The Editor-in-Chief of the “Daily Dispatch”, Mr. Ben Ephson, has said that despite some ugly practices, the media had been able to discharge its responsibilities creditably under the fourth republic.
Speaking at a public lecture on the topic: “The Media in the Fourth Republic: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, Mr Epson said journalists were not perfect and had sometimes made mistakes in the exercise of their duties.
Some of these shortcomings include infringement on people’s rights and the abuse of media freedom.
However, he said, it would be wrong to use such mistakes to generalise the performance of the media over the years.
The lecture was organised by the Graduate School of Governance and Leadership as part of its political leadership discourse aimed at creating political awareness among the citizenry.
The lecture also served as an opening for the maiden edition of the International Senior Executive Residency programme in Governance and Political Leadership.
Mr Ephson said public perception of media corruption had led to loss of confidence in the critical work of journalists and warned that the credible days of corrupt practitioners were numbered.
Despite this, Mr Ephson said the media had demonstrated over the years that it was a credible instrument in exposing corruption and journalists had often put their lives on the line to bring the truth to the public.
Besides, the media had also played a critical role in ensuring free and fair elections through on the spot reportage of activities at polling stations across the country.
On broadcasting, Mr Ephson said the National
Communications Authority must tighten its regulations on licensing of radio station to ensure sanity in the practice of broadcasting in the country.
He said despite the fact that the constitution guaranteed media freedom, regulation was necessary to help enforce standards and to promote professionalism in the media.
Dr Edward Mahama, who chaired the function, said the media was not leaving up to its responsibilities because it had been unable to exercise the freedom it has in setting national goals and aspirations.