Roland Affail Monney, President of the Ghana Journalists' Association (GJA), has warned that just one irresponsible and reckless news report can destroy the peace and stability Ghana is enjoying.

Ghana, he observed, is not immune to the flames of civil war that some countries on the continent had witnessed.

He said some of the news reports he had been following were so irresponsible and reckless that it would take only the mature and tough politician to hold the peace, in order to save the stability of Ghana.

Mr. Monney said the media waves are charged and boiling with mudslinging, vituperations, crude insults and false reports by some journalists, who are inclined to one political party or the other.

“The international community is monitoring the journalists' work in Ghana, and it is so much worried of some of the journalists' work,” the GJA President said at a one-day election reporting workshop held for the Tema Chapter of the association at the Tema Development Corporation (TDC).

The workshop was on the theme: 'Towards a peaceful Election; the role of the Media'.

The media, in these dangerous moments, he advised, ought to tilt stories towards conflict resolution, by foregoing their agenda for their darling political parties.

“The media in Ghana is too polarized, and as the GJA President, and one who saw how the grace of God and the timely interventions of some revered men of God kept the peace of our country in 2008 and 2012, my heart bleeds for Ghana.

“There are heightened tensions because of some of our colleagues who are forsaking our peace for their stomachs and pockets.”

He walked the participants through the legs of responsible journalism, mentioning accuracy, balanced, credibility and proficiency, albeit, he elaborated on the elements of responsible journalism.

Roland Affail Monney was of the view that where a credible story could spark disaster, the journalist should weigh the adverse consequences and relegate the story.

When good reports appeal to the conscience of Ghanaians, Mr. Monney said, the politicians who was bent on fomenting trouble would swallow their reckless and irresponsible utterances, before, during and after the elections.

Furthermore, he advised journalists to personally read wider to broaden their scope of reporting, and monitor other developmental reports by international journalists.

He commended the executive of the Tema Chapter of the GJA and its Chairman, Dominic Hlordzi, for organising such an important workshop to get the media in the area responsible and informed on their roles before, during and after this year's elections.

Concluding, he said: “Never let it be mentioned that your last story caused flames in Ghana.”

 ghanaian chronicle