Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, has criticized some of the reportage on the Airbus bribery scandal as distasteful and has called for greater professionalism among media practitioners.
In a Facebook post, he suggested that, as a thinking society, reports on the OSP’s investigation into the Airbus scandal should focus on facts rather than trivialities.
“As a thinking society, which one should we be interested in, and which one should we expect to be reported by the professional media for the purposes of information and education of the generality of our citizenry?” he quizzed.
Explaining why he believes the media coverage of the scandal was poor, Prof. Gyampo asked, “Which one is a sensible news item worth reporting in the interest of nation building? Mahama being Government Official One or Mahama not guilty of the lies and propagandistic charge of corruption in the Airbus Scandal?”
He said “In a very polarized body politic like ours, one side of the divide would be interested in highlighting the “straw” aspect of the OSP investigations while the other obviously would celebrate the substance of the story, especially when it has gone well for them, and this is not unusual in a transitional democracy like ours”.
“The media reportage this morning [August 9] on the outcome of the OSP investigation into the Airbus Scandal, is just one example of some media houses deciding to major on minor issues in their headlining and reportage of major national issues. There are many more examples and I believe well-meaning Ghanaians can relate to what I am talking about.
“Media reportage this morning on the outcome of the OSP investigation into the Airbus Scandal, is just one example of some media houses deciding to major on minor issues in their headlining and reportage of major national issues,” he said.
He continued, “There are many more examples and I believe well-meaning Ghanaians can relate to what I am talking about”.
He concluded echoing that “It must be stated bluntly that though some politicians are corrupt, some media practitioners are worst, especially when they are offered financial inducement to write headlines, host programmes, and churn out stories as if they never went to school; as if the need to safeguard our democracy and maintain national cohesion and peace, doesn’t matter; and as if they cannot think beyond mere money! ‘Sika y3 mogya’, but really, what is the value of money without peace?”