A former Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, has advised the media to improve the way journalism is conducted especially during election coverage by focusing reportage on vital events.

He said between the last general election and now, there has been an emergence of a very complicated media landscape that has both merits and demerits for media work and particularly election coverage.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Change Speaker Series VII on Saturday, May 11, Mr Gyan-Apenteng said some of this emergence is characterised by a phenomenon known as post-truth environment.

He explained that the post-truth environment encompasses various elements such as fake news and disinformation, which he said creates an atmosphere where truth is not as important as how people respond to whatever they are presented with.

He underscores the challenges faced by the media as technological advancements enable them to explore new avenues in reporting.

Reflecting on past elections, Mr Gyan-Apenteng noted the evolution of media coverage, citing instances where statements lacking evidence were disseminated uncritically by the media.

“So if you take the 2000 elections, … it was virtually uncontested so whatever was presented was basically in the end held as the fact. Then the last election, even when the tabulation was going on, somebody made a statement like we are in a comfortable lead.

“There was no evidence presented, the media took this and ran with the statement but trained journalists in elections reporting would put that in contest and say that this statement has been made but at that time, these were the facts; the election officials had reported A, B, C.”

The communication consultant stressed that the media should not report what political actors say even if they know it to be contrary to the facts.

He stresses that while the media should not suppress contrary viewpoints, journalists must possess the expertise to provide analysis and perspective to empower citizens in their understanding of political discourse.