[ 2016-10-23 ]

No "Neutral" Journalists; it's "Naivety" "Futile Exercise" To Search For One -
Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi
Pratt Jnr. believes there are no neutral
journalists so far as media practice is
concerned.

To him, it will be an "exercise in futility" for
one to go in search of such a journalist; implying
that every media practitioner has an agenda.

In a apparent response to President John Dramani
Mahama's lamentations that there's a media cabal
blocking the good news of his government to
Ghanaians, Mr Pratt cautioned political leaders to
"stop looking for neutral Communicators...it's a
mark of naivety and some times, a mark of
something else to be looking for neutral
Communicators."

President Mahama, in a recent interview with
Ovation International Magazine, bemoaned the
blocking of his administration's transformational
agenda by a group he describes as a "media cabal",
sieving their (government's) good performance
before it reaches Ghanaians.

“It is populism, a certain group has taken
control of the media in Ghana and it makes it
difficult for people to discern the truth. So as
much as you are putting out the information, it is
either being blocked or distorted,” he said.

Speaking to the issue on Radio Gold's "Alhaji and
Alhaji", Kwesi Pratt emphasized that it's a naive
person that thinks that media practitioners are
neutral people.

Mr. Pratt further blamed leaders and government
officials for causing their own problems, noting
that journalists are not obliged to pick news
angles from their perspectives.

He advised them to rather sift their speeches.

"Now, I listen to all these officials including
Presidents, Ministers, opposition leaders and so
on. Is it possible to report everything they say.
It is not...It is not possible. That is why when
public officers, when prominent people are
speaking; they have to choose what they say. So,
if you're going to speak at a public place
somewhere and you, yourself, you add irrelevant
things in your speech; you create the conditions
for people to pick what you consider to be
relevant which they may consider to be most
relevant," he said.

Source - Peacefmonline

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