The founder of Ghana\u2019s first private radio station, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, has rejected claims by the President that a section of the media are blocking government messages about its achievement.<\/p>\n
According to him such messages are instead being blocked by arrogance shown by government communicators who waste media spaces given them instead of explaining to Ghanaians their successes.<\/p>\n
Arrogance blocking gov\u2019t messages<\/strong><\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”r9DWZtJBtmHaIt7Czoje5ouPW26cLPIO”]\u201cI have not seen any media not giving space to different opinions but unfortunately some abuse it, those in power think that they can pick and choose who to speak to and when to speak and then they found out that picking and choosing is not the same as reaching the audience,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Dr. Wereko-Brobby made the comment on Eyewitness News<\/strong> on the back of an interview Mahama granted the Ovation Magazine<\/strong><\/a><\/span> where he among other things expressed worry over what he calls the control of Ghana\u2019s media by a cabal who are blocking his message of transformation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is populism, a certain group has taken control of the media in Ghana and it makes it difficult for people to discern the truth. So as much as you are putting out the information, it is either being blocked or distorted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Media censorship is over<\/strong><\/p>\n But Dr. Wereko Brobbey who is also a chief policy analyst at the Ghana Institute for Public Policy Options (GIPPO) noted that the era of media censorship has ended and hence government cannot control what media houses publish.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately you cannot dictate to the professional ones and also I\u2019ve noticed that even the so-called cabal, they give opportunities to all political shades of opinions to speak their mind. Unfortunately there is an arrogance of power which is being displayed. When people get the opportunity instead of selling their message and their achievements, they would prefer to insult others and crowd out the space that has been given them to explain exactly what they have done.\u2026 The media has taken it upon itself to do fact checking so that if you go out and say you have done ABDCD the media is not likely to swallow it hook and sinker. You can do that with your partisan media but you can\u2019t do that with professional organisations who are seeking to inform the people of Ghana,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n What should government do?<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Wereko-Brobby also admonished government to ensure that information it wants disseminated to the public must be credible.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the thing for government to do is to make sure to disseminate information that is truthful and does not take anguish with media people.\u201d<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Godwin A. Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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