The test of press freedom on the altar of Ghana's revolution could be gauged from the following developments since December 31, 1981:

The redefinition of the role of the media by Flt-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings who on January 3, 1982 summoned Editors to his Burma camp headquarters to instruct them to be the vanguard of his revolution, protect and promote it.

The re-introduction of the newspaper licencing by the Ministry of Information as a prerequisite for the paper's take-off. Responsibility for this singular act goes to Mr. Ato Austin, former Secretary- General of the Youth Wing of the Peoples' National Party whose claim to fame was his dismissal for publicly opposing the devaluation plans of President Limann. Mr. Ato Austin, trained in chemistry and Law also called for an end to a neutral press and 'fence sitting' by some Journalists.

Expropriation of the privately owned Palaver Printing Press to produce a mouth-piece of the revolution - 'The Nsamankow'.

Dismissal, retirement suspension and transfer of 'undesirable' Editors and Journalists.

Organised demonstrations during which Editors who were considered 'anti-people' and their offices were attacked and vandalised.

Defence Committees have been asked to speak out for and build the kind of media that they want.

Outright closure of newspapers like the Free Press and Citadel Press.

Arrest and detention of Journalists such as Tommy Thompson, John Kugblenu and Mike Adjei, Managing Editor, Editor and correspondent respectively of the Free Press.

Other indications of the prevalence of Press freedom in the country can be gleaned from statements of the Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Flt-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings.

On the 22nd Diploma Day of the Ghana Institute of Journalism of December 11, 1982 Chairman Rawlings cautioned the press against choosing to please men in authority. He stated that the press could not successfully play its role as partners in progress, if it made it its policy to pander to the wishes of only the government. Juxtaposed with the government's measures against the media and its practitioners Flt-Lt. Rawlings' concept of press freedom as propounded in his statements ought to be carefully scrutinised.

In his famous chat with the nation's Editors at the very beginning of his revolution he declared that in a society polarised into various classes it was not possible to conceive of a neutral media serving everyone equally and fairly. Since the prologue to the meeting carried a message that the revolution is for the downtrodden common man and that the rich, compradores, and intellectuals must conform, any lingering doubts about the new role of journalists was therefore firmly clarified. This was later to be re-echoed in the national papers thus, "No journalist is worth his salt if he defends two class positions at a time".

Again on the 26th anniversary of the independence of the country on March 6, 1983, Fit-Lt. Rawlings regretted the over-enthusiasm and prejudiced approach of the national newspapers, the radio and television which have led to the loss of public confidence in the public media. Indeed, he talked about the reign of freedom of the press which unfortunately had been taken advantage of by some journalist who, lacking judgement, have indulged in defensive invectives instead of critical analysis of adverse comments on the revolution.

Undeniably, journalism is a vehicle for mobilisation, education, motivation, direction in a society where human temperaments are bound to differ. In such circumstances journalism is also a medium for the airing of critical and dissenting views.

Such has been the sacred objective of journalism and all previous attempts to vary it or redefine it have failed. In October 1857 the first Ghanaian journal "Herald" edited by the first known Ghanaian journalist published that, "a public journal should cavil at the government as well as compliment it when and where necessary, should be a public friend, the friend of the people and the friend of the authorities - the champion of order and liberty - the opposer of anarchy and despotism."

"A journal”, it continued, "must be conducted in a spirit of rigid impartiality with decorum, with boldness. It should not affect to lay down the law dictatorially for that is aiming at despotism over men's minds - neither should it descend to the meanness of pandering to the public passions.

The most recent document that sought to re-emphasize the role of journalists was the 1979 Third Re- publican Constitution, Article 192 of which established a press commission to take measure to ensure the preservation of press freedom and also the highest professional and journalistic standards in the country.

The background to this Article was the widespread public dissatisfaction with the state of journalism in the country, characterised by dismissal, transfer of all journalists who dared to sound any dissenting opinions, and led to the public feeling that the press was part of the oppressive regime of the late Acheampong. All very much like what is happening today. This state of affairs led to the Ghana Journalist Association, not only going on strike and formally petitioning the government against official encroach- ment on press freedom but also submitting a memorandum on press freedom to the Constituent Assembly that was drawing up the constitution.

Apart from the professional tradition that was handed down by the Ghanaian pioneer journalists, 1979 is not too far away from today to necessitate a drastic re-orientation of today's generation of Journalists about their role in society.

It is my view that despite all the constraints, the majority of Ghanaian Journalists would want to play their noble role of informing, educating, motivating and directing their readers and listeners.

So who are the Journalists whose performance Flt-Lt. Rawlings derides and goes further to report of the loss of public confidence in?

The various incidents enumerated at the beginning of this piece should give us a clue as to whether Ghanaian journalists are operating in an atmosphere in which the society is pre- pared to agree to disagree with some of its own members?

It is from this context that one should view Flt-Lt. Rawlings concept of press freedom and above all his recent condemnation of the performance of the Ghanaian media. For, it is sad indeed, that military authorities who dismiss editors and appoint new ones with instructions "to be the vanguard of their revolution" later find it convenient to pass the buck and indulge in wholesale condemnation of journalists as if the profession is bereft of heroes and full of villains.

Chairman Rawlings could be forgiven for behaving like the clever politician who does things differently from what he says. The real culprits however are the few journalists who fail to see the significance of a question an unemployed man asked two television cameramen and set himself on fire to protest unemployment in his country. He asked, "how would you like to see someone burn?"

Later a controversy erupted over why the cameramen chose to record the event for some seconds before trying to extinguish the blaze. Their explanation was that they were trained to record events, not prevent them. Journalists can't help but concern themselves with politics but they do not rule! For that would set them on a collision course with the politicians who in no time would find it necessary to suspend or fire them for 'betraying a confidence'.

The plight of Mr. Kojo Yankah, the suspended editor of the Peoples' Daily Graphic who chose to publish the "exchange of ideas between editorial board members and the leader of the Revolution on the performance of the press in relation to the on-going revolution" should serve as a useful lesson to his remaining breed of Journalists.