Editorial (The Daily Searchlight, June 23, 2022)
Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information, has observed that the low economic disposition of the media landscape in the country is the greatest impediment to press freedom.
He said although festering, the negative economies of the nation’s media industry had been hushed while industry players wasted away silently in national sacrifice, and therefore the situation must be exposed and addressed.
The Minister made the call while delivering the keynote address at the opening of a three-day training for judges on press freedom and journalistic safety on Monday.
Mr Oppong-Nkrumah noted that the economic dilemma was getting grounded while the country seemed to lack focus on securing safety and security of the media.
“Contrary to initial reports that Ghana had dropped 100 points exclusively because of an increase in infringements on the safety of journalists, a recent stakeholder meeting of the industry players outlined above observed that while it is important to urgently address the matter of safety of journalists, the new methodology adopted by the RSF says our biggest problem in press freedom in Ghana today, is the poor economic status of journalists and media houses.
“According to the five (5) parameters assessed under the new methodology, Ghana scored appreciably high in the following: Legal Framework (81.42%) and Socio-cultural Context (79.64%). Ghana also recorded above average and moderately high scores for Political Context (66.61%) and Safety of Journalists (62.25%).
“As I mentioned earlier, we are committed to working together with stakeholders to improve our scores in these two areas.
“But the parameter in which Ghana performed its lowest was Economic Context (47.22%). This refers to the economic conditions of journalists on one hand and financial sustainability of media houses. Ghana’s scores under these parameters culminated in an average score of 67.43% and 60th position on the new global ranking,” he stated.
All that verbiage from Mr. Kojo Opong Nkrumah translates into the fact that Ghanaian journalists are very poor and the media houses they work for are even poorer.
In simple, brutal terms, it means that journalists and media houses are easily susceptible to abuse and being taken advantage off by people with money and resources.
The way around this hurdle, is for Ghanaians and businesses located in Ghana to invest in the media by buying into the media with patronage and advertising.
The simple truth is that when media houses are financially independent, they tend to be more independent minded and objective, because they are living beyond the purse strings of any patron.
The only way this can be achieved, is for the general public and business to invest in the media.
In simple words, we are saying that a few cedis each day, spent on a newspaper, can help to keep tyranny and abuse at bay.
If we want an independent, professional media landscape, let us buy into the industry. Otherwise, Ghanaians should forget about having an independent media landscape.
(This article was first published in the column EDITORIAL of the Daily Searchlight of Thursday,, 23rd June, 2022. The Daily Searchlight appears on the newsstands of Ghana every working day and PDF versions are available for sale online twenty-four hours a day all day throughout the world on www.ghananewsstand.com).
