Media Urged To Establish Defence Desks

By Kwadwo B. Donkor
Saturday, 13 September 2008
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has stressed the need for media houses to establish defence or security desks and to allow some of their reporters to specialise in this subject.
This, according to the army, will make reporting on matters on security easier for journalists and reduce some of the mistakes that are occasioned by non-professionals or the uninitiated.
The director of the Public Affairs Directorate of GAF, Colonel Emmanuel W. K. Nibo, said this on Wednesday when he presented a paper on "Reporting issues bordering on security, the perspective of the military", at a forum organised by the Editors’ Forum, Ghana (EFG).
"Defence correspondents should educate themselves in order to avoid mistakes through ignorance", he said.
Col. Nibo expressed worry at the use of non professionals by media houses to comment on issues bordering on national security. This practice, according to him, does not augur well for the country as these people end up inflicting their ignorance on listeners.
He was especially concerned about the phone-in programmes on the electronic media and the unprofessional panelists on radio discussions.
He urged hosts and presenters of radio programmes to educate themselves and research into the security related topics before they discuss them.
"This is necessary so that callers during the programmes who may not have their facts right are corrected and accordingly educated", he pleaded.
Col. Nibo reminded journalists of the role the media played in Rwanda’s genocide and called on them to be circumspect in their work in order not to jeopardise the stability of the country.
Unlike newspapers, he said radio is easily accessible to many people and therefore reiterated the call on producers, presenters and other stakeholders in the electronic media to take their jobs seriously "otherwise you would become a medium for people with malicious intent to churn out unacceptable statements or comments."
He commended the EFG for the forum and called for more such dialogue between the media and the military "so that we can educate each other about traditions and professional responsibilities; this would bridge the gap between us and create mutual trust and understanding."
On his part, DSP Kwesi Ofori, of the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana Police Service, shared similar sentiments expressed by the military and asked the media to always trust the security services.
He called on the media to always crosscheck their information before going public with them in order not to create unnecessary anxiety among the populace.
According to DSP Ofori, the media play very important role in the country’s democratic governance and have over the years won the trust of the people.
Consequently, he said, the media have a huge responsibility to ensure a peaceful election in December.
He cited the examples of Liberia, Rwanda and Bosnia Herzegovina where the media was used to incite people to violence and reminded journalists on the need to avoid history repeating itself.
The Interim Chairperson of EFG, Ms. Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, in her welcome address, observed that the Ghanaian media was operating in a polarised society "with almost everything being assessed in a political light."
As a result, she said, the least mistake, misinformation or miscommunication could lead to serious and even tragic consequences.
Ms. Yeboah-Afari, therefore, stressed the need for professionalism on the part of media workers particularly during this election year.