COMMUNICATING GHEITI

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COMMUNICATING GHEITI THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

• By
• KOJO YANKAH
• President of the African University College of
  Communications (AUCC)
• Communication Consultant
• Email kyankah_at_aucc.edu.gh kyankah60_at_yahoo.com

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COMMUNICATING GHEITI GENERAL PRINCIPLES

• INTERNAL COMMUNICATION NECESARY
• DECISIONS OF MULTI - STAKEHOLDER GROUP NEED TO BE
  PUBLICISED
• VALIDATION PROCESS (Ensuring that all companies
  report) REQUIRES SCRUTINY AND FOLLOW-UP
• PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER AWARENESS AND
  UNDERSTANDING IS CRUCIAL
• IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY NEEDS TO BE KNOWN

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IMPORTANCE OF THE MEDIA

• The unavoidable partners when it comes to
  transparency.
• The media show interest in companies undertaking
  their corporate social responsibility as well
  working according to national regulations on
  mining, gas and oil drilling etc.
• GHEITI has to have a good working relationship
  with the media.
• The Media would be a crucial target as well as
  partner

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MEDIA INTERVENTIONS

• COVERING ACTIVITIES OF GHEITI
• INVESTIGATING REPORTS AND PERCEPTIONS FOR NEWS
• INTERVIEWING FOR CORROBORATION AND SOUND BITES IN
  PRINT ELECTRONIC MEDIA
• ATTENDING PRESS CONFERENCES
• FOLLOWING UP ON LEADS
• DOING FEATURE STORIES ON GHEITI SECRETARIAT OR
  RELEVANT COMPANIES

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MEDIA CHANNELS

• PRINT NEWSPAPERS
• ELECTRONIC MEDIA
• NEW MEDIA
• FILM
• INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT
• NEWS AGENCIES

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NATURE TYPES OF MEDIA

• OPERATING IN A FREE PRESS ENVIRONMENT
• MORE PRIVATE THAN STATE-OWNED MEDIA
• THERE ARE CLEAR PARTISAN INTERESTS IN MEDIA
• FEW ARE CLEARLY NEUTRAL
• MOST RADIO PERSONNEL ARE NOT TRAINED JOURNALISTS
• MEDIA VERY ALERT AGGRESSIVE

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CHALLENGES

• REPORTING ON CASES OF LACK OF CONSENSUS AMONG
  STAKEHOLDERS
• UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLEX TRANSACTIONS IN COMPANY
  PRACTICE eg royalties, taxation, corporate social
  investments
• AWARENESS OR LACK OF IT AMONG COMMUN ITY MEMBERS
• COVERING PERCEPTIONS AND MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT
  EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES

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GHEITI STAKEHOLDERS

• GOVT APPROPRIATE AGENCIES
• THE MEDIA LOCAL INTERNATIONAL
• COMMUNITIES/TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES
• BANK OF GHANA
• AUDITOR GENERAL/IRS
• CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS
• RELEVANT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE
• MINING OIL COMPANIES
• TRADE UNIONS
• MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS
• JUDICIARY

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QUALITIES NEEDED TO COMMUNICATE GHEITI

• DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE OF GHEITI ISSUES
• SENSE OF FAIRNESS
• OBJECTIVITY
• ACCURACY
• IMPARTIALITY
• ABILITY TO PUBLISH REJOINDERS
• READINESS TO CORRECT MIS-IMPRESSIONS CREATED
• COURAGE AND MATURITY IN HANDLING SENSITIVE
  STORIES

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GHEITI THE MEDIA

• GHEITI MUST
• PROVIDE REGULAR, TIMELY AND ACCURATE INFORMATION
  TO THE MEDIA
• HAVE CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLANS
• BE RESPONSIVE TO MEDIA REQUESTS
• SEE MEDIA AS PARTNER IN THE SEARCH FOR
  TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY
• CONSCIOUSLY AND DELIBERATELY SEEK TO IMPROVE
  RELATIONS WITH THE MEDIA.

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THE MEDIA GHEITI

• THE MEDIA MUST
• RESPECT THE INTEGRITY OF GHEITI
• LEARN TO CROSS-CHECK RUMOURS HEARSAYS WITH
  GHEITI
• SEE GHEITI AS A NATIONAL ASSET
• BE A WATCHDOG OF THE INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE

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CONCLUSION

• THE MEDIA GHEITI ARE PARTNERS IN THE SEARCH FOR
  PROBITY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE
  EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES.
• THEY NEED TO WORK TOGETHER.

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THANK YOU !

• Delivered by
• KOJO YANKAH
• President, African University College of
  Communications (AUCC)