Neutral journalism is a scam – Adom-Otchere

Veteran broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere has described neutral journalism as “a scam,” arguing that journalists naturally develop political opinions through their work.

Adom-Otchere made the remarks during an appearance on the Upside Down programme on Channel One TV aired on Sunday evening, where he defended partisan journalism and questioned expectations of neutrality in the media.

“Why should journalists be neutral?” he asked during the discussion.

“The journalist is like anyone else and a journalist is carrying the story every day. It is more likely that he will take sides because he sees the politicians every day.”

According to him, journalists often gain a deeper understanding of political actors through constant interaction and coverage, making complete neutrality unrealistic.

“He sees that this politician is good, this politician is bad. He can tell, more than the general public so why mustn’t he take sides,” he stated.

Adom-Otchere further insisted that the concept of neutral journalism was misleading and historically inaccurate.

“That situation is a scam actually,” he said.

The host of Good Evening Ghana also pointed to Ghana’s independence struggle to support his argument, saying partisan journalism played a major role in mobilising public support against colonial rule.

“If you look at the history of Ghana, it was journalism that takes sides that gave us independence,” he added.

Adom-Otchere, who is widely viewed as aligned with the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has over the years become one of the party’s most vocal media defenders, particularly regarding the record of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

His Good Evening Ghana programme, which began decades ago on Metro TV, has increasingly drawn criticism from opponents who describe the show as heavily pro-NPP and right-leaning.

Some officials of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) have reportedly avoided appearances on the programme, accusing the host of bias and hostile interviewing tactics.

Despite the criticism, Adom-Otchere has consistently maintained that journalists should not be pressured to suppress their political convictions in the name of neutrality.