CHAIRMAN of the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Mawuko Afadzinu, has called on sports journalists to have a balance in their narratives and remain true to their calling.
He said in spite of the emergence of new media, the responsibility of the storyteller has not changed dramatically.
Mr Afadzinu, a patron of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), made these assertions as guest speaker during the just-ended Association of International Press Sports (AIPS) Africa Congress in Accra.
“The more things change, the more they remain the same,” he noted, insisting that in the middle of many voices, sports journalists must remain ethical and professional in the discharge of their duties.
According to the GTTA boss, sports journalists have an influential role to play in sports development but must endeavour to focus more on the positives than the negatives.
“It is hugely important that sports journalists have a balance between the narratives but must always remain true to their calling,” he stressed.
In a related development, the sports journalists have been urged to keep up pace with modern technology in order to remain relevant in the face of increasing growth of technology.
At the 6th International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Africa Congress held in Accra, journalists were urged to keep up with modern trends such as the growing use of social media and its huge impact on the profession.
Social media was identified as one of the major tools, which provided instant information to readers, listeners and viewers, whilst citizens have equally taken up part of the profession.
In the face of these, sports journalists have been urged to go beyond the news and what already exists of social media to give readers, listeners and viewers unique and exclusive news.
Dr. Bello Bela Bitugu of the University of Ghana in charge of sports, admonished delegates to look beyond the results on the pitch and concentrate on the development aspects of sports.
“The growth of social media and technological have obviously affected our jobs; as newspapers are folding up, whilst citizens have taken over our jobs.
“But we cannot fold our arms in distress; we must work hard to overcome the challenges,” Mitchell Obi President of AIPS Africa told delegates at an open forum on day two of the Congress.
The three-day congress hosted by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) attracted 35 participants from 19 countries in addition to special guests from the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS), the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC).
They include Ben Nunoo Mensah, President of the GOC, Magnus Rex Danquah, Sports Business expert, Neil Armstrong Mortagbe, Sports Business expert and Dr. Bitugu, Sports for Development Expert.
The Congress which began on Wednesday, April 3 and ended on Friday, April 6 was opened by Mr. Isaac Kwame Asiamah, Minister of Youth and Sports.
BY JOHN VIGAH
