PAUL ADOM-OTCHERE GOT IT WRONG AGAIN – LAWYER JAMES AGYENIM-BOATENG

I am even more disappointed after watching Paul Adom-Otchere’s “comments on post editorial reactions” following his attacks on Hon. Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP on the same programme last week.

Paul makes the point this evening that he was carried away and therefore got emotional during his attack on the MP. And that is precisely the source of my worry and disappointment.

Mr Adom-Otchere has been practising radio and television journalism for probably over two decades. When I was a broadcast journalist, Mr Adom-Otchere was a media practitioner. It has been over ten years since I quit as a radio broadcaster, and for all those years, Paul has been practising in the media. If after all these years, he cannot distinguish between when to be professional from when to be emotional, then perhaps all his years in active media practise count for nothing.

If after a careful reflection, (and upon tonnes of unsolicited good counsel offered by the public on social media after his attack on Zanetor), Paul feels a sense of remorse for his unprofessionalism (and that is what it was) against the Klottey-Korle MP, then he should have frontally and fully taken responsibility for it and apologise to the MP.

Paul needs not hide behind this evening’s “I was emotional”, unless his full statement is that he was emotional and hence, unprofessional in how he handled the subject matter involving Hon. Dr. Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings.

It is not a mark of excellent journalism not to take responsibility when things go wrong. It is in fact unprofessional not to acknowledge and make amends when you do not get it right. This is because when media practitioners get it wrong, they show professionalism by taking full responsibility for what went wrong; they do not make excuses!

Thank you.

Warm regards,
James.