The founder of the Centre for Media Analysis,  an independent media research institution, says journalists in the country should be encouraged to ask strong and pointed questions.

While praising some journalists for the quality of their questions to President John Mahama at his first anniversary media encounter,  Dr. Messan Mawugbe said the journalists ought to have backed their questions with statistics.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show Wednesday, Dr. Mawugbe charged journalists to do thorough research on national issues in order to be able to ask strong questions.

He was reviewing the performance of journalists at President Mahama’s first official meeting with the press at the Flagstaff House.

As part of activities marking his one year in office, President Mahama met a cross section of the media yesterday at the Flag Staff House.

Journalists took the opportunity to question the President on his performance over the past year.

Questions asked bordered on a wide range of issues including corruption, education, the media development fund, energy, fire outbreaks among others.

While the event was hailed, some critics say some of the questions were basic and empty.

The Head of the Political Science Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr. Richard Amoako Baah said the inability of the journalists to ask follow-up questions deducted from the event.

He said the situation allowed the president to offer half-baked answers and got away with it.

For him, many of the questions could have been better framed and would have elicited better responses from the president.

Dr. Mawugbe of the Centre for Media Analysis Mawugbe agreed.

“Journalists couldn’t back their questions with statistics…statistical data to entrench their questioning were lacking,” he stressed.

Government says it is considering making the event a quarterly one to enable journalists interact more with the president.

Journalists may therefore have a better opportunity to ask statistics-backed questions at the next meeting with the president.