The seeming ‘attacks’ on some media practitioners and outlets in recent times have been blamed on political intolerance. Marking the World Radio Day on Day Break Upper East, the General Manager of A1 Radio, a subsidiary of Agreed Best Communication Limited, William Nlanjerbor Jalulah said the current atmosphere under the present political administration could not be described as friendly.
“Politicians give something to you with the right hand and take it back with the left hand. The very people that actively participated in ensuring that there was a repeal of the criminal libel law; we have seen a lot of attacks of journalists under their watch again. The time that this was repealed was the time that the current president was the Attorney General but we have seen a lot of attacks under his watch as president,” he said.
Mr. Jalulah said while there have been some misguided and uninformed comments by some media practitioners, the seeming political intolerance plays a key role in the way the fallout of the comments made are handled.
“Irrespective of what someone says, there is always a way to handle it other than violence. Journalists have been killed in this country and as we sit, we do not even know how it ended. The investigations to unravelling what caused or led to their deaths, we do not know. Because people attack journalists and get away with it, others think that they can also do same and get away with it,” he said.
The General Manager of A1 Radio explained that intolerance within the media space should not be countenanced, adding that when this happens, media practitioners who abuse their freedom of speech could be dealt with in a way that seems appropriate and agreeable to all.
He said the right structures and policies are put in place to address deliberate misinformation and or character assassination by some media practitioners.
World Radio Day (WRD), celebrated on February 13 each year is to recognize the transformation radio has brought to the lives of many across the globe. This year, on the occasion of WRD, UNESCO called on radio stations to celebrate the Day through three sub-themes: Trust in radio journalism: Produce independent and high-quality content; Trust and accessibility: Take care of your audience; and Trust and viability of radio stations: Ensure competitiveness.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Bolgatanga|Ghana
