By:Isaac Amoah

The President of the Private Newspapers and Online Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), David Tamakloe, has called for urgent support of the media houses, especially private organisations, by the government and other stakeholders to ensure survival of the sector.

Mr Tamaloe said, “Let us also remember the timeless wisdom.” The pen is mightier than the sword, but a pen without ink is useless. Let us provide the ink through funding, through regulation, and through partnership,” he added.

David Tamakloe speaking at the workshop

Mr Tamakloe made the call at the 2-day capacity-building workshop on responsible security reporting in support of Ghana’s national security priorities organised by PRINPAG in collaboration with the National Security Secretariat.

The workshop held at Platinum Bay Hotel in Accra was on the theme “Media as a Strategic Partner in Preventive Security and Early Warning in Ghana.”””

The proactive PRINPAG president said, “I must speak plainly about the war of confusion that surrounds us. The media has been left alone, abandoned, really, to fight for its place in the history of human development and democracy.

COP Abdul-Razak and David Tamakloe

According to him, in our desperation to cower, control, or simply sideline the media, “we have created a monster and set it loose upon ourselves.

That monster is the so-called “new media”. We are being fed a dangerous lie that this chaotic digital space will take over and that the traditional press is a dying relic. Let us not be deluded! There is no alternative to the traditional media. The media is only one; it has always been one, and it will always remain one. ”

Mr Tamakloe pointed out that “Let me be unequivocal: the madness we witness on social media is NOT journalism. Journalism, he maintained, is a noble profession that has shaped humanity for centuries.It has championed the oppressed and chronicled the triumphs of the human spirit.

COP Abdul-Razak, Shamima Muslim & other officials in a group photograph with participants

He,therefore, cautioned that they (government and other stakeholders) must not throw this profession under the bus simply because “we have grown intolerant of divergent views or, worse, because we are unwilling to finance its growth. As the great American philosopher George Santayana warned, “Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. “If we abandon journalism, we abandon memory itself.”

On the challenge of regulation and resourcing, Mr David Tamakloe argued that ‘we are often told that democracy is expensive. Yet, paradoxically, we have cut media budgets and failed to provide the regulations that protect the sanctity of our industry. With the evolution of time, we can legislate to protect the media not to stifle freedom of speech but to insulate truth from the cacophony of falsehood. As Justice Louis Brandeis famously declared, “Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. Let us shine that sunlight through a well-resourced, well-regulated, and fiercely independent press.”.
Mr David Tamakloe said that is why media associations like PRINPAG must be supported. Emphasising that they ( PRINPAG) can not sharpen their swords on stones that do not exist.
According to him, private media must be oiled, empowered, and equipped to thrive. But resources alone are not enough. He, therefore, advised that as journalists and media practitioners, they must use their integrity to defend the journalism profession. “We must uphold standards, value our culture and our shared humanity, and always prioritise our nation’s interest above narrow agendas. Remember the old African proverb: “A clear conscience is a soft pillow. “Let our integrity be our pillow as we sleep at night,” he stressed. The PRINPAG President commended the National Security Secretariat for the invaluable partnership.