TITLE:
The Ghana Journalists’ Association Code of Ethics as a Guide for Journalistic Practice in Ghana: Views of Selected Media Practitioners in Ghana
AUTHORS:
Marcelinus Dery
KEYWORDS:
Awareness, Ethics, Media, Practitioners, Professionalism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.8,
August
19,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study explores the awareness, adherence, perceptions, and attitudes of media practitioners in Ghana towards the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA) Code of Ethics. Against the backdrop of the growing importance of journalism in Ghana’s development, the study investigates the role of the GJA Code of Ethics as a guide for journalistic practice. The research, conducted through qualitative methods, examines journalists’ familiarity with the code, the extent to which they adhere to it, and their perceptions and attitudes towards its efficacy. In all, thirteen experienced journalists from the Central and Western Regions were interviewed to receive the needed information but only seven accepted to participate in this study. Those who accepted the invitation to participate in the study did so by filling out an electronic disclosure and consent form. The study, grounded in the Social Responsibility Theory, emphasizes media organizations’ responsibility to uphold ethical standards. The GJA, established in 1949, plays a crucial role in advancing media professionalism and ethics in Ghana. The GJA Code of Ethics, initially adopted in 1994 and revised in 2016, serves as a guiding framework for journalists to promote professionalism and ethical conduct. The research reveals that while journalists exhibit a high level of awareness of the GJA Code of Ethics, adherence to the code is voluntary, and membership in the GJA is not widespread among practitioners. Despite positive perceptions and attitudes towards the code, there is evidence of ethical violations in journalistic practice in Ghana.