Adhere Strictly to Broadcasting Standards-GIBA President

THE newly elected President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Mr Alhassan Haruna, has charged all private and independent broadcasters to adhere strictly to broadcasting standards and ethics concerning reportage on the upcoming general election.
He said it was important that the media adhered to those standards with precision and also offered fair representation to all political parties.
Mr Haruna, who was speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Executive Council of GIBA in Accra yesterday, pledged his support for the association and expressed his appreciation to all members of GIBA for their contributions towards the growth of the industry.
The Dean of Students of the African University College of Communication (AUCC), Nana Essilfie Conduah, said there was a great burden on private and independent broadcasters which made their job very difficult.
He said it was not only a professionally trained journalist who could exhibit professionalism in his or her reportage but that any other person who adequately understood the work of the media could become a professional journalist.
He, however, noted that it did not also mean that a anyone could go through a three to six-month training to become a qualified journalist.
He advised all private and independent broadcasters to invest in recruitment and training of personnel.
The General Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Bright Blewu, said the GJA was completing work on the revised version of its policy for election coverage and expressed the hope that the new version would promote efficiency in coverage of this year's elections.
He said he was happy at the development of GIBA, which was an indication of the growth of the media in Ghana.
Other new officers are Chief P. A. Crystal-Djirackor, Vice-President; Nana Akwasi Agyemang, Chief Executive of Happy FM, Mr Charles van Dyck, General Manager of Adom FM, and Mr James Appiah, Chief Executive of Atlantis Radio, all executive members.