GJA Presidential candidate, Mr. David Agbenu
Journalists and media practitioners have been advised to be a little adventurous and take advantage of opportunities to grow and add value to themselves in the profession.
He said even though there were lots of grants, scholarships, and fellowships at their disposal they did not search and take advantage of such opportunities for personal development and progress in the profession.
Mr. David Agbenu, who is also the Editor of the Ghanaian Times said “today’s journalist is not adventurous at all.”
Mr. Agbenu stated this on the sidelines of the Tema Ghana News Agency and Tema Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service Road Crashes Prevention Campaign, on the topic, “Effects of road safety on journalists and media houses.”
He urged journalists to educate themselves and understudy their seniors; “when I started journalism as a young man I always looked up to what my seniors were doing and followed the good ones.
“I know some good ones who have made money from journalism and living like kings because they looked for opportunities and grabbed them.”
According to him, there was money in journalism, and that journalists could make genuine monies by being adventurous and adding value to themselves as that could open doors for them.
“There is money in journalism, but you must get it using the right means, do the work well, it will position you at the right place and people will call you to work for them and you will make money, develop yourself and go to school, that’s the only way you can do things, that’s what I mean by being adventurous and working for the future,” he said.
He said with such opportunities, reporters would not see ‘soli’ as their source of income adding that “when organisers give you transport, you can take but don’t go chasing and harassing people for transport,” and “you can use that time to search the net for fellowship.”
Answering questions on some journalists working for media houses without pay or being made staff, he said that was one of the main reasons why it was part of his vision to complete the processes of unionising the Association for it to get the bargaining power to negotiate on behalf of its members.
“Someone one will tell you that his community radio station only does public service announcements and therefore not making money to pay journalists, but the association can help to educate them to get projects that can bring money, there are many ways to collaborate when we become a union to ensure journalists benefit,” he hinted.