Omanghana
Ghana’s Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, has urged media organizations and journalists to adapt to rapidly changing news consumption habits or risk losing relevance.
Speaking at media industry engagements, including the Broadcasters Convention 2026 and a program involving the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana, Muslim said technological and economic changes were reshaping traditional journalism.
The experienced broadcast journalist observed that audiences, particularly young people, were gradually moving away from printed newspapers, conventional television and radio as their primary sources of information.
She noted that many consumers now access news through mobile phone alerts, social media platforms, podcasts and online videos, with applications such as TikTok becoming increasingly influential in how stories are discovered and shared.
Citing trends highlighted in the Reuters Institute’s 2026 Digital News Report, Muslim said newsrooms could no longer measure their influence solely through print circulation figures or the reach of radio and television transmitters.
She also drew attention to the rise in news avoidance, explaining that some people deliberately stay away from traditional news because continuous exposure to distressing stories can cause anxiety and emotional fatigue.
According to her, media organizations must rethink how stories are produced and presented to reach audiences on the platforms they use most frequently.
“If your audience is on TikTok, how do you bring your content there? How do you animate your journalism for the platforms where people actually are?” she asked.
Muslim encouraged publishers to embrace constructive journalism and more inclusive storytelling to reconnect with people who feel alienated from mainstream news coverage.
She also called for greater investment in digital technology, artificial intelligence and other emerging tools that could improve content production and distribution.
However, she cautioned that technological innovation must not undermine the central principles of journalism. She stressed that accuracy, fact-checking, fairness and impartiality must remain at the heart of newsroom operations.
Muslim maintained that media organizations could preserve public trust and strengthen their financial sustainability by combining credible journalism with formats suited to modern digital audiences.
Source: Omanghana
