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Nana Essilfie-Conduah, Head of Journalism Department of the African University College of Communications, has urged journalists to develop punchy, straight forward and catchy leads. He made the remarks during an appraisal workshop for the staff of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Friday in Accra. He said the lead, when well written, should be able to tell the whole story and sustain the interest of the reader in the story. He said journalists must always strive to tell the truth at all times, be attentive and have very retentive memories. Nana Esisilfie-Conduah cautioned journalists to desist from writing news stories based on allegations. He said such practices were more of euphemism in which the journalist tried to cover himself up. Nana Esisilfie-Conduah urged journalists to avoid common grammatical errors, syntax and phraseology. He said all media houses, especially wire services such as the GNA, must always strive to protect their credibility. He said credibility, whether "small or big" was very important and had to be protected at all times and any media house which kept coming out with corrections would gradually lose its credibility and customers with time. Nana Essilfie-Conduah urged the staff of GNA to endeavour to uphold its motor of Speed, Accuracy and Objectivity and to work harder to ensure that the Agency gained back its past glory as the leading news agency in Africa. He said though the news must be delivered on time care must be taken to arrive at a good conclusion. He advised news editors to properly evaluate the news before sending it to the public for consumption. Mr Muhammad Nurudeen Issahaq, Acting Supervising Chief Editor of the GNA, on behalf of the staff, expressed his sincere gratitude to Nana Essilfie-Conduah for his delivery. He said management would ensure that appraisals were held regularly as part of capacity building of the staff.