A single unverified, inaccurate or misguided statement or report by a journalist can throw a country’s financial sector into chaos. Believe it or not, journalists, through their reportage can make and unmake a country’s financial industry.

This was my key takeaway from the Workshop on Business Journalism organised by GCB Bank.

As a journalist, I have always known that a wrong report on financial institutions may have some consequences on the financial industry, but I had never really grasped the enormity of damage and potential destabilization of the financial industry that can be caused by unverified and inaccurate reports until I participated in the Workshop.

Reportage by journalists on the financial industry, can either harm the industry and the economy at large or ensure the stability of the financial industry contributing to the overall health of the economy.

There’s a plethora of instances where reports by journalists have led to the collapse of financial institutions and jeopardized a country’s financial industry.

For the benefit of the doubt, let me give a few instances;

In September 2007, BBC reporter Robert Peston’s report on the BBC’s Newsnight program that Northern Rock had sought emergency funding from the Bank of England led to a run on the bank as the news caused panic among depositors, leading to the first bank run in the UK in over 150 years.

In 2002, Kirch Media Group, a major shareholder in ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, faced insolvency following speculative and often inaccurate media reports about the group’s financial health which led to a sharp decline in its stock price and a loss of confidence among creditors and investors.

As recently as 2022, a single tweet by ABC business journalist David Taylor on October 1, 2022, suggesting a major international investment bank was “on the brink”, triggered the collapse of Credit Suisse, then a systemic bank in Switzerland’s financial industry.  

The emphasis on the ability of journalists to throw the country’s financial sector into chaos and significantly jeopardise the national economy with wrong and inaccurate reportage can never be over-emphasized.

It’s a “special power” that journalists wield, which needs to be used to safeguard, strengthen and build Ghana’s financial industry.

Realizing the enormously huge negative impact that unverified, inaccurate and sometimes misguided reportage of journalists can have on businesses particularly financial institutions and the attendant consequences on the economy, GCB Bank decided to engage almost 60 journalists from several media outlets in a Business Reporting Workshop.

The Workshop, in which I was a participant, was facilitated by respected and seasoned media practitioners and experts from the financial industry.

Making the first presentation at the workshop was a Communication Lecturer at UniMAC (University of Media Art and Communication) and CEO of 1PR Communications, Dr Ike Tandoh, on the topic “Journalism & Reputation of Brands.”

My colleagues and I, through the presentation, were schooled on the relevance and impact of journalism on brands, particularly in today’s digital age, where authenticity and storytelling are crucial in building brand identity.

Touching on the impact of journalism on financial institutions, particularly banks, Dr Tandoh explained that journalism plays a critical role in shaping public perception, directly influencing trust and confidence in banks through its coverage of their practices, crisis responses, financial health, and customer relations.

Journalists at the GCB Bank Business Journalism Workshop were encouraged to maintain objectivity in their reports by first fact-checking information to ensure all information is accurate and sources are reliable; practice balanced reporting by presenting unbiased views and reporting a story’s positive and negative aspects fairly; and also promote transparency by being clear about their sources to build trust.

The second presentation on “Business Journalism; The Reality” was by the Editor of Graphic, Theophilus Yartey, who emphasized the need for journalists to examine ‘the human element or angle’ in their stories or reports.

Mr. Yartey expressed the view that often, journalists focus on the numbers, and technical information of a business story and forget to include how the changes in economic policy (taxation, monetary policy etc) or the business environment affect everyday people.

He noted that every successful business and economic story must have an underlying human face which will show how the topic or story will affect buyers, suppliers, producers, and the general public.

For instance, Mr Yartey argued that reporting data on rising inflation becomes meaningless unless it shows how it makes it difficult for the ordinary person to meet his or her needs.

Deputy Managing Director, of Finance, at GCB Bank, Socrates Afram, made the final presentation at the Workshop. Mr. Afram used a greater percentage of his allotted time to teach and educate my colleagues and me, on how to properly analyse and understand financial statements – balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement – of banks for accurate reporting.

In as much as the Workshop was highly rigorous, insightful, and educative, it was also fun.

The fun part of the Workshop commenced with a colleague winning a GHS 1,000 for rightly mentioning the name of the first Managing Director of GCB Bank which happens to be Alfred Engleston.

Rounding off the day’s Workshop was a cocktail reception for the over 40 senior journalists and media executives in addition to the almost 60 journalists that participated in the Workshop to wind down from the long hours of discussions and practical sessions of the Workshop. This gave my colleagues and me, the opportunity to network and share individual experiences of the journalism profession.

Also participating in the cocktail media reception were senior editors, managing directors, general managers, and executives of various media outlets in the country.

The presence of editors, managing directors, general managers, and executives of the various media outlets at the cocktail media reception indicates the media industry’s support for the Bank’s effort and commitment to safeguarding the financial industry through accurate, verified and fair reportage of happenings in the financial industry.

Delivering an address during the media reception was the Deputy Managing Director, of Operations, at GCB Bank, Emmanuel Odartey Lamptey, who remarked that the Bank recognises the critical role that the media plays in the financial industry’s development, hence the Workshop.

He noted that the Bank will continue to partner with the media to forge stronger connections and deliberate on matters impacting the banking sector and the national economy at large.

With the new knowledge and insights gained from the Workshop, I believe my fellow journalists and myself, henceforth, will be more circumspect in our reportage on the financial industry to avoid a further compromise of the industry, particularly, following the recent financial sector clean-up exercise by the Government.

Not to behave like Oliver Twist, but I hope GCB Bank continues to organise more of such Workshops because it was really helpful to my colleagues and me. Please also don’t leave out the interaction with the senior journalists and media executives. On behalf of my colleagues, I say “Well done, GCB Bank”.