Journalists cautioned against sensationalism

A media training workshop for journalists in the mine regions has ended at Obuasi with a call on the media to avoid sensationalism in its reportage.

The theme for the three-day workshop was “Covering Mining Amidst Covid-19”.

Mr. Fred Avornyo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Elded Consult and a Resource Personnel, who spoke on media sensationalism at the workshop, stressed on factualism and urged the media to always depend on good sources and content to be able to develop an accurate story.

He reminded journalists of the repercussions for coming out with an untrue story about somebody, and stressed, “If you do that and you get the story wrong and damage some one’s character, you will be sued and sometimes jailed.”

Mr. Avornyo advised the media practitioners to always look for credible sources so that they could report accurately with fact and figures.

He reminded them of the competition among the various media houses, but advised that “if you want to become the best among the lot, one has to be careful not to damage his credibility due to unnecessary competition in the media landscape.”

The Resource Person advised the media to read widely to acquire a lot of vocabulary so that they could come out with beautiful and insightful headlines that would entice the reader.

Mr. Emmanuel Baidoo, Senior Manager, Sustainability of AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, appreciated the immense role of the media in the socio-economic development of the nation.

He said the way the media had positioned itself as a credible partner in development has contributed to the advancement of the nation in many ways.

The Sustainability Manager told the media that the coming back of AngloGold Ashanti places much responsibility on everybody to ensure that the agenda of new Obuasi, a new AGA, is achieved.

From Frederick Danso Abeam, Obuasi

The post Journalists cautioned against sensationalism appeared first on The Chronicle Online.

Read Full Story