–By Alex Blege.

Universally, every professional or individual swears an oath of allegiance before taking up a job or begins to practice in the profession he or she has been schooled in.

Actually, the journalist owes allegiance to the citizenry first before his or her employer. This is what makes the journalist independent.

This oath of allegiance is unlike that of the doctors’ Hippocratic Oath. Ours is unspoken. Every journalist in this country has an idea about the GJA Code of Ethics. In fact, I remember vividly that while I was at Ghana Institute of Journalism we were made know what the GJA Code of Ethics entails.

A look at the GJA Code of Ethics shows that all the articles consistently enjoins the journalist to be fair and credible to the public or the citizenry. All professionals work to serve society. It is not only the prerogative of the journalist to serve society.

However, the journalist’s first unspoken oath of allegiance is to the citizenry or let me be a little gender biased- the common man on the streets of any of the ten regions in our BELOVED MOTHER GHANA.

A journalist has no option than to serve the interest of the citizenry even in the face of conflicts with employers or with the style of the media house he or she works with.

In my candid opinion, the best journalist is not the one who has won awards across the length and breadth of the seven continents, but the one who has consistently and persistently been committed to the citizenry.

The above assertion is without malice aforethought but, to state my opinion on the current trend of verbal assaults that are being peddled against journalists who decide to open the can of worms in our society.

ALEX BLEGE: kw.ameblege@hotmail.com/www.gudzetsekomla.blogspot.com