney said the practice where journalist published stories on grounds that "attempts to reach persons to give their side of the story proved futile" had been abused, adding that, it was not the best, particular when the reputation of others was on the line.
"Journalism is about the reader and if you don't have the full story for the reader then don't give them any story at all," he said.
He likened journalism to priesthood, saying that, like priests, journalist had the responsibility to go to every extent to ensure that people's reputation were not marred unless it is inevitable.
Mr Kweku Sakyi-Addo, a media practitioner, said a single sourced story was only part of the full story, saying "it cannot be the full story."
"In journalism speed kills because it can eliminate valuable sources," he said.
He observed that present day Ghanaian journalists were not able to separate facts from their own opinions, adding that most news stories lately turn to be opinionated, particularly when it involved the reputation of personalities.
"It is required of journalists to be sensitive to other people's reputation in the same way you are sensitive to your reputation," he said.
Mr Sakyi-Addo told the journalists that, whatever story they wrote, constituted their own appraisal, saying "no one will write your appraisal for you - whatever you put out in the media is your own appraisal."
He urged journalists to question their own stories and convince themselves that in five years when they picked their own stories they would be proud of it.
Mr Sakyi-Addo also told journalist to desist from going into a story with their own biases, assumptions and prejudices, saying that open mindedness was key to getting the facts as they were.
He also observed that journalists lately tend to sit in their offices and extract information from other news sources, instead of doing factual investigation, without crediting the original source.
"If what you report is based on other people's facts just say so because that is good journalism," he said.