MTN Gets Accolade For Engagements2 min read

Former Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC) who is also the current chairman of Ghana Writers Association, Nana Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, has commended MTN for being the only corporate organisation in the country to continuously engage media personnel to either improve their skills or seek feedback on their activities with the public towards service improvement.

Nana Kwasi Gyan Apenteng made the observation during an editors’ forum organised for journalists by the company in the Bono and Bono East regions in Sunyani.

Addressing the media, Nana Gyan Apenteng advised against single-source stories. Journalists should rather, he said, strive for multiple sources to enrich their reports and give credibility to the information they put out in the public domain.

“One story can have many sources, for instance, what the issues are before, during and after an incident so try to have all angles to a story.

“Sources are very crucial to our work. Without sources there is no journalism. There are so many single sources in the media today. Due to speed we undermine journalism. We should be wary about this. Ghana used to serve as one of the best in terms of media rating but the standards are falling, according to Afrobarometer indicators,” he said.

Nana Gyan Apenteng, who is also Apagyahene of Akyem Tafo-Ati near Koforidua in the Eastern Region, advised journalists against self-censorship due to the fear of victimisation.

“As journalists information is our stock-in-trade. How much do we appreciate what we can do but we limit ourselves to what we can do. We do self-censorship due to fear and we limit ourselves, no. Get the right source both human sources and material sources from a credible source and go all out. This is because as journalists information is our stock- in-trade,” he stressed.

He urged media personnel to collaborate with one another to get stories from all parts of the region despite the lack of means to go around.

“You don’t have resources to go around so you need to create a network to get the story, especially in these days of technology. As journalists you need to be curious. There are stories everywhere and everytime,” he said.

Senior Corporate Communications Manager of MTN, Georgina Fiagbenu, who was happy with the special guest of honour’s remarks, pleaded with journalists to put into practice what they learnt by way of refresher courses to improve upon their work.