Professor Kwesi Ansu-Kyeremeh of the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, has called for the abolition of the Ministry of Information. That, he said, would enable resources allocated to that ministry to be re-invested in the Ministry of Communications for a more aggressive approach to issues of the information society. Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh, who made the call in his inaugural lecture at Legon in Accra on Thursday, further suggested the "transformation and integration of the Information Services Department into the Office of the President to beef up his publicity machinery". Speaking on the topic, "Ka Nea Woahu", literally meaning "factual reporting", the Professor bemoaned mediocrity and unprofessionalism that had saddled the media landscape and called on practitioners to develop a more professional and balanced way of reporting. He stressed the need to intensify and strengthen self-regulation in reportage and media practices in general to improve and deepen quality and content. Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh called on the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to be courageous enough to set standards with its membership criteria and adopt a more effective sanctioning of errant members and unethical infractions. He urged President Kufuor to ask Parliament to review the existing National Communication Authority (NCA) legislation to ensure that the National Media Commission (NMC) had the wherewithal to introduce regulations and the capacity to enforce them. Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh said the NMC should further be resourced to make it more national and move out of its current confinement as the "Accra Media Commission". He called for the watchdog role of the media to be that which would lead to development and not the destruction of the country. He said whatever journalists reported on should be factual and not necessarily based on facts. Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh said the situation of unprofessional reporting was so grievous that even in this era of expanded space for free expression, some kind of clash between the demands of Articles 19 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was developing. He said as protagonists of freedom of expression intensified their campaign and lobbying for the passage of the Freedom of, Information Bill by Parliament, its antagonists were lobbying for the passage of a Defamation Bill. He urged journalists to let the Constitution and the GJA Code of Ethics be compelling guiding systems for them to achieve excellence in reporting. Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh said the NMC had been orphaned and consequently left in the lurch to struggle to maintain standards and had not received adequate support from Parliament, the courts or the executive. "We should rather look at the journalist with depth and wealth of knowledge grounded in thorough academic and professional training and create opportunities for Ghana Institute of Journalism diploma holders to upgrade themselves to degree and higher levels," he said. He said in Nigeria it was not unusual to find doctorate degree holders editing newspapers and added that that showed in the high standard of journalism in that country. Prof. Ansu-Kye'remeh also called for regulatory bodies such as the NMC and the GJA to be strengthened to perform their mandated role effectively. On the assumption that the commu¬nicative act was culture-specific or deeply rooted in a cultural context, he proposed that an understanding and practice of reporting the news in the Ghanaian or African setting were best sought by examining the socio-cultural backdrop of the communicative activity. He said to achieve critical reporting which propelled development, regulatory framework, pluralism, content and research be addressed through urgent and appropriate reviews, formulations, strategies and actions as they applied to the specific areas. Source: Daily Graphic