An Excellence Awards ceremony was organised by the Ashanti regional chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to honour media professionals who have advanced the industry in the area.
The event, which was held last Saturday at the Dome event space at Rattray Park in Kumasi, had as its topic "Recognising the media as partners in National Development."
Twenty people and organisations in all received awards for their work in advancing journalism and the media sector in the Ashanti Region.
On the evening, a number of organisations and individuals were also recognised for their contributions to the growth of professional journalism in the area.
Awardees
Beatrice Spio-Garbrah and Victor Opoku from Media General, Erastus Asare Donkor from the Multimedia Group Limited, and others received awards. I K Gyasi, a retired educator, Prince Bempong Marfo, a.k.a. Kojo Marfo, and Justice Isaac Bediako from the EIB Network
The institutions included Multimedia Group Limited and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources' Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project.
keep up your watchdog role
The night's main guest, Nana Boakye Yam Ababio, Chief of Nkwantakese, urged the media to continue exposing social injustices without fear or favour.
While he was at it, he asked the journalists to conduct themselves professionally and to refrain from using their position to disparage others.
He claimed that because of this, media professionals play a crucial role in society. End assaults
The distinguished visitor urged people to encourage journalists rather than criticise them for bringing attention to social injustices in their areas.
He claimed that without journalists, certain villages would not have experienced any kind of improvement in the socioeconomic development of society.
Recognition
Nana Boakye Yam Ababio applauded the group for honouring the winners while they were still living rather than waiting until their passing to pay them tribute at their funerals.
He claimed that receiving acknowledgment will motivate other professionals to give their all to their endeavours.
no luxury for a free press
Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, the National Media Commission's chairman, also emphasised the vital importance of the media's role in a country's growth.
"Media play an important part in all we do.
If there were no media, society would stagnate.
So, it's important to recognise the media's role, which is really important, he added.
He clarified that communication was the foundation of all social relationships and an essential component of democracy since it enabled the transfer of knowledge and increased transparency.
The NMC chairman stated, "We must provide free access to information and increase the quality of information if we are to alleviate poverty.
He highlighted that having a free press was therefore not a luxury but rather "at the core of inequitable development."
According to Mr. Boadu-Ayeboafoh, the media is essential to democracy because it provides the foundation for empowering and allowing the people to voice their ideas and thoughts, as well as take part in the governance, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding processes.
He warned individuals working in the media to treat gathering information as a "public duty and service and, thus, act for the public good."
Objective
Kingsley E. Hope, the GJA's regional chairman, stated that, in contrast to the previous year, when nominations were sought, the organisation opted to handpick a few of the pioneering and up-and-coming journalists in the region who were excelling in order to celebrate them.
According to him, the majority of the recipients were professionals who had carried the profession's flame in the area and paved the way for its growth.
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