Accra, Ghana//-Professor Kwame Karikari, a veteran Journalist who practiced Journalism in the 1980’s and served as Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is not enthused with the kind of journalism being practiced by local language media practitioners in the country.
He expressed this sentiment about the quality of local language media practice at the third edition of MTN Ghana BRIGHT Conversation series held in Accra today.
According to him, the poor quality of local language media practice in the country has impacted negatively on the performance of the private broadcast media-radio and television.
Prof Karikari observed that majority of the local language media practitioners in the country could not read and write in the various local languages that they present local news and shows in.
He however did not blame the inability of these local language media practitioners to read and write in Ghanaian languages entirely on them, rather on the failure of the country’s education systems.
Prof Karikari who was a professor at the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana and the former Dean of the School of Communication Studies at the Wisconsin International University College, noted that the teaching of Ghanaian languages in the various levels of education had not been given serious attention in recent times.
To avert this trend, he called for the proper training of the local language media practitioners in how to translate news items from the English language to the local ones.
Speaking on theme- ‘Promoting Professionalism in The Era of Social Media And Citizen Journalism’, Prof Karikari gave thumps up to performance of the media but advised them to do more to strengthen free speech in the West African country.
Instructively, the MTN BRIGHT Conversation series is an innovative initiative by MTN Ghana as part of its activities to mark the company’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
The purpose is to celebrate distinguished persons whose ideas, thoughts and reflections have helped to shaped the Ghanaian society. The first and second editions featured Nana Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, the immediate past chairman of the National Media Commission, and Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee of the Salt and Light Ministries.
African Eye Report
