The Business & Financial Times (B&FT) was on Friday recognised at the 16th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards for its consistency in reporting on social security issues in the country resulting in policy change.
The company received a plaque and a certificate for its efforts. The GJA awards, which begun in 1971, witnessed Kwaku Owusu Peparah emerged as the 25th Journalist of the Year 2010 for his works on the activities of galamsey operators.
Other awards winners on the night included Vicky Wereko who won the Columnist of the year award, Richard Sky- Health, Sammy Darko- Political Reporting, Edward Nyarko- Arts/Entertainment & Domestic Tourism, and Kwaku Owusu Peperah- Rural Reporting.
The rest are, Kofi Yeboah- Agriculture, Caesar Abagile- Child Rights, Samuel Dowuona- Telecommunications, Samuel Agyemang- Disability, Crime & Court Reporting- Asamoah Tuffour, Human Rights- Manasseh Azuri Awuni, and Environmental Sanitation & Hygiene- Hannah Asomaning among others.
The President of the GJA, Ransford Tetteh, who reiterated the role of the media in nation building, bemoaned the unprofessionalism exhibited by some journalists while plying their trade.
�Thanks to the 1992 Constitution the freedom and independence of the media are guaranteed. Our gratitude goes to the vast majority of Ghanaians, whose forbearance has made all the difference.
�They have in the democratic spirit, accommodated media infractions. They include the failure by sections to carry out their gate keeping role effectively, the failure to cross-check and to seek verification of wild allegations when they are made.
�Such recklessness and sloppiness on the part of journalists and other media personnel have encouraged mediocrity in the media and sometimes eroded public confidence in them. Public outcry against unprofessionalism in the media should be a signal to us to step up our commitment to good practices, especially adherence to our Code of Ethics, so that we can bring about media accountability and qualitative change on our media landscape,� he said.
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