Koforidua, Dec 19, GNA- Mr. Ransford Tetteh, the President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) and Editor of the Daily Graphic, has stressed the need for journalists to abide by the code and ethics of the profession. He said the code of ethics which required that balance and fairness in reportage were afforded to all manner of persons was crucial for the media in consolidating its role as the fourth estate of the realm. To the GJA President, the role of being the fourth estate of the realm after the executive, legislature and the judiciary, was critical that the need for high journalistic professional standards could not be overemphasized.

Mr. Tetteh who was speaking at a Media soiree hosted by the Mac-Dic Royal Plaza hotel for the Eastern Regional branch of the GJA in Koforidua, noted that in as much as "we hold people accountable, we should also be accountable to the dictates of our profession".

He said the role of the media enjoined the GJA to partner with all stakeholders in the country's socio-economic development, especially the private sector to ensure that businesses were operating under fair and regulated conditions for the benefit of the society. Mr. Edmund Quaynor, the Regional Chairman of the GJA, said the role of the media had become more necessary and critical than ever in Ghana's transitional stage now and that called for enhanced professionalism. He said the media was a reflection of the society and therefore must live above reproach and operate according to the professional standards and requirements of the rules of the profession.

Mr. Quaynor thanked the Mac-Dic Royal Plaza for recognizing the efforts of the GJA and invited the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hotel, Nana Adjei Twinin, to become a patron of the association. Mr. Emmanuel Sarfo, a veteran journalist and a former Chairman of the GJA's Ethics Committee, called on young journalists to emulate the professional standards set to ensure that the role of the media was consolidated.

Nana Adjei Twinin said since the inception of the Mac-Dic Company, it had enjoyed the support of the media in its growth. He announced that the Mac- Dic Royal Plaza hotel in Koforidua has won the best business and financial excellence award in the tourism sector organized by the Ministry of Trade and Industries. According to Nana Twinin, although the hotel passed for a four-star, it had reduced its rate to be accessible to all for the improvement of tourism in the region and urged the media to help the private sector to grow. 19 Dec. 09