Accra, Nov. 1, GNA – The Management of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Monday welcomed 37 newly employed staff, pledging to leverage on cutting-edge technology to provide subscribers with credible and quality news.
Mr Albert Kofi Owusu, the General Manager, GNA, speaking at the opening of a five-day orientation programme for the new staff, said the Agency had invested in digital equipment to maximise the digital arena to be competitive in the global media, especially in the era of social media.
He said the Agency had put in place robust measures to expand services from text-to-voice formats, including video, infographics and digital photography to meet the needs of clients with quality news.
The GNA has redesigned its website, introducing user-interactive features like a photobank, GNA TV, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.
Mr Owusu charged the new entrants to give of their best, stressing: “This is the beginning of your journey, you need to work hard and prove yourselves to meet the vision of the Agency”.
The GNA was the centre of excellence for news gathering and dissemination and served as a source of information for the country and beyond, he said, urging the new members to produce quality contents to meet the expectations of subscribers.
The Agency would continue to become the bedrock of Ghana where every media house depended on it because of its wider reach and authentic news, he said.
The General Manager advised the new employees to acquaint themselves with the provisions of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Code of Ethics to work in a professional manner and uplift the image of the GNA and the profession in general.
Communication, he said, was to influence people and to change attitudes, and advised them to be circumspect in the discharge of their duties by ensuring good practices and fair reportage to enhance national cohesion.
Nana Kwaku Dei, the Nkosuohene of Pakro in the Akuapem South District of the Eastern Region, and a Board Member of the GNA, advised the new staff to be assertive and strive for excellence by developing captivating stories that would advance the country’s development without always focusing on negative issues.
“Make good use of technology. You can make a name anywhere you find yourselves, distinguish yourselves and make the best out of the opportunity given you,” he said.
Nana Dei, known in private life as Mr Ransford Tetteh, a former GJA President, charged the employees to “put their ears on the ground” and be updated with the latest developments in the country and beyond, while developing a reading habit to enrich their stories for positive impact.
Mrs Beatrice Asamani Savage, the Director of Editorial, commended the new entrants for sailing through the competitive recruitment process and was optimistic that they would excel, considering their varied backgrounds from radio, television, print, and photography, among other specialisations.
“We are looking for intelligent journalists with good analytical brains who will not accept any information without subjecting it to scrutiny. We want passionate journalists to drive the cause of excellence in the media space,” she said.
“Journalism is not practised at one’s convenience. We are fulfilling the right to information to the public and we need to do it right.”
Mr Joseph Baffoe, the Director of Administration, said the orientation was to help them to understand the culture of the Agency and appreciate the policy of the national newswire.
Present at the event were Mr Norbert Assenso, the Director of Business Development, Mr Samuel Boateng, Director of IT and Engineering, and Mrs Barbara Dodoo, Chief Administrator of the Agency.
GNA