Some journalists being attacked on the job
THE ABILITY of the media to function effectively as the fourth estate of the realm is dependent on the amount of cooperation it receives from different entities within society.
Concerns have been raised about the spate of assaults and intimidations against media practitioners, and this action appears to hinder the independence, growth, and development of the media.
According to the National Media Commission, there are about 40 active newspapers on the newsstands, 575 radio stations of which 428 are active and also 140 television stations.
Although the country is considered a regional leader in democratic stability, journalists have experienced growing pressures in recent years through violations such as arrests, attacks and threats, fines, and imprisonment.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have recorded 14 cases of journalist abuses including five arrests since the beginning of 2022 alone.
List Of Journalists Abused This Year
It would be recalled that on January 13, 2022, a group of thugs numbering about 12 stormed the premises of Radio Ada (93.3 FM), a community radio station in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, assaulted two presenters and vandalised equipment.
On February 3, 2022, a group of Police officers brutally assaulted Eric Nana Gyetuah, a radio presenter with Connect FM based in Takoradi, the capital of the Western Region of Ghana, leaving him with a damaged eardrum. The presenter had gone for lunch at a local restaurant at Pipe Ano, a suburb of Takoradi, when a group of armed men in plain clothes stormed the eatery with some suspects in handcuffs. Nana Gyetuah started filming the suspects from a discreet distance and location at the car park when one of the security officers accosted him and asked him to surrender his phone. Gyetuah was then assaulted by the officers to surrender his phone after initially refusing an order to do so.
On February 8, 2022, a High Court in Accra sentenced a broadcast journalist with Accra-based Power FM, Oheneba Boamah Bennie, to 14 days in prison and a fine of GH¢3,000 (about US$450) after he was found guilty of contempt of court. Mr. Boamah was dragged to the High Court by Ghana’s Attorney General after he alleged in a Facebook video that President Nana Akufo-Addo had met eight Supreme Court judges to influence their decision in the electoral petition they were hearing.
On February 10, 2022, the Police detained Kwabena Bobbie Ansah, a presenter at Accra FM, on a charge of “publication of false news and offensive conduct.” The charges relate to a video the journalist posted on social media claiming that President Nana Akufo Addo’s wife had illegally obtained a parcel of state land.
On February 25, 2022, operatives of National Security arrested Sacut Amenga-Etego on accusation of illegally filming them and suspects in their custody on the premises of the High Court. The freelance journalist’s phone was seized and he was detained for two weeks on the orders of the High Court (Criminal Court 5 Division).
Also, on March 30, 2022, two soldiers of the Afari Military Hospital assaulted and tortured Michael Aidoo, an investigative journalist who had gone to the Ashanti Region, specifically the Atwima-Nwabiagya District to conduct an investigation.
These and many other reasons have pushed Ghana’s ranking on the World Press Freedom Index to 30th out of the 180 countries, in RSFs 2021.
Journalists Safety
The General Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Kofi Yeboah, says GJA is enhancing the safety of journalists as part of its cardinal mandate to promote and defend press freedom.
He says the association is prioritising the safety and welfare of journalists to ensure that they work in a safer environment.
“In view of that, it has put in place measures to prevent media brutality and ensure that journalists go about their work in a peaceful manner,” he said.
He mentioned that GJA has also organised training programmes for journalists on media safety across the regions.
“It has also collaborated with various security agencies (military and the police) where the two institutions have shared ideas on how they operate and what they could do to improve the safety of journalists. We shall continue to sensitise and counsel journalists to keep safe from assaults and attacks while doing their job,” he said.
He, however, appealed to media owners to equally play their part to ensure the safety of their employees while at work.
He also touched on continuous training of personnel and the provision of protective gears for reporters during demonstrations.
“During demonstrations and other higher risk event, you see the security agencies providing protection in their protective apparels, including body vest, helmets and guns.
On the other hand, you will see the journalists without any vest or protective gears except their pens and note books. “How can the pen in this instance protect the journalist?” he asked.
