Media Tasked to do more on corruption

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday December 20, 2010
The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has launched its second findings on the media’s coverage on corruption, transparency and accountability with a call on media houses and journalists to do more to bring the social menace under control.

The GACC’s media monitoring of corruption, transparency and accountability covered 10 media outlets in the country including Daily Guide from January to June 2010.

Presenting the findings, Sulemana Braimah of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), who was one of the lead researchers, said the coalition was seeking to identify shortfalls in the coverage of issues of corruption and build the capacity of journalists to play an effective role in the anti-corruption crusade.

“The fight against corruption remains a fundamental pre-requisite for national and global development and therefore requires a collective anti-corruption crusade,” he said.

Mr. Braimah said investigating and reporting wrongdoings while highlighting acts worthy of praise and ensuring that public officials and any member of the public who engage in wrongdoing are exposed should be a priority of the media and other anti-corruption organizations.

He said there were a monthly coverage of 94 stories on corruption, transparency and accountability by the 10 selected media houses and a total of 564 stories in a period of six months.

“The study showed that there was a considerable and sustained media attention on corruption-related issues. However coverage was dedicated more to awareness creation rather than unearthing the critical issues behind corruption allegations,” he concluded.

Florence F. Dennis, Executive Secretary of GACC, said covering and writing stories and articles on corruption require some special skills and commitment and added that such efforts help to build strong institutions for the development of the country.

She said since the project started, GACC has been able to train about 78 journalists to fight against corruption but added that it was not enough because journalists need special investigative skills to be able to expose corruption.

Mrs. Dennis said the GACC will be increasing its sample size by targeting more media outlets but said that it would need more resources to be able to do so.

“The political landscape presents the media in Ghana with a very good opportunity to be more committed in the fight against corruption. We need more independent media, which work with high ethical standards.”

Ben Ephson, Managing Editor of Daily Dispatch, who chaired the programme, emphasized the need to learn more about anti-corruption laws to guide them in their reportage on corruption.

He asked journalists not to allow themselves to be used to blackmail people, especially public officials and always work towards high ethical standards.