There was a time when the Ghanaian media was the standard-bearer of ethical journalism, value-based content, and national conscience.
It was a profession of gatekeepers, where producers directed, editors checked, and facts mattered.
Sadly, Ghana has lost that glory. We have traded high standards and quality for propaganda and clicks. Radio and television stations now allow everything and anything just for views.
We chase clickbait without concern for its consequences on the public good.
There is no proper production. News bulletins have become opinion shows. People say anything, anyhow, and go live on air without context, fact-checking, or retraction.
It is as if we are in a jungle, no values, nothing. Yet we are quick to compare ourselves to nations that are progressing precisely because they apply principles and values.
Choice of words no longer matters. Unsavory, unprintable language is now considered “normal.” Presenters pontificate instead of analyse.
News is no longer reported; it is performed. The question is: How do we grow as a nation without standards?
The Constitution Gave Freedom With Responsibility.
Our media freedom was not accidental. The framers of the 1992 Constitution devoted an entire chapter to it.
Article 162(1) guarantees: “Freedom and independence of the media are hereby guaranteed.”
Article 162(4) protects editors from control and harassment for their editorial views.
Article 21(1)(a) guarantees every Ghanaian freedom of speech and expression.
But this freedom was never absolute. It came with a duty.
Article 164 is explicit: The freedoms in Articles 162 and 163 are subject to laws “reasonably required in the interest of national security, public order, public morality and for the purpose of protecting the reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons.”
In other words, media freedom is not freedom to defame, to incite, or to pollute the public sphere.
Article 167 creates the National Media Commission (NMC) and mandates it to:
(a) promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media;
(b) “take all appropriate measures to ensure the establishment and maintenance of the highest journalistic standards in the mass media, including the investigation, mediation and settlement of complaints made against or by the press or other mass media;” and
(c) insulate state-owned media from governmental control.
The National Media Commission Act, 1993 (Act 449) and the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775) which empowers the NCA to regulate broadcast spectrum, further reinforce this mandate for standards and public interest.
Even the repeal of criminal libel in 2001 did not remove professional responsibility.
The GJA Code of Ethics, the NMC Guidelines for Local Language Broadcasting, and Sections 208 of the Criminal Offences Act (Act 29) on publication of false news still hold journalists accountable for truth, fairness, and decency.
Where Are The Gatekeepers?
The NMC, GJA, GIBA, PRINPAG, and all the bodies that were once the checking and balancing tools to ensure quality are now looking on, all in the name of media freedom, pluralism, and competition.
Freedom without standards is anarchy. Pluralism without ethics is noise.
TV, radio and online portals now copy each other’s sub-standard content in a race to the bottom, all because of who has the highest views.
Media is not about who has the most beautiful and handsome presenters and anchors. It is about credibility, accuracy, and service to Ghana.
Action Now Or Never
Ghana can only progress when we agree that we cannot do anything anyhow and expect different results.
We need action now:
The NMC must bite. Use Article 167(b) to enforce its content standards, investigate, and sanction. Mediation is not enough.
GJA and GIBA must purge and train. Reinstate peer review and enforce the Code of Ethics.
Media Owners must invest in producers. Go back to the glory days where producers directed what should be said and what should not be said. Hire gatekeepers, not just faces.
The public must punish clickbait. Switch off, report, and patronize quality.
Media freedom under Article 162 was given to us to build democracy, not to destroy it.
Better late than never. Let us go back to the days of standards, values, and truth.
Because without standards, we have no media. We only have a loudspeaker in a jungle.
