The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has urged journalists to uphold ethical standards and protect public trust as technology continues to change the media industry.
He made the call at a symposium in Accra on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, to mark the 77th anniversary of the GJA. The theme was “GJA @ 77: Building on Our Legacy, Advancing Ethical Journalism and Shaping the Future of Digital Media.”
Mr Dwumfour said the anniversary was both a celebration of the GJA’s achievements and a call to prepare the association for the future. He thanked past leaders for building the foundation of the association and said the current leadership had a duty to strengthen it for future generations.
He said the GJA had played an important role in promoting press freedom, professional journalism and Ghana’s democracy. He also called for better working conditions for journalists, saying the profession must provide dignity and security to attract young people.
On technology, Mr Dwumfour said artificial intelligence (AI), social media and data journalism had created new opportunities but also brought challenges such as misinformation, fake content and manipulated images and audio.
He urged journalists to verify information before publishing and said technology should assist, rather than replace, human judgment and ethics.
The Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Ing. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, also stressed the importance of journalism to Ghana’s democratic and national development.
Mr Fianko said digital technology had made news faster and more accessible but warned that speed should not come at the expense of accuracy and fairness. He urged journalists to use AI responsibly and pay attention to cybersecurity.
He also disclosed that more than 500 new communication sites were being built to improve connectivity, while existing sites were being upgraded.
The UNESCO Representative to Ghana, Edmond Moukala, expressed support for the GJA and inducted members of the association’s reconstituted statutory committees.
The GJA President also announced that entries for the 30th GJA Media Awards would open soon, with submissions to be made through the association’s new website.
He urged journalists to measure their success not by the number of views their stories receive, but by whether the stories are accurate and trusted by the public.
Ghana|Atinkaonline.com|Ebenezer Madugu