Accra — Phil Graham, the former publisher of the Washington Post, is credited with the famous saying that Journalism is "first rough draft of history". The reason is that journalists, in the performance of their duty often record important events, producing news articles on short deadlines.

While under pressure to be first with their stories, news media organizations usually edit and proofread their reports prior to publication, adhering to each organization's standards of accuracy, quality, and style. Many news organizations claim proud traditions of holding government officials and institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have raised questions about holding the press itself accountable.

However, digitalization of news production and the diffusion capabilities of the internet are challenging the traditional journalistic professional culture. The concept of participatory or citizen journalism proposes that amateur reporters can actually produce stories inside or outside professional media outlets, ending with the information production monopoly of the press.

John Simpson, the foreign and political correspondent of BBC prides himself as the first journlaist to have entered Afghanistan in 2000 when NATO forces defeated the Taliban. With his microphone and satellite television Simpson gave the first life account of the fall of the Taliban to over a billion viewers all over the world. In that case, he arguably became the first draft of history. But what about the sources Simpson interviewed, the people who actually suffered the brutal rule of the Taliban? Don't the historians deserve any mention in the recoding of events?

How does the work of a journalist compare with the work of a historian? What roles do journalists play in recording history? How does news media coverage of events compare with the coverage of those events in textbooks or history books? It is true that journalists often depend on sources, whether right or wrong; but it is worth arguing that none of the sources on their own are able to professionally process information in news format for public consumption. Newspapers as early as the 16th Century are still available for reading and research.

For centuries newspapers and later radio and TV have been providing audiences with instantaneous images and information from around the world on an entire spectrum of topics. The arrival of the new media (the Internet) has even revolutionarised newsgathering and analysis, delivering 24-hour news. But how might these new technologies transform the way journalists do their jobs in future.

These questions came recently when Ghana celebrated her 50th anniversary as a nation-state. No doubt, the entire jubilee anniversary was a media. This explains why as many as 300 international journalists and their media organizations have applied for accreditations to cover the Ghana@50 jubilee events which reach the climax tomorrow. A few days to the ceremony the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Kwamena Bartels disclosed that the government was overwhelmed by the demonstration of interest by the foreign media to cover the epoch-making event.

The international media include, BBC radio and TV, CNN, OBE, SABC, Media 24 Group, Reuters, AFP, VOA, Japan TV and Radio and a host of others, including radio and TV crews accompanying all visiting heads of states.

The minister described the event as a media event since without media coverage many people across the world would not have the opportunity to view or listen to events of jubilee celebrations. In the run up to the event several volumes of articles and recordings of the Ghana's independent ceremony on March 6, 1957 were published or played for the benefit of the public. The speeches and images of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah were republished or played back so repeatedly that even toddlers could memorise them. Such is the power of the media that they can capture even the most undiscerning brains. But the debate on whether or not the journalism is the rough draft of history will continue.