SECTOR 4 “I overheard shoeshine boys having a conversation saying ‘I now understand why [former president Jerry] Rawlings was jailing journalists. Because they are a bunch of liars.’ People are losing confidence in the media.” “There are those who don’t want to read anymore because they want accurate information.” Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.9 (2006: 2.8; 2008: 2.5; 2011: 2.5) 4.2 The media follow voluntary codes of professional standards, which are enforced by independent/ nonstatutory bodies that deal with complaints from the public. The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), NMC and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) have their respective codes of ethics. The GJA and NMC codes apply to all journalists across the print and broadcast sector, while GIBA’s code applies only to its members. There is a general consistency across all three codes. The majority of journalists are not members of the GJA, and very few are familiar with the code of ethics. Nevertheless, the GJA has a disciplinary and ethics council made up of a seasoned lawyer and journalists who receive complaints from the public on the media. The association “tries to get journalists to internalise the values of accuracy and fairness. We seize every opportunity to get people to respect their own code of ethics and the responsibilities with which they are tasked” as media professionals. Several media houses, such as the Daily Graphic and the GBC, also make use of their own professional codes and “streamline professional working conduct that will put you in check”. 56 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2013