News website, ghanaweb.com, was the worse perpetrator of ethical violations among 39 other Ghanaian media organisations in the months of June and July, 2014. Next to the news website in violation of ethics were the Accra-based Oman FM and Adom FM in that order.
This is contained in the latest report of the Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA) media ethics monitoring project. The report noted that the ethical principle of decency which requires the media to be decent in their reportage is the most abused ethical principle.
The report also highlighted a significant improvement on the part of the Daily Guide newspaper, which recorded seven violations in May to top the newspaper category in that month but recorded just one violation for the two months – June and July.
The report also highlights the impact of ethical violations on the credibility, freedom and survival of the media and makes recommendations as to how editors, journalists, media professional groups and the national regulator, National Media Commission, can help improve the situation.
The media ethics monitoring forms part of activities under the MFWA’s project: “Promoting Professional Standards and Enhancing the Watchdog Role of the Ghanaian Media” which is being funded by STAR-Ghana. The project is aimed at contributing to improving professional standards of the media and supporting them to play a more effective role in fostering transparent and accountable governance in Ghana through critical and investigative stories.
Please click here for the full report.
