Upper West Journalists Honored at Maiden Awards Ceremony

The Upper West Region Ghana Journalists Association held its inaugural awards ceremony for 2023, recognizing outstanding journalism in the region.

The event, themed "Sustaining Ghana's Democracy before, during, and after the 2024 General Elections: The Role of Peace Journalism," saw eight journalists receive awards for their exceptional work.

Mr Rafiq Salam, JoyNews' Upper West Regional correspondent, emerged as the best journalist in the region, also winning the best health reporter award. Mr Philip Tengzu of the Ghana News Agency excelled in the Agriculture and Climate Change categories, while TV3's Ibrahim Wangara took top honors in Tourism and Rural Reporting.  Madam Lydia Darlington Fordjour of the Ghanaian Times was recognized as the best reporter in Education and Human Rights and Gender categories.

Two veteran journalists, Ivan Domasah and Bajin D. Pobia, received special honors for their significant contributions to the region's media development. The maiden Upper West GJA awards were sponsored by the USAID Feed the Future Ghana Policy Link Activity.

Reading the Upper West GJA Chairman's remarks on his behalf, Mr. Seidu Bomanjoi, the Vice Chairman, appealed to the National Secretariat of the GJA to provide support to the regional branch in organizing seminars and media-related training for journalists.

He raised concerns about the proliferation of media outlets in the region, citing a shortage of skilled professionals as a major challenge. This shortage, he argued, was eroding professional standards and undermining ethical journalism in the region.

“Let me quickly say that all is never lost with our current predicament when it comes to the practice of journalism in the region. We the regional executives of the Ghana Journalists Association would want to appeal to our mother organization in Accra for support in the form of organizing seminars, workshops and other media related trainings for journalists in the Upper West Region, here.” This, he believed, would enhance the standard of journalism in the region.

He also urged the association to introduce new modalities for registering new members and renewing existing memberships, as the current system is not yielding the desired results.

Mr Rafiq Salam-Upper West Region Best Journalist for 2023

Mr. Dominic Hlordzi, Organizing Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association, challenged journalists to harness their power to promote transparency and accountability among duty bearers. He emphasized the importance of responsible journalism, encouraging media practitioners to wield their influence with integrity and adhere to the highest standards of professionalism.

Professor Africanus Diedong, Dean of the Faculty of Integrated Development Studies (FIDS) at the Simon Diedong University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, observed that the dominance of political news in the media can be beneficial if reported fairly and balanced.

He, however, warned that political journalism can have detrimental effects, such as creating disorder and compromising good governance, if not practiced ethically.

Professor Diedong emphasized the need for media organizations to invest in capacity building to ensure responsible and informed coverage of the upcoming general elections.