Mr Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister has called on the media to focus on rural reporting in order to provide information on development issues taking place in local communities.
\nMr Woyongo stressed that a number of important events which were newsworthy happened in the hinterland but were not brought to public notice.
\n\u201cMost of you do not make the least effort to go to the action spots to see things and bring them to the attention of the public for the necessary action to be taken,\u201d he said.
\nMr Woyongo made the call at a press soiree in Bolgatanga, which he used to launch President John Atta Mills \u201caction year programme\u201d.
\nHe urged journalists to report on issues that were relevant to the development of the country.
\nThe Regional Minister advised hosts of talk shows to control their guests and serial callers who used abusive and unacceptable language against others.
\n\u201cWhile it is generally accepted that liberalisation of the media landscape is meant to enhance democratic credentials through debate and newspaper publications\u2026 It is nevertheless intended to malign decent citizens who have gained their reputation through years of toil.\u201d
\nMr Woyongo said even though the criminal libel law had been repealed from the country\u2019s statutory books, it did not exonerate writers from legal suits.
\nHe announced plans to tackle water problems in the region, adding that funds had been procured for the construction of bore holes and the installation of a new water treatment plant for Bolgatanga, to meet the increasing demand of the commodity in the area.
\nMr Woyongo commended the media for the good work they do in spite of the challenges facing them.
\nMr Eric Amoh, Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, called on journalists to cross check their reports with the relevant sources before publishing them.
\nHe said a libellous report and those that sought to malign people killed faster than \u201can over dose of common drugs such as Paracetamol and Aspirin\u201d.
\nMr Amoh said journalists were not enemies of the people and asked politicians not to be selective about the media house they invited for assignments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mr Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister has called on the media to focus on rural reporting in order to provide information on development issues taking place in local communities. Mr Woyongo stressed that a number of important events which were newsworthy happened in the hinterland but were not brought to public notice. \u201cMost of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n