By Justina Paaga
Takoradi, April 30, GNA – Bank of Ghana (BoG) has underscored the need for accuracy in financial journalism, stressing that journalists’ effectiveness depends on their understanding of economic issues.
Mr. Bernard Otabil, Director of Communications at the BoG, said this during the opening of a two-day media capacity-building workshop in Takoradi in the Western Region.
The workshop which is the third in a series is being attended by 26 journalists from the Western and Western North Regions to equip them with a deeper understanding of economic and financial reporting.
The initiative is part of the BoG’s broader efforts to enhance media capacity, ensuring that financial news coverage remained accurate, insightful, and beneficial to the public.
Mr Otabil said the Management of the Bank recognises the important role journalists played in sensitising the public about its policies and programmes nationwide, especially after the Bank’s Monetary Policy meetings and the media engagements that followed.
He pointed out that communication remained critical to enhancing the Bank’s policies, therefore, with the approval of Management, the Communications Department consistently creates platforms to improve upon strategic media partnerships.
Mr. Otabil said misinformation in financial journalism often resulted from a lack of knowledge and urged reporters to continuously educate themselves.
He said: “This media training is not to enhance your interviewing skills nor to help you define the old question of journalism: What is News! Rather, it is to further enhance your ability to craft compelling narratives about the policies and objectives of the Bank, especially as far as monetary policy is concerned.
We want you to be able to navigate the often-complex world of economics and finance. Essentially, the Bank is committed to empowering journalists to deliver impactful narratives about the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and build your confidence in writing about business and finance.”
He added: “A journalist is only as good as their understanding of the subject they are reporting on. That is why we are here to provide training on what we do as a central bank, particularly our monetary policy report. There have been instances where reports have been inaccurately presented, and this often stems from a lack of deep understanding of financial and economic issues.”
He cautioned journalists not to play propaganda with the activities of the central Bank, noting, that, “there are repercussions with your actions and in actions as journalists.”
Touching on accurate reporting, Mr Otabil encouraged journalists to report on precision clarity, specificity and consistency.
He also asked journalists to play their gate keeping role effectively and be mindful of the kind of headlines they give to their stories.
On the issue of specialisation in journalism, Mr. Otabil stressed the importance of continuous learning. He advised journalists interested in financial reporting to dedicate time to reading at least one article per week on economic and business topics, stating that this practice could transform them into experts over time.
“One workshop cannot make you an expert overnight, but consistency in learning will. If you read a 500-word article on financial matters every week, in a year, you would have read 52 articles, enough to give you a strong grasp of the subject,” he advised.
Mr Kofi Assan, the Regional Manager BOG Takoradi, indicated that the bank and media were the same stakeholders and should therefore work collectively to ensure effective financial management in the country.
For his part, Mr Desmond Cudjoe Western Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), lauded the bank for the initiative and asked that regular such workshops should be organised to build the capacity of journalists.
He said it was important for the media to build an interface that would help them to effectively interpret financial issues to the public.
The participants were taken through key topics, including Macroeconomic Analysis and the Significance of Macroeconomic Indicators, Monetary Policy Practice in Ghana, and Understanding Inflation Dynamics in Ghana, Responsible Borrowing and inflation dynamics.
GNA
JP/BM