JOYNEWS has expressed regret for the inconvenience caused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo due to the broadcast of its recent documentary on vigilantism in the country.
JOYNEWS, a member of the Multimedia Group, appears to be attributing the accusation that President Akufo-Addo was promoting vigilantism to its listeners after it wrongly created that impression in its documentary titled, ‘Militia In The Heart Of The City,’ by Manasseh Azure Awuni, a reporter of the station in March.
Latest Twist
Myjoyonline editor, in a commentary aired on the Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, April 15, said ”I think it’s appropriate at this juncture to talk about the misconstruction of the documentary which we put out, detailing some untoward activity happening at the Castle of some vigilante group engaged in some activity there, there were those who on the back of that documentary kind of thought that or created the impression that the President, whilst he was condemning vigilantism, was also nurturing this group at his own backyard.”
According to him, “Our documentary did not create any such impression, and I think it’s important to stress that point. All our documentary did was to report on what was happening… the only thing our documentary mentioned was that the person who was leading this group was a former bodyguard of the president when he was not president.”
He added that “He (Nana Akufo-Addo) was an ordinary citizen, a candidate of a political party. Our documentary actually pointed out that this person had been sacked so the unfortunate impression created that the president was nursing these guys while at the same time condemning this was not on the basis of our documentary, and it’s important to state that any such impressions or inconvenience caused the president is regretted.”
Militia Documentary
The documentary said that a company called De Eye Group, whose leader was a former bodyguard of the President, was training militias at the Christiansborg Castle, a former seat of government in Accra with the tacit support of the Akufo-Addo administration.
JoyNews linked the leader of the De Eye Group called Nana Wereko Addo, aka Choman, to President Akufo-Addo.
The documentary was aired at the time the Justice Emile Short Commission of Inquiry was probing the violence that characterised the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election at the Osu Christiansborg Castle in Accra.
De Eye Group has since sued JoyNews for defamation and the case is yet to be heard in court.
In the ensuing heat, the government, through the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, condemned JoyNews’ documentary and said there was no militia training at the Castle which had placed the facility under the control of the Museums and Monuments Board.
The government insisted that De-Eye Group was involved in helping “unemployed young men and women find jobs.”
According to the government, JoyNews “only put together conjecture, malice, mischief, sensationalism and invalidated suspicions which contains “significant misrepresentations and misleading impressions.”
Insistence
When the government urged JoyNews at the time to admit its ‘error,’ the station remained adamant, compelling the government to lodge a complaint with the National Media Commission (NMC) against the network.
Government subsequently ‘boycotted’ JoyNews’ programmes, and the media outlet has since been holding its political talk shows with virtually members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), whose Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, claimed in a leaked tape that the party has JoyNews in its ‘pocket.’
Source: Daily Guide
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AND USE----LESS PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS DEFEND THEIR USE-----LESS PARTY EVEN IF THEY KILL SOMEONE AND ARE CAUGHT RED-HANDED. SHAMEFUL AND PITIFULLY SAD. NO WONDER WE DON'T PROGRESS AND THESE BRAIN-----LESS POLITICIANS CONTINUE TO TAKE US FOR A RIDE ALL BECAUSE THE MAJORITY ARE NAIVE AND SHALLOW-MINDED. THE GUY DID INVESTIGATIONS AND RESEARCH BEFORE COMING UP WITH THE STORY, BUT THE OFFICIALS WILL LIE BECAUSE THEY FEEL THREATENED AND EMBARRASSED. AND HERE WE HAVE THEM F001S BELIEVING THEM
Joynews should spare us their long legal treatise of a response to the Government complaint to the NMC alongside this timorous but insincere "regret" of their rash to project Akufo Addo as insincere, a hypocrite and a weak leader. Their intended agenda were clearly articulated and pushed by people like Manasseh himself, Evans Mensah and Samson Ayenini. Who was editing Joyonline news in Malik Daabu's absence?
so where is Manasseh azure now. has he stopped writing. I have not seen any article of his again. has he asked to stop writing
Now u r feeling the heat coz u r losing revenue. NPP is no more bringing adverts to your station. U see your size. Continue to do your politics.
Please, Nana n Ghanaians dnt need ur apology biaa. Go and tell your story to the fishes in the sea.
Fake news!!!!!! Joy never said that they regret the documentary. What's all this? You read the article and that's not the impression that sought to be transmitted. Joy news still stands by its investigation.
Apology indeed get ready you and your station will be meeting me at the law court personally very soon.A drunkard like you, you are now apologising get ready I am preparing for you.we shall surely meet at the courtroom.
This soo called investigative journalists in Ghana?
I do not get the gist of this!!! The clarification is on the president not knowing anything about this....corrected!!! But was the group not training and meeting at the castle? So even if the president is not aware, was the NPP as a party not aware? Then where lies Manasseh damaging his brand? The fact still remains, that the group once existed and was being housed at the CASTLE. Would the group have access to the castle if NDC, CPP or PPP were to be in power? Please....the story is to "detach" the Clearing agent President and not to apologize for the exposee.....
This is ***barred word***. You guys connived with NDC on their platforms that day to spread false news, first, that The Ministers of Interior and National Security were on their way to the studios to stop the airing of the so called explosive expose. Secondly the same NDC platform started spreading news that Joy TV that day is off on DSTV by government to prevent Ghanaians and the international community from watching. Right thinking members of the society knows that the so called expose was nothing but ***barred word*** and you are now apologising.