Media personality, Bernard Avle, has urged colleague journalists to uphold integrity in the face of increasing celebrity status within the profession.
Speaking on his morning show; Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, April 11, 2024, Avle reflected on the changing landscape of journalism, expressing concerns about the shift towards fame and social media metrics over journalistic principles.
He shared his thoughts on the evolution of Ghanaian television, particularly reflecting on the late 1990s.
« Those days, those our actors were good, these days things have changed even the journalists have changed, we’ve become celebrities, » Avle remarked during the show. « Things are not the same anymore. Those days, those who were in the journalism profession, they were professionals, they were even working at other places and they were doing part-time. Of course, you can’t do part-time anymore, and media people were role models. We need purity; we need to accept that things have changed.
We need to have some puritans in the media, people who will have to stick to what they have to do and do it « .
Avle emphasized the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity amidst the lure of fame and social media metrics.
« A young journalist now, the thing they are now being told about what the profession needs, influencers, and all those things. Do your story, be accurate, and be fair, you can have 20, 000 followers on Facebook but that is not the work, your real work is to make sure when you do the story, you should make sure it is well written, your grammar is correct, you attribute it rightly. These are the basics but people are missing it
Some guy came to me that he wants to come and work here, he has so many people following him, his grammar is even wrong and people are following him all over and he wants to be a media guy, how can you be a media guy when you can’t write English or whatever language you want to use to do the media «
The seasoned journalist voiced his concerns about the decline of in-depth journalism and critical thinking, attributing it to the prevalence of quick, superficial content.
« We can’t even read thorough stories because most stories are like four paragraphs and they’re moving to the next, it is even changing the way we think because people are not able to think deeply. You can’t sit quietly and meditate for two hours because everything is quick, we creating a generation of people who are dumb we need to go back to some fundamentals »
Avle underscored the essence of journalism, urging fellow journalists to resist the trappings of fame and remain grounded in their profession.
« The basis of journalism is verification of information to put out because now I am using this to advise myself as well because it’s changing, followership, stardom when people see you they want autographs and you think you are a big guy, you are not any big guy , you are a simple journalist, never forget who you are. Don’t let people define you because of your big car »
Bernard Avle is known for his significant contributions to journalism in Ghana. He has a reputation for being a respected and influential media personality, recognized for his incisive analysis, engaging presentation style, and passion for tackling issues in Ghana. His voice and insights have earned him a strong following and established him as a leading figure in Ghanaian media.
Pulse
