The Ministry of Information has paid courtesy calls on some media houses as part of stakeholder engagements. The calls, which started in Accra yesterday, are part of a nationwide exercise to continuously engage with the Ghanaian media, as part of efforts to deal with emerging issues in the sector.
The delegation was led by the sector minister designate, Fatimatu Abubakar.
The delegation first visited the EIB Group, which owns GHOne TV, Starr FM and Kasapa FM, as its flagship brands.
The team also visited Kessben Media and Wontumi Radio and Television. Other media houses are expected to be visited as part of the calls.
The Minister Designate commended management and staff of the media houses for championing professionalism and using their platforms to engage all stakeholders in national discourse.
She urged the workers to continue to engage government and provide feedback on issues of national concern.
Fatimatu Abubakar stressed on Government’s commitment to ensure conducive environment for free and responsible media, while assisting the enhancement of the work of journalists through capacity building.
Interacting with management and staff at the media houses, Abubakar called for a greater collaboration between the media and all other stakeholders, including government, in deepening the country’s democracy.
3rd Africa Media Convention
The Minister Designate called for media support and participation in the upcoming 3rd Africa Media Convention, which is scheduled from May 15th to17th, 2024.
The convention, which is an annual media convention is a collaborative effort supported by African media stakeholders, to reflect on the fundamental role of journalism on the continent, celebrate fundamental principles of press freedom and deliberate on measures to safeguard media freedom, promote access to information, the safety of journalists and media visibility in Africa Union member states.
Media Capacity Enhancement Programme
Fatimatu Abubakar announced that the 3rd Cohort of the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme will commence soon and urged media owners to allow their media personnel to participate in the training.
She also informed the media owners of the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), a media development fund targeting independent media institutions.
She indicated that IFPIM’s interest is the sustainability of media houses and urged all media houses to take advantage of the fund.
Combating Mis/Disinformation in the digital space
The Media owners on their part bemoaned the increasing rate of misinformation/disinformation in the digital space and appealed to the Ministry to support in sanitising content online.
Source: MOI (PR Unit)
