Professor calls for Broadcasting law to deal with attacks on journalists

Professor Audrey Gadzekpo has highlighted that media freedom in Ghana is steadily eroding due to a lack of regulation in the broadcasting sector.

She stressed the urgent need for a broadcast law to protect journalists and media practitioners from attacks, referencing the recent World Press Freedom Index, where Ghana ranked 50th out of 180 countries.

Prof. Gadzekpo also remarked, "The absence of a broadcast law should have been addressed from the outset when the airwaves were liberalized."

During her appearance on Joy News' AM Show on Monday, November 11, 2024, with host Benjamin Akakpo, she emphasized the need for penalties against those who target the media.

Between 2019 and 2023, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) documented 45 cases of attacks on journalists. 

A recent incident involved Environmental Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor and three colleagues from Joy News, who were assaulted in the Ashanti Region while covering illegal mining in a protected rainforest. They were attacked by armed illegal miners who seized their equipment, yet the Ghana Police Service has been slow to pursue the case despite the victims' efforts for justice.

Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), also spoke on the show, emphasizing efforts to ensure journalists' safety. He shared that GIBA has trained over 1,000 media professionals nationwide to strengthen ethical standards and technical skills. 

Ghana has had a broadcasting bill since 2014, and media stakeholders have long called for its passage into law. Although the government has repeatedly promised to enact it, the bill remains unpassed.