The Finder Launched

Awal, Jamal,Norkor, Kabral and Amoabeng, glancing through the papers (2)

Close to a year after formally resigning as Graphic Communications Ltd Managing Director, Mohammed Ibrahim Awal has added a newspaper, The Finder , to the stable of publications in the country, promising that his would be unique.

Hinged on the catchwords- Credibility, Relevance and Balance- Mr. Ibrahim Awal told the respectable array of industry players and diplomats who honoured the launch at Alisa Hotel yesterday in Accra that the daily would contribute to the development agenda of the country differently.

Published by the Marble Communications Group, of which he is CEO, the daily, he said, was not another newspaper launch but one with a focus on doing things differently because according to him, Ghana deserved a media that would galvanise her population for development.

The operations of the newspaper, he assured, would be supportive of both government and opposition alongside the private and public sectors, maintaining that he added a non-aligned posture to the various political parties or social groups in the country.

'The paper would keep government on their toes and make the opposition even more responsible,' he said.

The CEO of UT Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, urged the paper to adopt appropriate balance between sustenance and being responsible in reporting, something he found missing in the country today.

He joined others in reposing confidence in Ibrahim Awal as one who has the wherewithal to make a change and to succeed.

Mrs. Norkor Dua, President of the Advertising Association of Ghana, Emmanuel Bombande and Kennedy Okosun, Chairman of KRIF Ghana Limited, took turns to admonish the newspaper's management on the way forward.

Alhaji Musiliu Obanikoro, Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana who launched the paper, extolled the perseverance of the CEO , who he said rose through the ranks to become the head of the Graphic Communications Group, adding that it was a rare development.

Deputy Minister Baba Jamal observed that even after promising to adhere to the principles of journalism during launching ceremonies, many newspapers had fallen short of this in the course of their operations.

He bemoaned the situation where a person accused by the media must disprove the charges, when conventionally it should be the accusers who should show proof of their charges.

The media, he said, must avoid sensationalism, noting 'everyone knows what happened to me in the past weeks. I do not want to bring my experiences here'.

Government, he said, wanted even more newspapers established in the country and was ready to work with them.

Kabral Blay Amihere, Chairman of the National Media Commission lamented the misconduct of small newspapers whose print-run did not come near 5000 yet relied on radio stations to have their contents amplified.

He recalled how before the culture of silence was broken his application to run a newspaper was turned down alongside those of Freddie Blay and Kweku Baako.

  Ironically, today, he recalled how he, the man rejected by those regulating the establishment of newspapers, now registers such publications even though it is not mandatory for newspapers to be registered before they start operations.

He encouraged business persons to invest in the media as the late MKO Abiola of Nigeria did in Nigeria.

The Nigerian High Commissioner, Musiliu Obanikoro, predicted that The Finder would in future become a reference point in the media fraternity as he reposed confidence in Ibrahim Awal to succeed in the new venture.

An auction of the maiden edition yielded over GH¢30,000 from corporate personalities and others.

 By A.R. Gomda