Media Brutalities: A Hindrance To Media Development (2)
THE GENERAL Secretary averred that not only would GJA, as a body, issue press statements whenever a journalist or a media house is attacked.
He said, “We also ensure that the matter ends in the law court and we (leadership of the association) follow it up to court and with the help and advices from our lawyers, we ensure that justice is served.”
The General Secretary, however, indicated that the GJA will not advise any media outlet to boycott activities of a group, personality or organization involved in any media brutality as Journalists have a duty to inform citizens.
Alexander Nii Katey Bannerman, Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, says as part of its function of ensuring the highest journalistic practice, it has introduced a number of guidelines that seek to inject professionalism and ethical standards into journalism, and also guidelines for ethical journalism for the local language broadcasting.
“There has been constant engagement with the media especially going round to constitute bodies of the commission and then visiting media houses to imbibe in them the professionalism that one needs to keep the balance because, we are the watch dogs, the gate keepers; whatever we write, people tend to believe. Somebody might have read it and might not see it again, what he/she reads is what he believes,” Mr. Bannerman said.
He mentioned that the NMC has collaborated with the Ministry of Information, Ghana Journalists Association, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association as well as the Private Newspaper and Online Publishers Association (PRINPAG) to build the capacity of journalists, with the first one held in Kumasi early this year.
“In 2021, the NMC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, opened a secretariat where journalists can file their complaints of attacks on them.
The commission has intervened and sought the protection of journalists in various fields and mediated in many of the cases for sanity to prevail.
Journalists Cautioned To Be Professional
Mr. Bannerman called on journalists and media practitioners to be assertive and professional in their line of duty.
“We live in a society where whatever is reported in the media is accepted as the truth and once a half truth is aired as news, an individual who reads it may not have the opportunity to re-read it again except to carry the half-truth along. So, what we are saying is that, as journalists, we should cross-check our facts before coming out so we report accurately.
“The NMC, in collaboration with Ministry of Information and UNESCO, is developing guidelines for journalists to aid in their work.
He said the commission has been to two regions to solicit views from journalists to draft the guidelines and “We are consulting all journalists so that when the document is finally out, it will be a binding document for all journalists and not a document that belongs to the NMC,” he added.
The Deputy Minister of Information, Fati Abubakar, says Ghana’s performance on the rankings by ‘Reporters Without Boarders’ recently, has not been bad, stating that it could still be improved.
She said using five parameters, Ghana, on the Legal Framework, scored 81.4% on Socio cultural context – 79.6 percent and Political context – 66.61percent. Safety of journalists – 62.25 percent and on economic context pertaining to the conditions of journalists, Ghana scored 47.2 percent.
“Generally, our performance is average but as a beacon of democracy, and a country that runs second in Africa and 40th worldwide, there is room for improvement,” she added.
She further revealed that various forms of violations could occur everywhere, be it in a religious environment, traditional and political environment, stakeholders should continue to sensitise the public on the role of journalists.
“The public must know that if you are not satisfied with the utterances of any journalist, you can seek redress using legal means, you can sue for defamation, and other avenues available like the national media commission who are regulators of content and other platforms and not to attack any journalist in the country,” she emphasised.
Countries With Best Press Freedom Ratings
For the fifth time in a row, Norway retains the top spot as the country with the most press freedom.
Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Costa Rica complete the top 5 countries on the ranking. Sadly, no African country featured in the top 20 countries.
Records for the past five years indicate that Ghana, in 2017, was 26th; 2018 – 23rd; 2019 – 27th; 2020 – 30th, 2021 – 30th .2022 – 60th in the world, according to World’s Press Freedom Index Report.
The country’s ranking in Africa for the past five years, however, is promising.
Ghana, in 2017, was 2nd; 2018 – 1st; 2019 – 3rd; 2020 – 2nd, 2021 – 3rd and 2022 – 10th.
According to the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists, all journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, have the right to protection from all human rights violations and abuses including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of other forms of violence, among others.
BY Linda Tenyah-Ayettey