A Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication, Kwame Karikari, has urged journalists to be professional in promoting peace and stability.
He wants broadcast journalists to eschew hash or foul language in their reportage to avoid lawsuits.
Journalists, like anyone else, can be held responsible for defamation and ordered to compensate a person whose reputation is unjustly harmed through their reportage.
Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression which includes freedom of the press and media.
Yet, broadcast journalists are held responsible when their news coverage contains statements that harm a person’s reputation.
At a two-day training workshop organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa for journalists on how to avoid defamation suits, Prof. Karikari, entreated broadcast journalists to be guided by principles to enable them to stay professional.
“Journalism is guided by principles and since it is centered on governance, people’s work and reputations, the practitioners ought to be circumspect to avoid defamation suits,” he urged.
“Avoid personal attack in your reportage and do proper research to enable you to deliver in informing and educating the public,” he further challenged the journalists.
The former Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation equally encouraged hosts, news anchors and reporters to develop interest in understanding the appropriate use of the local dialects since they are widely used in the media space.
By Maxwell Otoo|Onua FM
