GJA Launches Awards Committee

An eight-member Awards Committee has been inaugurated by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in Accra to select deserving journalists for the different categories of awards scheduled for October 27.

The Committee is chaired by Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, a Journalist/Development and Organisational Communications Consultant, with members including Mr Albert Sam, Journalist of the Year-1991, Mrs Tina Aforo-Yeboah, former Editor of Spectator, Mrs Betty Apau-Opong, the immediate past Director of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Gabriel Bosompem, a former Journalist of TV3, and Mr Peter Martey Agbeko, the first Director of the Ghana International Press Centre.

The rest are Mr Kwasi Kpodo, Financial Correspondent of Reuters News in Ghana and Mr Akwasi Agyeman, a Journalist with over 20 years' experience.

The Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr Gyan Appenteng, said no nation could thrive without the contribution of journalists and commended the Committee for accepting to work with the GJA.

He said the Committee members were men and women of integrity who were committed to ensuring deserving journalists were awarded.

He suggested that the Committee became a standing one for the GJA awards based on members' experience and tenacity to duty.

Dr Dartey thanked the GJA Executive for the confidence reposed in them and said it was the first time all members were retained to serve a second term.

She, therefore, pledged the Committee's dedication and commitment to delivering the task assigned to it.

Dr Dartey said the Committee would not toy with the confidence reposed in it but would work hard with integrity to deliver as expected.

Describing the assignment as 'delicate,' she asked for the trust and support of all GJA members adding; 'With our collective experience, we will not let the GJA down.'

Dr Dartey, who had served on the Committee for seven years, said it would work to meet the five-week deadline of declaring the award winners.

Mrs Audrey Dekalu, the Treasurer of the GJA, noted that the members of the Committee were retained because of the excellent work they did last year, within a two-week period, and commended them for that feat.

She said the GJA awards had come to stay and thus the experienced journalists on the Committee would help bring out winners who truly deserved.

The 23rd GJA Awards was launched on August 30, under the theme: 'State of Investigative Journalism, Boundaries of Privacy and Borders of Public Interest'.

All entries should cover works published from January 1 to December 31, 2017.

Among the categories are best columnist, best morning show (TV/Radio), best student journalist, GJA/Kombla Dumor Most Promising Student Journalist, and Democracy and Peace-building media house.