Manasseh's militia documentary misleading and sensational - NMC rules
- The NMC has ruled that Multimedia Group’s controversial documentary titled ‘Militia in the heart of the nation’ was misleading
- The Commission in a ruling said it found that the documentary goes against GJA’s code of ethics although the focus on group operating from the Castle was in the interest of the public
- The Commission among other things said the use of some photos in the documentary were not properly related to the original focus of the story
The National Media Commission (NMC) has dismissed aspects of the ‘Militia in the Heart of the Nation’ documentary by Multimedia Group’s Manasseh Azure Awuni, describing it as a misrepresentation of facts.
Even though the NMC said the operations of D-Eye at the Christiansborg Castle was “problematic and unacceptable”, the Commission noted in its ruling that “the group did not manifest any violent conduct to be described as a militia or vigilante group from the documentary as the people of Ghana have come to identify such groups”.
After months of hearings, the Commission, which was chaired by Yaw Boadu -Ayeboafoh, declared in its ruling that “the attempt to expose the fact that the group operated from the Castle was in the public interest”.
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It added, however, that: “In the attempt, the investigation had not been consistent in following the ethical standards defined by the Ghana Journalists Association code of ethics, particularly guidelines 23, which states that: ‘A journalist ensures that photographs and multimedia content adequately reflect an event and do not highlight an incidence out of context’”.
It continued: “This resulted from the fact that whereas the respondent used a photo from a BBC report on an attack on the Nigerian senate to promote the documentary online, they failed to relate it appropriately.
“Again, the inclusion of shots from the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence and attack on the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator were at variance with the activities of the D-Eye Group as captured as the castle. The Commission concluded that there was no predisposition to violence in the documentary. Therefore, the association of the D-Eye Group with the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence and the BBC story from Nigeria were sensational”.
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The Commission also said: “The commentary on the documentary and the association with the Ayawaso West Violence was misleading and a misrepresentation. However, because Multimedia Group published a rejoinder from the government, we direct that it publishes our ruling”.
Meanwhile, Manasseh Azure Awuni is unhappy with the NMC's ruling on his documentary.
In an interview monitored by YEN.com.gh on Citi FM, Wednesday, July 25, the investigative journalist said the ruling was unfortunate and inappropriate.
“The report is very unfortunate because we presented the National Media Commission with facts yet it decided to pick only two issues and came up with what I consider as a very disturbing report that does not befit the status of the National Media Commission”, he told Citi FM in an interview.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
