Speaking at a dinner event during the 29th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards at the Manhyia Palace, on Saturday, November 8, the Asantehene said the rise of unregulated media practices, particularly on digital platforms, poses profound challenges with implications for democracy, national stability, and societal values.
“There are wider issues, more profound in their implications for policymakers and consumers alike,” the Asantehene said. “Perhaps we should focus on two pertinent questions: how worried should we be about the potential hijacking of the media profession by professional hustlers and the potential extinction of the profession in time? And second, can the nation afford a media operating without regard to the laws of the state?”
He cautioned that while freedom of expression remains a cornerstone of democracy, media operations must not be exempt from the rule of law. “Any form of media, new or old, operating without any form of legal constraint is potentially a direct threat to democracy,” he said, emphasising that the rule of law must guide every sector, including the media.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II also lamented the erosion of moral and linguistic standards in the media space, warning that the content being consumed—especially by the younger generation—could have damaging effects on national values and intellectual growth.
“Our cherished traditional values have been swept away in a slurry of language unfit for humankind,” he noted. “When you fill the mind with garbage and filth, the brain can also be shaped in garbage, and the output we can expect is nothing but garbage.”
He called for a concerted effort by stakeholders to refine the Ghanaian media landscape, preserve the honour of the profession, and restore the dignity and respect journalism once commanded.
“Let some serious dialogue begin to find a pathway to the preservation of the honour of the profession, worthy of the memory of titans like P.A.V. Ansah.”
