Professor Akua Opokua Britwum, the first female Chairperson of the National Media Commission (NMC), has pledged to resuscitate the Regional Media Advisory Committees to foster responsible journalism, advance journalists’ welfare and promote development.

She acknowledged that the committees had a critical role play in the work of the Commission, particularly across the regions, for which reason they needed a revival.

The committees were established in 2016, during the tenure of Nana Gyan Appenteng of blessed memory, to promote ethical journalism, combat misinformation, protect the safety of journalists, bridge the gap between the media and society, and maintain peace, particularly during general elections.

However, they have gone dormant lately.

Prof Britwum made the commitment when she paid a working visit to the Central Regional Office of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Cape Coast during a media tour of the region.

She was responding to a concern raised by Mrs Alice Tettey, the Central Regional Manager and Chief Editor of GNA, who, among other things, observed a dip in ethical standards in the profession.

Prof Britwum commended the GNA regional office for its commitment to work despite the poor working conditions and limited resources.

She explained that her visit was to formally introduce herself, familiarise herself with the operations of the media houses and strengthen collaborations with them.

In the case of GNA, the Chairperson assured that the NMC would work to address many of the challenges raised, including the lack of a befitting office space and equipment.

Mrs Tettey called for the support of government and the NMC to establish a standard regional office to stimulate the work of the agency.

“For a region, our office space is way below standard and so we need a space where we will be comfortable to perform the tasks the state has mandated to us to do.

“If you look around, you can see that we are poorly resourced, we need computers, printers, workstation desks, cameras and an official vehicle to work with,” she said.

Other concerns raised included understaffing, low remuneration, and the need for district offices to expand the reach of the Agency.

Mrs Tettey pleaded with NMC to advocate government to increase investment in the state media in general to perform their work effectively.

She observed that the role of the state media had become more relevant now than ever due to the meteoric rise in disinformation and misinformation which threatened Ghana’s democracy.

“Many private media outlets thrive on disinformation to make profit but we cannot operate like them. The state media have a duty to hold the country together and they must sanitise the information highway as much as possible to ensure credible information and uphold public trust.

“But before we can do that, government must inject more money into our operations to enhance our work,” she said.

“We must not struggle to survive as is currently happening, and we must not be allowed to die because we have a crucial responsibility to save our budding democracy,” she stressed.

Prof Britwum also visited the offices of the Graphic Communications Group, New Times Corporation and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.