Mr. Godfred Blay Gibbah, the General Secretary of the Ghana Photojournalists Network and a retired journalist, giving the advice, said, “Think of your security in as much as you get the information and pictures. Don’t become a casualty.”
Mr. Gibbah gave the advice during an election workshop for journalists of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Tema Office in preparation towards coverage of the elections.
He emphasised: “Be smart about your work; your life is most important. Whatever happens at the polling centre, you must be alive to report the story.”
He reminded journalists to put on the appropriate attire and always have their accreditation tags with them for identification, noting that being properly identified makes it easy to create rapport with officials at the polling centre who would willingly provide the needed information.
“If you don’t introduce yourself properly to the presiding officers, it means you have opened yourself up for confrontation,” he added.
Giving tips on how to get the best pictures and photos at a centre, he encouraged journalists to set their cameras ready, take pictures quickly, and get back to safety.
Mr. Gibbah further urged them to take cover near the security and take pictures from the fringes during chaos and at volatile places, stressing that media personnel must always be on the alert in order not to fall victim to the election.
He reminded the journalists to get to their scheduled centres on time to be able to capture activities from the onset of the elocutions instead of relying on others.
GNA
