Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Atta Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho, has waded into the decision by an Accra High Court to dismiss a defamation suit brought against Kennedy Ohene Agyapong by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The court, in clear terms, described the work of Anas Aremeyaw Anas as “investigative terrorism” and further described him as an “extortionist, corrupt and someone who blackmails people”. The judgment has led to varied opinions, with some claiming that the judge who presided over the matter, went to the extreme and failed to deal with the substantive matter brought before the court.
However, in response, Koku Anyidoho stated that the media is made up of people who can make mistakes in their line of work. He believes that the media cannot hide behind press freedom, while committing media tyranny, media terrorism, and unprofessionalism.
“There are charlatans who are walking in the media space with a ‘get-rich-quick’ mentality, and the landscape is strewn with extortionists and blackmailers, who do not give a hoot about the ethics of the profession with brazen conscienceless bravado. The ability to write, the ability to string sentences together, the ability to sit behind the consul, is enough to make a person walk around with the tag “Journalist”. Is it the same for all other professions? … No!”
Koku Anyidoho
Koku Anyidoho, who is a communications expert, indicated that the media is not above reproach and criticism.
“What makes the Media think that it is beyond reproach or criticism? Is the Media a sacrosanct institution? Certainly not! Self-censorship is a must because the Media must be able to hold its own accountable and call out persons who need to be called out.
“Just as all other professions are supposed to be noble (with a few exceptions), the Media is also supposed to be populated by noble persons and the ills bedeviling the profession, must not be swept under the carpet – because the carpet will always be raised at various points in time and the dirt will be exposed.”
Koku Anyidoho
Investigative Terrorism: A New Descendant Of Media Tyranny
“As I spent time reading through parts of the court judgment that has thrown into the fray, the latest lingo, “INVESTIGATIVE TERRORISM”, my mind arrowed in the direction of the bible verse that reads; ‘What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun’. Ecclesiastics 1:9
(New International Version).“Whichever metaphor you choose to use; Media Tyranny, Tyranny Of The Press, Press Oppression, Media Dictatorship; there has, and always shall be, extreme terrorism by a section of the media worldwide.”
Koku Anyidoho
Koku Anyidoho, averred that many are those who hide behind the act of “Press Freedom”, yet these are the same sections of the media who have irredeemably sunk the freedoms of both institutions and innocent people, by totally destroying their lives.
“All over the world, just as ALL other professions are dotted with, quacks, fakes, and charlatanic elements, so does the media harbour same. There is no way the media can claim piety nor waltz in the music of high puritanical octaves. The media is made up of human beings and its fallibility is gnawing just as it exists in all other professions.”
Koku Anyidoho
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