The Ghanaian Media and the Future of Ghana

GHANAIAN NEWSPAPER
By Mawutodzi K. Abissath
Have you realized the wisdom of African ancestors is beyond compare? This is reflected in their evergreen proverbs which modern scholars are wont to quote and unquote. Listen to this Ghanaian one: “If you cut your own tongue and chew it up, you‘ve not eaten any meat”. This is lucid, isn’t it?

One may be tempted to ask: “Which school did our ancestors attend to acquire such insightful knowledge and wisdom?” And are educated modern Africans creating new proverbs for posterity to quote? I leave the answers to the meditation of the reader. But I will postulate that, if the Ghanaian media set a negative agenda for Ghanaians to use for self-destruction, there will be no Ghana to build as a nation. I will explain presently.

Records show that media work, or journalism in Ghana started in 1822 in Cape Coast. That was when General Sir Charles McCarthy, the first colonial Governor of the then Gold Coast landed in Cape Coast on 27th March that year and within a few days launched an official paper, called the Royal Gold Coast Gazette.(Those who have value for historical facts can read the rest of this story in a book title : A Summary History of the GHANA PRESS, written by Mr. K.A.B. Jonses-Quartey, one time of the Institute of Adult Education, University of Ghana, Legon, Published by the Information Service Department in 1974.)

Based on the preceding fact, therefore, the Ghanaian media, born in 1822 up to today 2005, over 200 years of existence, cannot be described as a neophyte or amateur. And the contribution of the media in Ghana to freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of association and the entire freedoms one can think of including, the fight for self-rule, culminating into independence in 1957, cannot be quantified in real terms.

As a matter of fact, some of the experiences the Ghanaian media went through after independence were even more traumatic than during the colonial era. At some stage of military and civilian rules, for instance, the Ghanaian media operated under some of the most abhorrent laws under the sun. One of such Laws was the ‘late’ Criminal Libel law, which kicked the bucket in 2001, and the obituary of which we are celebrating today with fanfare.

In fact at some points in the media history of this country, media practitioners were treated like common criminals. Every small human error they committed, or were suspected to have committed, even without proof in competent court of law, they were bundled and dumped into jail like accursed armed robbers.

This writer has had his own share of that intolerance and absolute display of misplaced power of authority in May 1999.That was even during a civilian rule, so he knows what he is talking about. It was sad in deed! Such a situation did not allow cross fertilization of ideas. It did not consensus for nation building. That is not how other nations are moving from the ground into the orbit and back with smiles.

Having said all that, it is prudent to sound a note of caution to the Ghanaian media, too. Remember this African proverb which admonishes that, “If you cry for your chicken, you must cry for the hawk, too.” To be frank and blunt, the way some Ghanaian media practitioners are operating today is nothing to write home about at all as far as professionalism goes.

Observers are worried that even though the Ghanaian media are doing tremendous work for the growth of democracy and good governance in the country, some of their actions tend to be causing more harm than good to the image of Ghana, especially on the Internet. It appears some media practitioners take delight in fishing out only negative things to project to the world whilst turning a blind eye to some of the good things the nation is accruing, no matter how modest they may be. One of the consequences of such negativity is the recent heavy fines being imposed on some media houses by the courts in the country. This is very unfortunate. If care is not taken the media may drive the ship of state straight into ditch. The fact is whilst some practitioners are making conscious efforts others have thrown the ethics of the profession to swines.

In April 1994, the media in Rwanda were reported to have been the initiators of that nation’s genocide. Out come, over half a million souls perished in a twinkle of an eye. We in Ghana should not pretend to be angels. We are human beings, and as such, we are treading in the forest of errors. When our fellow human beings commit errors, we must have the courage to correct them and tolerate them. But it is important for the offenders, also to be humble enough to admit their shortcomings and apologize for them. When that is done we must move ahead with our development strategies as a nation. After all perfection is not attained in one incarnation. We must be prepared to agree to disagree as a people.

It has been observed that for few years now, the nation has been moving from the culture of silence to the culture of negativity. And it is unfortunate that it is the media that seem to be setting this agenda and the entire society is being led into a bottomless pit of negative thinking, negative talking and negative actions. The situation has not been helped by the mushrooming of Frequency Modulation (FM) radio stations here and there.

It is indisputable that radio stations in Ghana are making a great deal of impact on the development of the nation in terms of dissemination of information to citizens to know what is happening and how they can contribute their views and ideas to issues of national interest. The impact is even more enormous when the platform is created for listeners to express themselves in their own language. It has been a wonderful experience with the phone-in-programmes.

But, this is exactly where the worse problem of negative is originating from. When a radio presenter or a host of a programme introduces a topic, and some people who do not understand or know the first letter of that topic, pick up their telephones, even now with the advent of mobile phones, wherever they might be, can call into a programme and start contribution out of context. If the host of that particular programme himself or herself is not on top of the issue at stake and callers are allowed not only to display their ignorance, but encouraged to slander, castigate and even assassinate the character of innocent souls.

This happens often if the topics in questions have some semblance to political discussions. In fact, some callers may deliberately all in only to vent their spleen on their perceived opponents for the sake it. They normally have their way and their say by chanting all kinds of unprintable words and go scot free without any apologies fro the shame they deserve.

This is not good enough, especially if the perceived political opponent is not in the studio or on the other side of the line to respond. This is where professionalism in broadcast journalism is called for. If the media practitioner on duty does not know how to cut off or call that particular caller to order, the seed of animosity is sowed not only between that caller and the personality concerned. But the party members of that imaginary opponent, his relatives and all sympathizers who will be listening in to that particular programme at the material time. This is how the entire society is being poisoned like a well of water. The psychological result is that everybody’s mind is being poisoned against one another. And eventually, the collective mind of the nation is programmed as the head of a poisonous snake. Then the people begin to develop the tendencies of “YOU BITE ME, I BITE YOU”. Ghana is greater than any individual or personality, be he a media man or woman, politician, or an ordinary citizen in the street.

In May 1994, on the occasion of that year’s freedom day, Mr. Kofi Annan UN Secretary-General called on the media man and woman throughout the world to practice what he termed as “Preventive Journalism.” He was making reference to what happened in Rwanda the previous month then and pointed out that the genocide in that country could have been prevented if Rwandan journalists had engaged in preventive journalism rather than hatred one
This writer will like to add his voice to that of the UN Boss and appeal to the Ghanaian media to practice a kind of journalism that will guarantee the future socio–economic, political and cultural survival of Ghana. Let's say “NO” to hatred journalism in Ghana.

N/B: This article was first published in 2005.