Legal Resources Centre (LRC) has organised a two-day training workshop for journalists from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, aimed at equipping them to upgrade their skills on election coverage.
LRC is a non-governmental organisation with significant community-based grassroots initiatives. Its core mission is to develop human rights within communities where it works to ensure social progress and development through the instrumentation of law, justice, development and good governance.
Executive Director of LRC, Daphne Lariba Nabila, told DAILY GUIDE that everyone has a role to play to make sure that the country goes through successful general elections effective November 7, 2016.
She urged political parties and individuals to eschew violence during election period since the country has an established judiciary to address any concerns or disputes during and after elections.
Ms. Nabila entreated journalists to avoid being biased in the line of their duty, but rather exhibit “professionalism in your reportage and relate it to the laws of the country on elections and its violations to ensure a peaceful 2016 election.”
According to Francis Ameyibor, general coordinator, CDA Consult, national cohesion should be the priority of journalists “and so whatever we do we are doing it to build the nation the state of Ghana so journalists should be fair, accurate, factual, balance in our reportage and must give space for the vulnerable women, youth and the hard to reach areas specially constituencies that are far from the regional capitals.”
He cautioned journalists to be extra careful in their reportage, most especially when “you are going to a hot spot, we should know how to report, how to behave and not to go there and take sides and to avoid that journalist should be neutral as possible and must not be identified by any political party.”
Mr. Ameyibor also appealed to media houses to organise training for their journalists and also develop an in-house guidelines for effective election coverage.
Source: http://dailyguideafrica.com/journalists-improve-election-coverage-skills/
