Media practitioners have been criticised for focusing excessively on political reportage when the needs of the destitute call for more attention.

The media has therefore been urged to refrain from overconcentrating on politics to expose the dilapidated state of the remote areas.

The Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin made the call at a working lunch for the media organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in Accra last week under the theme, "The media as public educator".

The Okyehene, who has instituted activities to boost education for instance, stated that during a tour of his kingdom it came to light that most of the schools in the Eastern Region have no basic logistics. He noted that this is a contributing factor to the low standard of education in Ghana.

Media practitioners from both the print and electronic, political party representatives, the police and civil servants attended the programme. It was aimed at guiding the media from improper language use to project peace and stability.

The Director of the School of Communication Studies, Legon, Professor Ansu-Kyeremeh said a professional media practitioner ought to be able to rise above personalising and sensationalising reports.

He observed that a trained broadcaster ought to be able to identify poor language and deal with it by exacting apologies and insisting that callers purge themselves of it.