Author: Peter Martey Agbeko, APR
Chairman, GJA Elections Committee 2025
Journalism is — and must always remain — a noble and honourable profession. I say this not casually, but with the full weight of lived experience. Over three decades ago, I left journalism school with a head full of ideals and a heart committed to truth. Today, those same ideals continue to guide me.
Every GJA election season seems to trigger a familiar script: a small but vocal group — mostly young, occasionally nudged on by a few older, misguided individuals — emerges to cast doubt, stir disaffection, and distort due process. Their energy is rarely matched by understanding, and their passion, too often, lacks the grounding of principle and respect for institutional integrity.
It is worth noting that I have been an active member of the GJA since 1992 and served as the first director of the Ghana International Press Centre from 1992 to 1995.
To the younger ones especially, I offer this with no malice: you have not yet arrived. The path to leadership in our profession is not paved with noise, disruption, or performative social media outrage. It is built patiently — through hard work, ethical conduct, humility, and a willingness to learn from those who came before you.
Journalism and communications are not playgrounds for the impatiently ambitious. They require grounding, mentorship, and a long-term view. One cannot shortcut their way to influence by undermining the very systems and values that sustain our profession.
To rise, you must first learn to serve. To be taken seriously, you must embody the values that give your voice credibility — truth, fairness, respect, and honour. And to lead with impact, you must first learn to listen with humility.
This is not a rebuke — it is an invitation. An invitation to choose growth over grandstanding, and substance over spectacle.
Your time will come — but only if you prepare for it the right way.
Now in my sixth decade of life, I consider it both a privilege and a responsibility to return to full-time newsroom work — this time as Managing Editor of a distinguished publication that has served the nation with integrity since 1938. I am deeply honoured to take on this next chapter, which begins officially on July 2, 2025.
Until then, my energies remain firmly focused on the task at hand: concluding the work of the GJA Elections Committee, which I currently chair. Together with my dedicated committee members — in close collaboration with the Electoral Commission and our technical advisor — we have worked tirelessly to deliver an electoral process that is credible, transparent, and reflective of the best traditions of our profession.
Let me be clear: no distraction, no distortion, and no attempt at disruption will derail this process. We understand the gravity of our responsibility. We know that fairness is non-negotiable. We are guided by principles, not personalities.
And we will see the job through.
The core tenets of good journalism — truth, fairness, balance, ethics, accuracy — are the same values that guide our work as an Elections Committee. These are not abstract ideals; they are essential tools. They form the backbone of every credible professional endeavour. Without them, we lose our way.
Sadly, a few voices have chosen the path of cynicism and negativity, seeking to discredit the process and sow doubt. But let it be known: truth has a quiet, unshakable power. It does not shout, but it stands.
As I prepare to hand over the reins of this electoral process after Monday, June 30, I do so with peace of mind and with confidence in the work we have done — and continue to do — on behalf of the Ghana Journalists Association. My next assignment, as Chair of the International Relations Committee of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana, will be approached with the same sense of duty and integrity.
We owe it to the future of journalism in Ghana — and to ourselves — to hold fast to truth, to uphold ethics, and to honour the noble path we chose when we entered this profession.
In all things, let us be guided not by self-interest, but by service.
