Media personality and employee of Despite Media, Yaa Konamah, has taken a swipe at colleague journalist at Multimedia, Omanhene Kwabena Asante for criticizing her media house following a recent attack.
She indicated that Omanhene Kwabena Asante’s reportage of the events that led to the thug invasion of UTV was spurious and should have paid attention to the station’s side of the story before coming out to comment on the issue.
The media personality lambasted Omanhene Kwabena Asante for criticizing UTV for a lack of effective security measures that allowed the thugs to gain access to the studio to disrupt the United Showbiz program.
“Bro Kwabena [Omanhene Asante], who did you take your facts from? Facts mean you’ve listened to our side of the story but what you told the public is not true so who gave you that fact? What you said is not a fact.
“As Ada radio incident happened, we did the news. Wherever it happens, we work on it, so, it's not like we have taken the matter seriously because it happened to us. If you’re saying it does not concern you because it happened to us, one day, it will concern you,” she said during the Adekye Nsroma morning show on UTV which GhanaWeb monitored.
Yaa Konamah further highlighted how the media have been attacked by government officials in recent years and urged Asante to be concerned as someone who is within the journalism profession.
“In 2012, the NDC government raised concerns with the Ekosii Sen program on Asempa FM where some NPP boys invaded the studios and it went off air for a while. After the program came back on air, Bobbie was not hosting it. So, would you say the security at Multimedia at the time wasn’t tight or was it right?
“As we are practicing journalism, does anyone determine who should appear on a show? Does the media ethics give people the right to be part of the show by force?
"We should deal with this issue. The last time it happened to Radio Ada, Dagbon FM, and now UTV. This year alone we've had five cases of attacks on media stations.”
Yaa Konamah's fury comes after Omanhene Kwabena Asante criticized some members of the public for condemning the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for sending a letter to the management of United Television (UTV) to request reforms in the content of the United Showbiz program, aimed at ensuring fairness in the submissions of panelists.
He indicated that there was nothing wrong with the letter sent to the management of UTV to reform the UnitedShowbiz program because the party has the right to take such actions if it deems it fit provided it does not breach any regulations.
The media personality castigated Kwame A Plus for tearing the letter issued by the NPP to the station management and described his actions as not worthy of a person of his caliber both in the media and the political space.
“If the NPP writes a letter to the UTV to reform the content of the show because they believe there is a digression from the primary motive, is it a crime or taboo?
"I’m learning that a panel member on that show picked the NPP letter that was written to UTV and tore it apart on live TV. And as we speak from my checks there is no apology from the management of UTV to the NPP,” he said.
Omanhene Kwabena Asante called on the management of UTV to apologize for the unethical actions of A Plus for tearing the letter by the NPP on Live TV because it does not augur well for the media profession.
“Number two, I can’t determine the content of a show just that it should be within the remits of the law. The last time I checked the excerpts of the program on their social media page, it was basically unprintable words.
"So I think that the management of UTV should explain the matters further. Again, UTV should come and explain why a panel member will tear a political party’s letter which was not meant for him on Live TV,” he said in an interview with Asempa FM which GhanaWeb monitored.
On the contrary, Yaa Konamah said management of UTV never received the said letter; rather, the NPP circulated it. She stated that A Plus upon seeing the letter online printed a copy, hence, it would be erroneous for anyone to suggest that management of UTV handed the letter over to A Plus to tear it into pieces.
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Yaa Konamah and Omanhene Kwabena Asante