Ghanaian Broadcaster and Executive Head, influencer Africa Israel Laryea has advised colleague journalists and media practitioners to get aside business to aid in their financial needs.
According to him, despite the media being acknowledged as the Fourth Estate, adequate resources aren’t available which turns to put most journalists in a poor financial condition.
Coincidentally, a report on the state of the Ghanaian media has revealed that the media is not financially viable with the majority of journalists poorly paid.
The report compiled by the Communications Department of the University of Ghana and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) also disclosed that the Ghanaian media industry is heavily plagued by saturation, the cost of doing business in Ghana, dwindling advertising budgets, and the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting the viability of the media.
Mr. Laryea had made this call on Thursday October 5,2023, at the opening ceremony of a two day media workshop by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) on Prevention of Violent Extremism through Social Accountability (PoVETSA) Project.
The PoVETSA project aims to translate an iterative learning process into a trust-building mechanism for Ghanaian national peace building institutions, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), security services, and civilians.
The project seeks to bring together key stakeholders towards an integrated approach to improve public trust and civilian confidence in security services for the prevention of violent extremism. This training initiative is specifically tailored for journalists and is prompted by the need to bridge information gaps and empower citizens with the knowledge required to make informed decisions.
Mr. Laryea believes that if journalists are able to find themselves aside gigs that support their financial stability, influential people will find it difficult to get access to them, which in turn makes them vigilant in carrying out their duties.
