By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, Dec 4, GNA – The Ghana News Agency (GNA) has entreated its staff writers and stringers to reject any form of gifts including food and drinks from political parties or their associates under any circumstance on election day.
Mrs Beatrice Asamani Savage, the Director of Editorial, GNA, cautioned that such perks could induce journalists to produce biased reports, which could affect the sanctity of the electoral process and the credibility of the Agency.
“Do not be tempted to accept anything from any politician, be it food or money, at the polling stations and collation centres. That could put you into trouble and cause you embarrassment should anything happen,” she said.
Mrs Asamani Savage gave the admonition when she trained journalists and stringers of the Central Regional office of the Agency on election coverage ahead of the 2024 general election.
The training was to equip the journalists with the requisite knowledge of the electoral processes, particularly on the voting day, to enable them to executive their mandate effectively.
“I do not think that declining that food or money on that day will make you the hungriest journalist or the poorest journalist in the world. This is because even when it is done with goodwill, bystanders may misconstrue the gesture to mean otherwise and give you a bad name,” she said.
“The politician will not give you food because they love and care so much about you; there is always a reason for such favours,” she noted.
She urged the reporters to prepare themselves adequately for the day before moving onto the field.
Mrs Asamani Savage took the reporters through some electoral laws and regulations, the roles of the various stakeholders, fact-checking, peace journalism, how to cover election-related violence and how to stay safe.
She called for punctuality and implored them to pay close attention to detail, reporting on key developments as they unfolded, being the eyes and ears of the public.
The Director of Editorial urged them to be conflict sensitive in all their reportage and underscored the need to prioritise peace journalism and avoid stories that could ignite tension and violence, indicating the importance of peace to development.
“It is important for reporters to do self-censorship and sift relevant information from vitriolic and incendiary comments to preserve the peace,” she said.
“You must stay safe and alive at all times to report the news,” Mrs Savage said, urging them to prioritise their safety.
Mrs Asamani Savage dissuaded the media from discourses that undermined critical institutions like the Police Service and the Electoral Commission, as it made rowdy elements feel justified for their negative activities.
“When we do that, we will be creating room for lawlessness and nobody is spared when conflict happens; I mean nobody is immune from electoral violence and so we have to be intentional about keeping the peace,” she added.
GNA
