President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned journalists against what he describes as media zealotry, urging practitioners to uphold civility and decorum while pursuing their professional responsibility of holding government accountable.
Speaking at the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards, President Mahama said some journalistic practices risk crossing the boundaries of responsible journalism, particularly when practitioners adopt adversarial approaches in their engagements with public officials.
He cited an instance in which a journalist publicly challenged a minister to appear on his programme to answer questions over an alleged discrepancy, describing the approach as excessive.
“As a trained journalist myself, I believe that it pushes the limits of media zealotry when a journalist publicly challenges a minister to call into his show to expose him over a so-called discrepancy that the journalist has discovered,” he said.
President Mahama stressed the need for journalists and government officials to work together constructively in the interest of the public, while maintaining the media’s independence and accountability role.
“We must work together in the spirit of civility and decorum to uphold the public interest,” he stated.
He assured journalists that his administration remained committed to protecting the media’s constitutional mandate to scrutinise government activities and hold public officials accountable.
“This government that I lead will uphold the media’s mandates to hold government to account,” President Mahama said.
However, he warned that excessive focus on what he described as the deliberate search for scandals where none existed could distract attention from national development priorities.
“But it distracts attention from the people’s business when we split hairs in a deliberate search for scandals where none exist,” he added.
The President also welcomed Ghana’s improved position in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, which saw the country rise from 52nd to 39th among 180 countries.
He described the improvement as encouraging and pledged to collaborate with the Ghana Journalists Association to sustain the country’s progress in press freedom and journalist safety.
“I welcome the progress we have made and pledge to work with the Ghana Journalists Association to ensure that Ghana remains a safe place for journalists to pursue their careers,” President Mahama said.
Source: Newspyramid.com
