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Tamale, Ghana – Chief Executive Officer of Centre for Media Analysis (CMA), Dr. Messan Mawugbe, says recent distasteful criticism of the Ghanaian media by the General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) Pastor Mensah Otabil, is unfair.
In a direct response to the controversial Christian preacher’s denigration of the Ghanaian media, Dr Mawugbe said in a Facebook post: “I appreciate my respected pastor’s opinion, but it’s not a fair comment on the Ghanaian media. The Ghanaian media like any human institution, may’ve her own shortfalls. To juxtapose the quality of the Ghanaian media in an animalistic-instinct comparative analysis it’s not a comprehensive appreciation of the Ghanaian media.
“The Ghanaian media, to a larger extent, deserve a commendation, considering the promotion of democracy, economy, social, and entertainment”, the communication expert indicated.
During the 34th anniversary of the ICGC, Pastor Otabil told his congregation that rather than focusing on discussing issues that confront the development of the country, Ghanaian media choose to wallow in ceaseless political discussions all-year round.
He said the media in Ghana are so “depressing” and full of “mediocrity” – and said that compelled him to watch foreign TV channels that show documentaries about animals rather than wasting his time listening to Ghanaian radio or watching Ghanaian Television stations.
“You listen to our national conversations, you wonder: are we serious? We eat and drink politics… Turn on radio; here [Ghana], there is no political vacation. From the time the vote is cast to the time the next vote is cast, we argue politics morning, afternoon, evening”, he said.
“… We can’t think any ideas, we can’t think solutions and we are driving ourselves into this abyss of hopelessness,” he added.
But Dr Mawugbe who is a former Senior Lecturer at Central University, a university owned by Pastor Otabil’s ICGC opined that, “a critique of the Ghanaian media should be specific, example, content-thematic oriented, programmes, etc, so that the media can reorient itself towards the needed change”.
According to him, for Pastor Otabil to throw the quality of the media into an animalistic-instinct appraisal, in his opinion, was not the way forward.
He further noted that, “the media, or the Ghanaian media is an extension of the Ghanaian society. My respected pastor’s opinion should rather be a national call for us to reflect on our needs as a country, as society”.
By Savannahnews
