Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission (NMC), George Sarpong, has underscored the need for targeted capacity-building for bloggers and freelance journalists — but insists such training should be championed by civil society rather than regulators alone.
Speaking at the Media and Development Conference 2025 in Abuja, Sarpong addressed growing concerns over the impact of sensationalism, misinformation, and a lack of professional training among some online content creators. Responding to a question on how journalism ethics can be enforced in the digital space, he stressed that strengthening skills should not drift into state-led control.
“Whilst I completely agree on the need to offer any kind of capacity building to everybody who is participating in the public sphere… if there are resources for this to be done, I would want them in the hands of civil society with the regulator’s support,”— George Sarpong, Executive Secretary, NMC.
Sarpong cautioned that if training and oversight are driven primarily by regulatory bodies, media practice could gradually tilt toward government influence. Regulators, he explained, traditionally focus on four key functions: setting standards, monitoring compliance, enforcing rules, and facilitating industry development. Overextending these functions into direct training, he warned, could blur the lines between regulation and control.
Instead, he advocated a collaborative framework — one in which civil society organisations spearhead training and capacity-building, while regulators provide technical guidance to uphold professional standards without compromising media independence.
Media and Development Conference 2025: A Sector Under Pressure
Sarpong’s call aligns with broader concerns raised during the conference. Media leaders and civil society actors painted a stark picture of the challenges facing the independent press across the region. These include:
-Increasing political and business influence over media ownership
-Economic pressures that weaken journalists’ autonomy
-Shrinking civic space and mounting regulatory constraints
-Poor welfare conditions for journalists, including lack of insurance and safety support
-The erosion of journalism’s watchdog role due to resource limitations
Against this backdrop, a civil-society-led approach to training bloggers and freelance journalists is seen as a balanced path — one that promotes professionalism, strengthens ethical standards, and preserves the pluralism essential to a free press.
By Karen Dodoo Antwi
