Professor Benjamin J. B. Nyarko, Board Chairman, Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), has urged journalists to ensure accuracy when reporting nuclear power technology.
He asked them to research properly and choose words appropriately to avoid misinformation.
‘In the nuclear field, one word that you use wrongly, destabilises everything. So, you should choose your words correctly,’ he emphasised.
Prof Nyarko said this in Accra, at a three-day media workshop organised by the NPG in collaboration with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
The training, an annual event, was organised for selected journalists in Accra.
This year’s edition was on the theme: ‘Shaping the Perception of Nuclear Power Technology in Ghana; the Media Factor’.
Prof Nyarko entreated media practitioners to apply themselves diligently, pay attention to details, and be persistent to attain professional excellence.
He said nuclear power technology had diverse aspects, which required journalists to specialise.
Speci
alising in specific areas, he said, would enable journalists to do in-depth stories to enrich the public’s understanding of nuclear issues.
‘Our partnership with the media is that in all these issues, we want to get media experts who will speak to it, who will write about it, and talk about it so that people will understand,’ Prof Nyarko said.
He urged the participants to consistently avail themselves for future workshops to build expertise in the nuclear field.
Dr Archibold Buah-Kwofie, Deputy Director, Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, assured that the Institute would always be ready to provide the needed information to help journalists educate and inform the public.
Professor Seth K. Debrah, Director, NPI, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, urged journalists to do more follow-ups and probe more into the issues on nuclear power technology to help Ghana succeed in its nuclear power project.
Mrs Beatrice Asamani Savage, Head of Editorial, GNA, said the journalists’ role in promo
ting nuclear energy should be seen as a national assignment that called for patriotism.
‘This is the opportunity to revive our patriotism and join efforts to move our nation forward. That will be our contribution to save the next generation of Ghanaians,’ she said.
‘We cannot change our fortunes until we industrialise and having energy that is stable, reliable, affordable, and clean is the way to go,’ she added.
Mr Emmanuel Opare Djan, National Organiser, Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), expressed gratitude to the oraginsers of the workshop.
He added that: ‘When the energy sector is producing cheap source of power, it will help us to produce at competitive price, reduce cost of production, save money, create wealth, and employ more people so that we also contribute towards national development.’
The training programme included a writing competition that saw participants put in stories on nuclear power, with special awards from the NPG Board Chairman.
Mr Edward Acquah, Chief R
eporter, GNA, came first, whilst Mr Morkporkpor Anku, Editor, GNA placed second.
Mrs Christabel Addo, Senior Editor, also from GNA came third, whilst Mr Jerry John Akornor, Chief Editor, African Editors, came fourth.
Source: Ghana News Agency