Ghanaian Journalists Urged To Up Their Game

Mr. Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

The Executive Director of NewsBridge Africa, Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, has urged Ghanaian journalists to up their game in order to raise the standards of journalism in the country which have fallen so drastically.

According to the Knight-Bagehot Fellow, current daily news reports by many Ghanaian journalists did not meet the standard and this was damaging to the image and credibility of practitioners.

Mr. Dogbevi who was speaking at a two-day media training workshop organised for journalists from the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions, also entreated participants to endeavour to go beyond press releases they received from individuals, government and corporate institutions to probe the hidden or missing information.

He explained that many a times there could be more relevant news hidden from the surface of press releases intended for mere propaganda and challenged journalists and news editors to take the trouble to dig deeper beyond the propaganda in order to unravel the real news.   

Under the theme: “How to pitch a story and tell it better”, the training was organised by NewsBridge Africa and Ghana Business News with sponsorship from the US Embassy, Ghana. The journalists were taken through the rudiments of broadcast journalism, social media and how to determine whether a press release was newsworthy or not.

The US Embassy sponsored training sought to identify the opportunities inherent in journalism as a mechanism for change and good governance in northern Ghana.

It was also intended to evaluate the current state of journalism in the regions and chart a new course for improved performance in investigative reporting.

Pix by: NewsBridge Africa                                       

The participants were also taken through the ethics, standards and professionalism in the practice of journalism and the relevance of new media and how to use it efficiently.

Raymond Yeldidong Bayor, a journalist and communication specialist also charged journalists to abide by the principles, ethics and standards of journalism by crediting their sources, verify or authenticate their sources and avoid plagiarism when writing.

According to him, sources sometimes could lie by giving false information to unsuspecting journalists. “It is very important that as journalists you try as much as possible to cross check or verify every piece of information you receive from a source in order to be sure you are feeding your audience with the right information”, he stressed.

Mr. Raymond Bayor further explained that journalists were responsible for every news report they publish, and so they ought to be very mindful of what they report for the sake of their credibility and image.

NewsBridge Africa is a not-for-profit making organisation that seeks to promote ethical, responsible, balanced and meaningful journalism that serves the greater public interest through internships, mentoring and continuous training of journalists through workshops and publications.

The organisation also seeks to build the capacity of early to mid career journalists to do investigative, economic, business and political reporting in a manner that meets the requirements of professional journalism. It aims among others to promote high standards in investigations and reporting, in-depth writing, ethical and change-making journalism to influence public opinion.