The recent prying of the Police Service into the work of the press requires immediate attention before the service goes to town to close down all media outlets and silence reporters on the way back to the headquarters. There is no mild way to put it; the conduct of the Ghana Police Service in the matter involving the three invitations sent media personnel endanger press freedom in the country. There is no justification whatsoever in the current environment for such actions and hopefully President Mills and his government would see the need to curtail the madness being perpetrated by the service.
The explanation given by DSP Kwesi Ofori, undermines his responsibilities as the public relations officer of the Ghana Police Service. There are a thousand and one ways to address the issue if he felt the report carried by the Ghanaians Times was in bad taste or based on a false premise. As the public relations officer, the good DSP could have addressed the issue in a news conference or write a rejoinder to the Ghanaian Times stating the perceived falsehoods in the story. By threatening force, the service opens itself up for criticism of abuse of power which then extends to the government of the day.
Perhaps it is time for the Mills led NDC government, to pursue a comprehensive media or broadcasting law to regulate behavior and promote accountability in the media. Doing so would foster democracy as well as redeem the NDC from the poor history handed it by the PNDC.
The government needs to take a decisive step in view of the police incursions into the media space under the guise of an outdated colonial law to harass journalists. Under existing GJA rules, the reporter involved in the story would have been dealt with much more effectively without the insidious attempt by the police service to micro manage news reporting. Journalists should not be allowed a field day to do, say or publish whatever their pens produces but certainly the police are not be the ones to be elected to correct seeming transgressions in the media.
Perhaps it is time for the Mills led NDC government, to pursue a comprehensive media or broadcasting law to regulate behavior and promote accountability in the media. Doing so would foster democracy as well as redeem the NDC from the poor history handed it by the PNDC.
The government needs to take a decisive step in view of the police incursions into the media space under the guise of an outdated colonial law to harass journalists. Under existing GJA rules, the reporter involved in the story would have been dealt with much more effectively without the insidious attempt by the police service to micro manage news reporting. Journalists should not be allowed a field day to do, say or publish whatever their pens produces but certainly the police are not be the ones to be elected to correct seeming transgressions in the media.
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