Veteran journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has strongly condemned the practice by some television stations of requiring prospective presenters to meet a threshold of Facebook followers before being considered for employment. He described the approach as “a complete affront” to professional standards, warning that media organisations risk undermining journalism when social media popularity becomes a condition for recruitment.
Speaking at the 77th anniversary symposium of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in Accra on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, Pratt urged media houses to reassess their recruitment processes in an industry increasingly shaped by social media. He noted that some stations now factor the number of Facebook followers an applicant has into hiring decisions, remarking: “I know some television stations you don’t get employed as a presenter if you don’t have a certain number of followers on Facebook.”
Pratt further described the practice as “a complete affront to all of our standards” and declared that media houses adopting such measures “should bow their heads in shame.” “They are contributing significantly to undermining our credibility,” he said.
His comment formed part of a broader discussion on the growing influence of social media platforms on editorial decisions, audience measurement and the recruitment of media professionals. Mr Pratt said journalism should not be reduced to a contest for attention, stressing that the duty of journalists was to establish what the public needed to know rather than simply maximise audience engagement.
He said digital platforms often rewarded attention through controversy, outrage and sensationalism, while journalism required professional judgement. “The journalist’s task, however, is not simply to maximise attention, but to determine what the public needs to know,” he said.
He added that a journalist could be the first to publish a story and still be wrong, while another journalist could publish later and produce the most important story of the day. “The internet rewards speech. Journalism requires judgment,” he said. Mr Pratt therefore urged newsrooms not to allow the speed of digital publishing to erode the standards that distinguish professional journalism from general online content.
Ordinary Ghanaians
Kwesi Pratt Jnr, veteran journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has urged Ghanaian media organisations to rethink whose voices dominate national news coverage. He observed that major bulletins often prioritize state officials, corporate executives, and institutional leaders, while the everyday experiences of farmers, market women, fishermen, teachers, nurses, unemployed youth, and entire communities receive far less sustained attention.
Pratt cautioned that ordinary citizens should not only appear in national news when tragedy strikes. “These people are not merely background scenario to the national story. They hold the country in place,” he stressed. He called on journalists to reclaim what he described as “the responsibility to listen and not only the ability to speak,” urging greater attention to citizens who do not hold press conferences and whose realities are too often reduced to economic statistics.
“If journalism is serious about telling the people’s story, it must go where the people are,” he said.
Media credibility
Mr Pratt’s comment formed part of a wider argument about the future of Ghanaian journalism and the need for media organisations to maintain professional standards while adapting to digital platforms and artificial intelligence.
He said the challenge was no longer simply access to information, but how journalism could establish the truth in a society overwhelmed by information.
He said media credibility had to be built through accuracy, verification, fairness, courage and a willingness to investigate people and institutions in positions of influence.
Mr Pratt also questioned the influence of ownership, funding, advertising and political interests on editorial independence, arguing that freedom from government censorship was not the same as freedom from pressure.
He said media houses could not demand fearless journalism from journalists while ignoring the economic and professional conditions under which they worked.
The GJA’s 77th anniversary symposium was held under the theme, “GJA at 77: Building on our legacy, advancing ethical journalism and shaping the future of digital media.”
Source: Mohammed Ali
