I hope World press freedom day will improve ethics in the media – Hamid

General News of Monday, 23 April 2018

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2018-04-23

MustaphaHamid PresserInformation Minister, Mustapha Hamid

Information Minister Mustapha Hamid says it is his desire that the upcoming International Press Freedom Day will improve media ethics in Ghana.

Speaking ahead of the celebration of the Day to be hosted by Ghana on May 3, Mr. Hamid says the ceremony is a good opportunity to improve media practice in Ghana.

“…so that beyond this conference it will improve our own journalism practice and media ethics here in Ghana,” he said.

The Presidential spokesperson also said he hopes that the local media will participate fully in the event and learn from other practitioners that will visit the country on the D day.

“I am just hoping that with maximum participation by the Ghanaian media…we will come and be able to exchange ideas and influence each other in terms of ethical practice,” he told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Monday.

The International Press Freedom Day is an annual event to raise awareness of press freedom and to remind governments of their duty to respect the independence of the media.

It was adopted by the United Nations in 1948 as part of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights in the Article 19 of the document.

Head of Office of United Nations Educational Social and Cultural Organisation, (UNESCO) Tirso Dos Santos under whose auspices the celebration is being held, explained Ghana’s high standing in respect for press freedom influenced the decision.

“…we recognize the merits of Ghana in terms of media freedom compared to other countries in Africa. And even compared to some countries the West, Ghana ranks very high and we wanted to acknowledge that,” he said.

He added that bringing the event to Ghana will create the opportunity for how those gains can be consolidated, considering the big brains that will come to share their experience.

President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Roland Affail Monney who was also on the show touted media practice in Ghana saying that it is a reflection of the professionality of the sector.

“…it’s a big plus for what we are doing right for this event to take place on our shores means we have something the rest don’t have”.

The programme is expected to run for two days, thus May 2 and 3.

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