The acting Volta Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ms Modesta Annie Sapaty, has called on media practitioners to be conscious of their crucial role in ensuring democratic pluralism and the holding of peaceful elections in Ghana. She also reminded them of their duty of ensuring public order, fair, non-partisan reportage for the purpose of protecting the reputation and freedom of people in the game of politics and nation building. Ms Sapaty also urged the media to exercise their constitutional mandate "with circumspection and professionalism, devoid of yellow journalism and the brand of sensationalism that confronts positive media skills and other practices". She gave the admonition when she addressed some staff of the NCCE and journalists in the region for the purpose of educating and reminding participants about the crucial role and the stake they had in the upcoming elections. The media, she reminded, had the onerous national assignment of creating an enabling environment for election 2008 "to sustain our fledgling democracy". On the part of the NCCE, she said they had embarked on a programme of activities with the sole aim of educating the electorate to prepare adequately to exercise their franchise in "an atmosphere of peace, tolerance, non-violence, and forbearance as one people with a common destiny of attaining a middle income status by year 2015 through good political governance". She also entreated the media to highlight concerns that would be raised for redress in order to make the elections free, fair and transparent, saying "there is indeed the need for a strong media presence and participation at all functions and events in the run-up, during and after the elections". Giving her observations on the just-ended voters registration exercise, she noted that it was characterised by ugly scenes, most of which were highlighted by the media. She expressed the hope that subsequent events that would unfold in the general conduct of the processes of Elections 2008 would equally catch the attention of the media "to enable us all to create that atmosphere to necessitate clean campaign, devoid of enmity, rancour, maligning, vilification of character of the key players that will contest". The Volta Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association CGJA), Mr Kobla Ali Kukubor; reminded media practitioners of the need to always be guided by the ethics of the profession. He said journalists had a sacred duty to the public, which must not be shirked •in the name of personal greed and sectarian interests. Mr Kukubor also warned against some impostors who were dragging the name of the profession in the mud through acts of extortion from unsuspecting victims, and called on the police to arrest and prosecute such people. During an open forum, participants were unanimous in their call for "the government to adequately resource the NCCE for it to effectively carry out its mandate. Source: Daily Graphic