Blog (Page 21)

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 7 January, 2019   The United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL 2019) is here with us. The international media has given tremendous publicity to the formal launch ceremony scheduled for January 28 in Paris, France. The Vatican media, for example, has highlighted the event and accorded it editorial focus. Religious institutions place much premium on language and culture to enhance their evangelisation missions. But what is the stance of Ghanaian state institutions on the year-long affair? Do our state institutions need to hype this occasion and tell us whether they are attending or not and if notRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 4 January, 2019 Louis Braille was born today, January 4, 1809 in Coupvray, France. He died 6 January, 1852, aged 43. Today, Louis Braille remains one of the unique and most important contributors to the advancement of the written word; he invented the Braille system of writing named after him. Charles Barbier, a former soldier who had invented a system of writing for the military using 12 raised dots on a page had his idea rejected. Barbier’s system was useful to even illiterate soldiers but was thought too complex. Barbier’s “Night writing” as he termed it was to helpRead More →

  By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 2 January, 2018 The debate about a National Cathedral for Ghana is still with us. When I told my big boy I was going to write this article he stated, ‘Daddy, Ghanaians will call you an Antichrist’. He has come to know the terrain well. Fortunately, POTROG himself set the tone and parameters for this debate when he presided over the fundraising dinner for the National Cathedral last Friday. ‘President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he promised God a National Cathedral before he became president, and will redeem that pledge’, was the lead in the modernghana.com story of 29Read More →

  By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 31 December, 2018 It is the end of the year by the Gregorian calendar; time for stock taking. Most Christians around the world are celebrating the birth of the Infant King. In a few days’ time, Jews and some Christian sects will celebrate the Epiphany – the day the Wise Men discovered and presented their gifts to Emmanuel, God with us. This Christian festival is based on the Jewish celebration of Lights. The birth of Jesus the Nazarene about 2000 years ago was a sign of endings and new beginnings. Simeone the High Priest got that message clear.Read More →

  By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 29 December, 2018 If you are a media house and you do not have a written formal editorial policy, get one immediately! Now that is both a warning and an order. In one of my conversations with my mentor we discussed why Ghanaian graduates even at the Master’s level have serious difficulty in writing a simple research article for publication in a school journal. ‘Because they are not taught how to write and the lecturers who taught them research methods themselves did not understand that course when they were being taught’, I offered. ‘So these lecturers have aRead More →

  By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 28 December, 2018 Writers and Shakespeares Ghana Limited (WSGL) has fully commenced the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) certificate programme for media workers effective, 27 December, 2018. There are various modules covering all aspects of communication and media management. This training programme is designed for those already practising in the communication industry. The courses cover the full range of services as stated on our company’s website www.writersghana.com. The media scene today is very challenging and complex. In Ghana there are at least 200 radio and TV channels all competing for attention. And yet social media dominates the video viewershipRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 24 December, 2018.   The controversy over celebration of Christmas and the constitutional rights of citizens is an annual debate around the world. It gets complicated when the affected groups have not openly complained or worse still they take active part in it. An announcement from the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly (LADMA) in Accra circulating on social media shows that to all intents and purposes, the state’s resources are being used to celebrate a festival of nine lessons and carols aka carol service. LADMA is not the first to do this; over the years the parliament of Ghana, GhanaRead More →

  By Mavis Akosua Agyepong Accra – 21 December, 2018. Early this month, the Pre-Vas TV marketing campaign team hit the Spintex Road in Baatsonaa, Nungua. ‘I’m putting you into four teams’, said Emmanuel Larweh, Marketing Manager, when he called us into the studio to give us his usual briefs. ‘You’ll be five in a team.’ I enjoy the marketing trips, but this time it was different. We had been told as prospective employees that training for those who will go on air will be on Mondays and Fridays. And I had not eaten breakfast before leaving home. In my other life as a footballer,Read More →

  By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 19 December, 2018.   The Daily Graphic newspaper is dead, but the Graphic Group survives in other forms. The obsequies of the Daily Graphic newspaper was observed on 13 December, 2018 in an article right under the editorial titled, “Taking a bow”. It was written by Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh, a lawyer and former editor of the Graphic in his column “Thinking aloud”. Two sentences from his article will suffice….. “Just like Zinedine Zidane decided to leave Real Madrid Football Club as a coach, at a time he had achieved back to back wins in the European Championship football,Read More →

  By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 17 December, 2018.   My mentor has diagnosed the Ghanaian situation well – ‘They have no point of reference’, he says. It has taken me many years to realise that quite often, the Ghanaian will speak or act without any point of reference. And when challenged (s)he will become obnoxious, petty and aggressive…..again without any reference to the substance of the issue under discussion. These days, it has become a signature characteristic in the nation’s mad race to the bottom. My newsroom training session at Pre-Vas TV, Teshie First Junction in Accra, is free of charge and openRead More →