A section of Ghanaian journalist in the capital of the Ashanti Region have expressed disappointment in the condition of service of the press and have appealed to the various stakeholders to uphold and better the situations surrounding the autonomy of media personalities.

On Sunday, May 3, 2020, the world celebrated the World Press Freedom Day and as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, online debates and workshops were adopted as a form of festivities to mark the occasion.

UNESCO launched the 2020 theme, "Journalism without Fear or Favor" on media and social media channels with sub-themes including, safety of Women and Men Journalists and Media Workers, Independent and Professional Journalism free from Political and Commercial Influence and Gender Equality in All Aspect of the Media.

In an interview on Monday, May 4, 2020, few Ghanaian reporters acknowledged the day and spoke on the need for government to recognize the pleasing works of the press especially reporters through amending laws regarding their condition of service, security and mode of operation.

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The Ghanaian press have been active in their reportages in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak informing and interpreting on the need to abide by the preventive measures drawn by the Health sector yet the provision of incentives and resources to ease their mode of work has sometimes been a challenge, which normally lead some into accepting enticement fee to deceive the public.

According Nana Peprah Gideon, a reporter for Ghana News Agency (GNA), the definition of freedom for the press in Ghana is narrow for the reason that the rate at which they are threatened during their pursuit for information is high and easily frustrates the end result of their investigations. He mentioned that government's failure to execute certain people who have threatened and slayed some Ghanaian journalists is a deduction of press freedom.

“The World Press Freedom day in Ghana is very narrow today. The failure for government to arrive at the buttom of what led to the death of some Ghanaian journalists so far is not fair to the best of media interest. The intimidations from different avenues affecting the Ghanaian media makes the job a precarious one so my appeal to leaders is to instil certain laws that will defend the press to stimulate our freedom to operate,” he said.

Chief Editor of Leaki News, Enoch Akonnor spoke on how the lowly well-being of media men is affecting their delivery.

“The welfare of media practitioners is very significant for the development of Ghana. Infact the condition of service is very poor in the sense that majority of media personnel are under resource with poor wages. It is our plea that the government take a step and help create a fund to improve the prosperity of the media to motivate their output,” he ended.

“When it comes to the wage of majority of media practitioners, there is always a challenge. Most of reporters from different media houses are not on pay roll. It is very bad because the reporters have no power to question authorities on such matters. That is why there is the need to be part of an association to have your sentiments addressed and rights effected,” Akua Afranie of Agyenkwa FM spoke.

Organized annually since 1993, the Global Conference provides an opportunity to journalists, civil society representatives, national authorities, academics and the broader public to discuss emerging challenges to press freedom and journalists’ safety, and to work together on identifying solutions.