MEDIA HOUSE OWNERS BECOMING A THREAT TO JOURNALISM.

Journalism is defined by the dictionary as an occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news, or of conducting any news organization as a business. 
Journalism is a very noble profession due to its educative, informative and entertaining nature. Greater percentage of the public relies on the media for information which they deem as very real and true. Professionals in this aspect of life turn to become middle men between public and private institutions and the people, thus a very delicate and important activity. In Ghana where there is a high level of press freedom coupled with the fun and fame that comes with journalism, a greater section of the youth aspire to become journalists in the future. I am no exception because as a primary pupil where I did not even know that talking on radio was called journalism, I will always say that I want to work on radio anytime I am asked what I want to be in future. At the time, distinguished names like Komla Dumor were in the lime light and I will always tell my family that I want to become like Komla Dumor. It was later in JHS that I learnt more about what journalism was, a reason I opted to offer General Arts in High School. In High School too, more than half of my classmates wished to become journalists, meaning a lot of the youth in Ghana see the profession as a worthy one.

Yes indeed, journalism is a noble and powerful profession. Greater part of the media landscape is made up of journalists who perform various duties of the entire profession from reporting, writing, editing to broadcasting, presenting, etc. Thus if the media which in some circumstances considered as being a very crucial section in national development and a supposed fourth arm of government,then professionals who work in these media houses can be said to be powerful. People every now and then are glued to their radio and TV sets just to listen to what information is trending which they deem very true and accurate. It is very difficult to convince a people to change their mind over something that they hear on radio or watched on TV. Meaning people act in direction to a lot of information that comes from the journalist. These and other reasons are why the profession of journalism is such a crucial one. 

But gradually, the journalism profession is going down the drain where a lot of the youth today are somewhat not enthused or highly interested in becoming journalists. And one main reason for this decline is due to the lack of proper gain and care that the journalist gets from his or her employers. Not to shadow the issue, the profession of journalism does not pay in Ghana, a reason for the high decline in interest. In this piece, I will apportion the blame of this decline to media house owners. A greater percentage of journalists are not paid well in Ghana which I deem very worrying and a threat to this noble profession. As for what accounts for that, I am unable to determine. In most media houses, only the top notches who after struggling for so many years get paid well. Others are those who get poached from other media organisations. If one is not in this category, then you may either be paid less or not paid at all. Aside passion, every individual in life wishes to benefit from whatever job he or she does so as to take care of him or herself and the family. Thus no matter the passion for the profession, journalists will want to live and live comfortable with what they do. But it is unfortunate that in this part of the world, journalists are one of the least paid in the job market. The 
situation is so bad that at the least opportunity, journalists who should be working in their field accept offers from other areas in the job sector.

One reflection of this is the low interest in enrolling to offer journalism in our institutions. A typical 
example is the number of students offering journalism at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. The school offers two main courses which are journalism and public relations. From my little research, I have noticed that people prefer to offer Public Relations to Journalism. It is somewhat surprising to know that students who are already working and given the opportunity to offer a top- up course in either Public Relations or Journalism are opting for Public Relations over Journalism. Funny enough, most of these workers are journalists working in the various media houses. So one will ask, why will someone already a journalist refuse to offer a course in that area but rather offer a sister course which is Public Relations. My little interaction with some of these students reveal that the journalism job is not paying, thus a study in Public Relations will offer them the advantage of leaving their respective media houses to take up jobs in institutions that may need the services of PR 
practitioners. As at now, the level 300 top-up Public Relations class of the Ghana Institute of Journalism is divided into A and B due to the large number of entrants whiles the Journalism class is not even half of either A or B of the PR class. 

Another reflection is how quick journalists accept offers from institutions different from media houses. Even very renowned and excelling journalists leave their respective media houses and are now seen working for the various public and private institutions. A few seem to be doing the journalism job as rather a part time activity. Like I indicated earlier, I will want to blame the owners and managers of the various media houses for not paying most of their employees well. I have not worked as a manager in any media house before but I have worked in a media house and have an idea how much media houses make from companies who come to advertise with them. Indeed, a lot of money is charged for placing an advert on any program in a media house especially when the program has so much listenership. Placing adverts on the various media platforms is one key way of making sales in Ghana thus every company irrespective of how small or big they are strive to advertise their products and services . So how come the huge amount charged by media owners does not reflect on the pay check of their workers; the very people who work tirelessly with passion and creativity to bring listenership to their various programs which in turn attracts the sponsorships.  This is a job that does not attract pension pay or any ex-gratia, thus at the time of working, I think the journalist needs to be paid well so that he or she can be able to cater for him or herself and the family. 

From another angle, the low pay check given to journalists is having a serious effect on the profession as a whole. It is no news that journalists accept some form of tip or allowance popularly known as ‘’soli’’. This allowance which is given by institutions who invite journalists to come and cover their events is a threat to the truth and accuracy ingredient that the profession holds. Some institutions go to the extent of influencing the journalists after giving out ‘soli’ on what angle he or she should report the story from. Thus, the journalist may cover up some truths. This menace is not good which I see as an indictment of the integrity of the profession. But the inadequate monies paid as salaries make this a well-known activity where some journalists even go to the extent of chasing institutions for their ‘’soli’’. Failure to pay may hinder the institution’s story from getting broadcast or given less attention in time of broadcasting or publication. But when people who 
make the story begin to control how it should be broadcasted, then we are in danger because it takes away that impartiality nature of the journalist which is one of its main attribute.

I could go on and on about how the low pay checks issue is becoming a serious threat to the interest of journalism and the integrity of the profession. I therefore plead and urge media houses to treat their workers well because these are the same people who work hard for them to make money.

Another #Reality from my Medulla Oblongata!

Thanks for reading, you comments, criticisms and contributions are welcomed.