Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC) said on Tuesday that the establishment of the Media Development Fund is testimony of late President Atta Mills’ commitment to the promotion of media excellence in Ghana.

Ambassador Blay-Amihere therefore urged President John Dramani Mahama to fulfill the assignment started by his predecessor as a way of immortalizing the departed leader.

“The operation of the Media Development Fund in the spirit of the 1992 Constitution is one way we all can pay tribute to the late President Mills”, he said.

The NMC Chairman made these remarks when he spoke on the topic, “Promoting Free, Fair and Peaceful Elections: The Role of Media Owners and Chief Executives” at a day’s workshop on responsible media standards organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at Akosombo.

The forum which was held under the theme “Stand up for Ghana”, was attended by media owners and Chief Executives of media organizations.

Ambassador Blay-Amihere observed that, the implementation of the Fund was encountering temporary challenges, notably the uncertainty about where to host the Fund, but said such difficulties should not discourage the current administration from pursuing to a logical conclusion what the late President Mills had initiated.

“Today’s media landscape is expanded and therefore difficult to control”, he said, adding that media owners would help to promote the agenda for peace if they made it a policy to recruit well trained professionals who also have a high sense of responsibility to the society.

Alhaji Abdul-Rahman Harruna Attah, Board Member of the Ghana News Agency who addressed the topic “Overview of the Guidelines for fair and Equitable Reporting”, called on journalists to rise above partisanship and unprofessional conduct, and place the national interest above all other considerations.

He said the fact that everyone in Ghana was calling for peaceful elections this year was an indication that there was tension in the country, and tasked journalists to contribute to diffusing that tension by abiding by the Ghana Journalists Association and National Media Commission guidelines for election coverage.

In her remarks, Mrs Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the NCCE observed that the start and finish of the nation’s democracy rested with the media which set the agenda for the rest of society.

“The media play a very important role in nation building”, she said, and urged journalists to emulate the selfless spirit of the late President Mills. They should also exercise some circumspection in the way they criticized politicians, in order not to scare away good people from putting themselves forth for public service.**