Officials of MFWA, ECOWAS and other stakeholders
A MEDIA expert, Prof. Kwame Karikari, has urged the media to strive to promote and protect media pluralism as well as diversity to advance democracy.
According to him, democracy capture perpetuated corruption of media professionalism by engaging mercenary journalists whose operations of manipulating public opinion included attacking and intimidating critical and opposing journalists on behalf of their political paymasters.
“It ought to be appreciated that the media are not a homogenous industry or institution,” he said.
Speaking at a Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) two-day regional conference themed, “The Media, Press Freedom and the Democratic Recession in West Africa” in Accra, he said dictatorships used editors, columnists and commentators in the state-owned media to hound and frighten critics and opposition voices.
“But here are we today; the enablers of ‘democracy capture’ employ hatchet men in the private media sector,” he noted.
However, to end democratic recession, Prof. Karikari said the media must strive to uphold the high standards of professionalism and fight against the cheap but attractive path of unprofessional conduct.
“That is the only way self-respecting journalists and responsible media organisations can and will earn back the people’s trust and confidence,” he added.
He further said that individual journalists with democratic persuasion must play active roles in their professional associations so as to prevent the high-jacking of their organisations by mercenary agents of the enablers of ‘democracy capture’.
“Difficult and often frightening as it is, independent media should continue to report issues of human rights abuses and support social justice causes,” he stated.
Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, said it was imperative for the region to redouble its efforts towards rebuilding and intensifying democracy as there were issues of military takeovers and coup d’etats with their attendant calls for constitutions’ amendment in some West African countries.
He emphasised that despite the heckles, democracy remained the most preferred and could not be substituted for any system of governance for which reason, all were required to get on board to salvage the situation.
He further said it was also necessary for press freedom to be safeguarded as it was fundamental for democracy.
BY Hudda Bala Abdul Manan