The Eastern Region Minister, Mr. Kwadwo Afram-Asiedu has challenged editors and media house owners to pay good salaries to their staff and also resource them well in order to help their staff to avoid gifts which are likely to influence their reportage. He said, as much as he agreed with the Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Journalist Association that, journalists should not accept gifts from organizers of functions, editors and media owners needed to help make such gifts unattractive by way of paying attractive salaries to media personnel and establishing good conditions of service for them. Mr. Afram-Asiedu was speaking at a press soiree organized for members of the media in the Koforidua Municipality at his residence. The Regional Minister expressed concern about low salaries some editors and media owners pay to their staff and expressed surprise at the information that some media personnel were not being paid salaries and even some did not receive their salaries regularly, adding; “how can a journalist work under such condition and expect him to perform well.” Mr. Afram-Asiedu commended the Eastern Regional press corps for their commitment and dedication, which has brought the region into the limelight. He however, expressed concern about some reporters who did not cross-check their facts well enough before rushing to publish. He said his doors were opened to everybody and therefore called on journalists to contact his office for any information bothering their mind and be circumspect in their reportage. The Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Ofosu Asamoah urged journalists not to focus all their attention on politics at the expense of other social issues such as HIV and AIDS which continued to spread in the region and threatening the socio-economic progress of the country. He also advised journalists to upgrade themselves academically to be able to face the challenges ahead. Source: GNA