Gayheart Mensah, an aspiring candidate for the presidency of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has said professional development and continuous capacity building for journalists would be one of his main pursuits when elected as president of the association.
He was speaking during a meeting with members of the GJA from the Volta Region at Ho. He was in the region to share his vision with the journalists and also share his campaign message, which is captured under the slogan POWER-UP.
He said emerging trends and the continuous advances in technology make it imperative for journalists to constantly seek to remodel their approaches and reposition themselves to be able to function effectively.
“Whilst constantly learning in order to keep pace with the trends and advances that are impacting the practice of journalism, we must also consider the innovations and ways of working that can stand the professional practice of journalism out, particularly in these days of citizen journalism”, he said.
Gayheart pledged to the members of the association to explore all potential avenues of partnership and funding to support the roll out of intensive and extensive capacity building programme for both current and potential members of the association.
He was of the view that the GJA should offer a comprehensive and attractive set of benefits to its members, one of which ought to be professional development. “This is one way to mitigate the apathy and lack of interest in the activities of the GJA”.
The aspirant went on to explain the other components of his POWER-UP campaign slogan. He promised to set the GJA on a path to being better organized, introduce a package of welfare initiatives for members, empower the association to participate in critical national conversations and restore respect for the practice of journalism.
Gayheart is widely seen as the front runner in the elections. He has completely changed the how campaign for elections in the GJA are conducted, using innovative communication tools and channels to reach out to members of the association. Besides, his significant impact as a journalist is still felt and remembered by many, both within and outside the media. His stature as a professional makes the other candidates pale into insignificance.