The Directorate of Research, Innovation and Development (DRID) of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) has organized a two-day webinar on the theme: ‘Accessing the media’s performance during the 2020 general elections.
The public lecture which came off on Friday April 9, 2021 and Monday April 12, 2021 brought on board four speakers from the media, regulators, and academia.
According to Senior Lecturer and Director of (DRID) Dr, Etse Sikanku, the initiative is to afford the media an opportunity to reflect on its own work for future improvement.
Mr. Sulemana Braimah, Exective Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) kicked off the first section on Friday with a presentation on the topic. His presentation focused on ethical issues in the media’s conduct in its line of action before, during and post elections.
The second speaker for the day was ace broadcaster Mr. Bernardino Koku Avle. The General Manager for Citi FM/TV did a more Citi case study with his presentation on the subject. He gave modeled how Citi covered the elections using radio, television, website and new media.
Day two of the webinar happened on Monday April 12, 2021, at 12noon. The two speakers for the day were the (HoD) of Department of Communication Sciences, Dr. Lawrencia Agyepong, and Mr. Zakaria Tanko Musah, lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Journalist and Private Legal Practitioner.
Dr. Agyepong’s presentation took a look at the media coverage of female and male voices in the 2020 elections. Her observation was that the media as well as political candidates, need to “make deliberate effort to give equal representation to both men and women in all aspects of election and campaign coverage.”
This year’s webinar was rounded up with a presentation from Mr. Zakaria Tanko Musah. Mr. Tanko’s presentation took a larger perspective on the subject, detailing the uniqueness of the 2020 election, the rights, the challenges and the way forward.
Meanwhile, all four of the speakers commended the media in for the job they did in covering the , to sustain the democracy of this country.
The Gij maiden webinar attracted dozens of participants from various professional fields, media practitioners, regulators, lecturers and students.
BY: ESTHER AWAGAH