The Importance of ICT to Journalism in Ghana

By Isabella Gyau Orhin

"Gone are the days when Journalists used to pan the streets looking for stories" is the slogan of Journalists in the advanced countries where technological advancement in communication is part of every day life.

But for their colleagues in the south side of the globe, the story is not the same. it is very little or no advancement in modern communication technologies. In African countries like Ghana, it is a priviledged to have access to the internet in the office.
While some have placed the problem at the doorstep of journalists themselves who have failed to avail themselves to the Information Communication Technology (ICT) revolution currently going on globally, others have blamed newspaper publishers, media managers and owners as well as government for failing to develop the ICT potential of media personnel.

The problem however is bigger than a mere blame game.
The first failure stems from the educatiuon curricula or trianing package for fresh students.
For instance in Ghana, where several mushroom journalism training institutions are the order of the day, studnets finish school without any computers knowledge.
Whilst on internship at media houses,their supervisors have to take them through typing lessons and by the time they are abreast with the computer, their attatachment periods are over.

Even in accredited Media training institutions like the Prestigious Ghana Institute of Journlaism and the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, there are not enough computers for every student to be abreast with ICT while such computers are not connected to the internet.
Journalists are moreover among the least paid people in Ghana and as such cannot afford good moblile phones with unique facilities to broaden their knowledge of ICT. They are also not supplied with Laptops and mobile phones bytheir employers.
In Ghana arguably, a large number of journalists still use the pen and paper just as farmaers use the cutlass and hoe.
Those who are fortunate to have computers in their newsrooms have to queue to process their stories while the news editors scream at them for being slow. Out of frustration some avoid the queue, going back to doing what they know best- Pen and paper.
The Internet remains the personal preserve of the News Editor, Editor or the Systems Manager.
When he is in a good mood, Journalists can go on the net for a few minutes, but when he or she is not feeling too well, then the network is down.
No one expects the journalist to use the internet to research and enrich his or her story.
"Some times I have to download my background from the Internet cafe at my own expense," says Ewuradwoa Ohene, a Journalists with a private Bi-weekly in Acrra.
"Since I want to write good stories, I have to spend my meagre income of about 200 dollars a month at a cafe which costs a dollar for an hour," she adds.
It is against this background that the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA)in collaboration with UNESCO is hodling a one week training workshop for about 15 Journalists in Accra.
Not only is the workshop dealing with the technical know-how of these Journlaists but also it intends to come out with a communique which will be routed through the National Media Commission aimed at changing policies and behaviours in newsrooms.
Most Ghanaian journalists are oblivious of what ICT journalism entails as against their Asian and South African counterparts who are far advanced in it.
As a result of this ignorance, ICT companies, trianing institutions and mobile phone operators are having a field day cheating unsuspecting Ghanaians.
"I wish we could continue for months so I can help my colleagues," a particpant at the GJA ICT seminar stated in a comment.
This comment demonstrates how serious the Journalists are to change the trend of affairs, but what about their bosses and society in general?