Don’t treat BoG’s stories with propaganda spins

 The Director of Communications at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Mr Bernard Otabil, has cautioned journal­ists and the media against treating the Central Bank’s stories with propaganda spins.

He said such practices kill inves­tor confidence and also have serious implications for the economy.

Mr Otabil gave the caution at a two-day training workshop organ­ised by the BoG for journalists in the Western and Western North regions in Tarkoradi.

The training which ended last Wednesday was part of the bank’s efforts at ensuring that the media accurately interpreted and reported on economic issues, monetary poli­cy decisions and their implications.

Mr Otabil indicated that due to technology advancement, infor­mation and stories travelled with so much speed, but, added that, attempts to influence BoG stories by spin doctoring would have a huge implications for the economy and Ghana’s investment drive.

He said, there were a lot of spin doctors ‘crowding’ the media space, but urged participants, to count the Central Bank out in such narra­tives, stating “don’t do propaganda spin when it comes to the Bank of Ghana.”

That BoG, he explained, played a pivotal part in economic manage­ment and that, any negative story would have a multiplying effect across the economic value chain in­cluding Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), Cedi stability, remittances, fuel prices and incomes.

“As journalists, you have a col­lective responsibility to do accurate reporting. Don’t assume. Work with precision- report with clarity and accuracy. Central Banking is a serious business. Write about the realities of the Central Bank and collectively we build a better Ghana and improve the standard of living for all of us,” Mr Otabil reiterated.

He added that, the training programmes, which would be rolled across the country, was to enhance the journalist’s ability to craft compelling narratives about the policies and objectives of the Bank, especially as far as mone­tary policy is concerned.

Again, the training is part of efforts towards improving strate­gic partnerships and relationships with the media, he stated, saying that, the journalists would help enhance BoG policy communi­cation.

Mr Otabil stressed “Communi­cation remains critical to enhanc­ing the Bank’s policies, therefore, with the approval of management, the Communications Department consistently creates platforms to improve strategic media partner­ships.

The Regional Manager of BoG in the Western Region, Rev. Kofi Assan, also underscored the media and the public as critical stakeholders.

The Western Region Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Asso­ciation (GJA), Desmond Cudjoe, lauded the BoG for the training programme, which he said, would equip journalists with the knowl­edge and skills to understand, analyse and accurately report on issues related to finance.

FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI

The post Don’t treat BoG’s stories with propaganda spins appeared first on Ghanaian Times.

Read Full Story