<<Print>>

The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), has advised the electronic media to be circumspect in handling legal, constitutional and court issues on their programmes. Mr. Dennis Adjei, Regional President of the GBA, said the association was dissatisfied about the unprofessional way some radio stations in the region operated. The Regional President of the GBA, who was speaking at the inauguration of the new Office of the National Media Commission (NMC) in Kumasi, said some radio stations were engaging in medial trail. Mr Adjei cited that the radio stations constituted themselves into law courts and judges and discussed court cases as if they had the right to administer justice. He said this amounted to contempt of court and called on the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the NMC to act firmly to stop the practice. Mr Adjei claimed that some radio stations used their medium to blackmail and harass people by inviting people they perceived to have been wronged to appear on their programmes instead of directing them to the law courts. He expressed hope that the opening of NMC Office in Kumasi would contribute to maintaining high journalistic standards. The Office is to help the Commission deal swiftly with complaints against media personnel in the Northern sector of the country and monitor the work of journalists to raise professional standards. Nana Yaw Osei, acting Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GJA, suggested that the NMC should come out with regular publications on its complaint procedures and media houses that appear before it.