National Organiser of the Private Newspapers and Publishers Association of Ghana, Emmanuel Opare Gyan, has advised the government to accord media practitioners the respect due them, so as to enable them perform their role as the fourth estate of the realm.
According to him, media organisations and practitioners play a huge role in the democratic process, and must be given the relevant support.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on May 3, he said “I will first advice government, the State, to appreciate the role of the media and let policies and programmes also help the industry grow than to always wait and see the evaluations that once a while is committed in the course of doing our job.”
His comment follows the latest World Press Freedom Index 2024 published by Reporters Without Borders in which Ghana experienced notable advancements in media freedom over the year in review.
The West African nation climbed from 62nd place in 2023 to 50th in the most recent update, marking a significant improvement.
This ranking places Ghana among the top 50 countries out of the 180 included in the study.
Reporters Without Borders acknowledged that Ghana has a vibrant and pluralistic media environment.
According to Mr Opare Gyan, although Ghana has made progress, there is still more that needs to be done.
He advised colleague journalists to continue doing the right thing while ensuring that they put their safety first.
"Wherever you find yourself, don’t move into areas that are not friendly to you. If you think that area is too hostile for you to go and do stories, please don’t do it.
"Or when you are doing live reporting and you think that the people who are demonstrating, you have a contrary opinion and you are reporting the contrary opinion in the midst of that, be careful. You must be responsible for your personal security,” he said.
Again, he urged media owners to find alternative ways to generate extra income to be able to pay their employees.
“I am also urging media owners that they should also explore other avenues to bring in more income so it will trickle down,” he added.