Celebrating 10 years at Graphic: Notes from my scribbling pad (Daily Graphic - Monday, May 5, 2014)

I have experienced good and bad times, high and low moments, periods of transformation and deterioration, professionalism and politics at play and appreciations and disappointments; all in 10 years of joining the Graphic family. I joined the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) on May 3, 2004, with high hopes and great expectations. Working with the Daily Graphic, the flagship newspaper of the GCGL and arguably the leading newspaper in Ghana, is the dream of many a young journalist. So even as I was engaged at an equally high-esteem media organisation (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation – Radio News) and doing pretty well on the job, I always nurtured an inordinate desire to work with the Daily Graphic. When I was invited to write an examination as a first step towards the job offer, my first impression of the company was A+-rated. While sitting in the ‘examination room’, a lady walked in to serve the candidates snacks. My mind was not on food then but that gesture alone swept me off my feet because it was a virtue I found very unique. I was not there to be fed but that gesture spoke volumes! It showed a caring organisation. So as soon as I left the ‘examination room’, I dashed home to draft my resignation letter to GBC, even before Graphic, invited me for an interview and subsequently offered me a job. Indeed, it was a tactical move, considering the difference between the figures on my Graphic and GBC payslips and the fact that one year after joining the company, I got married something I couldn’t do in almost eight years at GBC because my salary then did not permit such an ‘extravagant’ lifestyle. Good and bad times Those were the good times at Graphic when one worked without thinking about salary and welfare matters. Morale of many workers, including myself, was very high. But as I write today, a few months after the end of a protracted salary negotiation, one can hardly finish doing a task without discussing salary and/or welfare matters. The morale of many workers now has sunk very low; some have become rather apathetic and distressed because they think they are not getting a fair share of the Graphic cake. If any outsider thought Graphic was a land flowing with milk and honey, I believe many workers would tell him/her that it’s now a land grown with thorns and thistles. Transformation and deterioration Over the past 10 years, Graphic has undergone significant transformation. The completion of the headquarters building transformed the newsroom into a beautiful, refreshing ambiance that makes working quite pleasant. The installation of the new printing press and the redesigning of the Daily Graphic and other newspaper brands in the stable have had positive impact on the appeal of the newspapers. However, some of the transformations have caused deterioration to the company rather than enhanced it. One of such transformations is the installation of a clock-in machine at the editorial department, which has been a vexed issue of passionate discourse. The justification for the clock-in machine, I understand, is to check indiscipline in respect of lateness and absenteeism. But my argument is that at editorial (where the ultimate job is to get stories that sell the newspaper), dealing with lateness and absenteeism are mere functions of strong supervision. So those at the helm of editorial who fail to exercise their charges effectively must be held accountable for their weaknesses instead of abdicating their responsibility to a machine. The only reason why discipline was the order of the ‘good old days’ that some people make quick reference to every time was not because machines were regulating the affairs of editorial staff; it was simply because supervision was strong and reporters felt happy to support their leaders to succeed! There was no apathy because they saw their leaders doing things in the interest of the job. Be that as it may, the only good that the clock-in machine has served at editorial is that many staff clock-in just to satisfy all righteousness. Thereafter, they may not be at post or when they are, they may only be pretending to be working for their payslip. That can only happen in the face of weak supervision. For me, so long as the reporter brings in good stories regularly, his absence from the office does not matter; after all journalism is not an armchair job! Professionalism and politics The Daily Graphic has maintained high professional standards over the years and many people hold it as the standard in the newspaper industry in Ghana. That is why, understandably, anytime the Daily Graphic falters in upholding that banner, some people tend to be so unforgiving of the newspaper. Although the Daily Graphic may not have been absolutely perfect in the discharge of an arduous task, generally, it has performed creditably in maintaining a professional balance. It is never an easy task ensuring, for instance, gender, regional, political and religious balance, as well as satisfying all shades of opinion. Unfortunately, there are occasions when professionalism is sacrificed for political expediency. Sometimes, certain stories published in the Daily Graphic are more propaganda than what the mouthpieces of the various political parties would publish just because of submitting to the dictates of politicians. The 1992 Constitution guarantees the freedoms and independence of the media and Article 162 (4) in particular, insulates editors from governmental control or interference, as well as punishment and or harassment for their editorial opinions, views and content of their publications. So why should anyone shiver upon receiving a telephone call from a government official or politician? Turning the Daily Graphic into an appendage or mouthpiece of the government or any political interest will only succeed in damaging the credibility of the newspaper. Appreciations and disappointments One of the considerations that inspired me to join the GCGL was its high calibre of journalists I had always admired. The likes of Joe Aggrey, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Frankie Asare-Donkoh, Nanabanyin Dadson, Sammy Okaitey (late), Kofi Akordor, A. B. A. Fuseini, Joe Bradford-Nyinah (late) and George Sydney Abugri were my idols, and I enjoyed reading their stories. But I doff my hat for three of them – Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, George Sydney Abugri and Kofi Akordor – for their consistency in writing. The admirable thing about them is that in spite of their official schedules, they find time to write consistently, and I have always looked up to them for inspiration and valuable lessons in the art of writing. It is good for senior journalists to write and practically demonstrate to the juniors how the job should be done, so that they will have the moral duty to chastise junior reporters if they fail to live up to expectation. The numerous training sessions organised may be good but they become useless when decisions taken at those sessions become impracticable because same leaders go against those decisions or make it impossible. In my experience at Graphic, I have been worried about the attitude of some leaders at editorial who never show appreciation for any good thing done. In this instance, I make two exceptions; first is the late Sammy Okaitey. He showed appreciation for even ordinary things one did. Second is the Mirror Editor, Janet Quainoo. She will verbally commend you or hand you a commendation letter for every good job done. Sometimes, verbal commendation or a mere handshake, as the late Okaitey used to do, is enough an appreciation that greatly boosts one’s morale, and that is a demonstration of leadership strength rather than weakness. Leaders at the editorial department (and other departments at GCGL) must take a cue from the sages that “Gratitude is the least of all virtues but ingratitude is the worst of all vices.” I appreciate the Deputy Editor of the Daily Graphic, K. K. Inkoom, the Chief Sub Editor, Abigail Bonsu, and the Education and Gender Pages Editor, Salome Donkor, not because they are soft-spoken, but for their fine character of engaging positively with reporters. Anytime they call me over a story, I always leave their desks richer in knowledge. They let you know why something in the story is wrong or has to be captured differently, and even the person sitting at the next desk will not hear the conversation. But for some people, even when you are at the Agbogbloshie Market nearby, you’d still hear their call from the newsroom, and before you get to their desks, the whole world would have heard about your ‘crime’. Such approach to editorial engagement is not an attribute of effective leadership; at best it rather exposes a weakness in leadership. High and low moments I have had high moments at Graphic in 10 years and I’m grateful to God for that. The pride of every athlete is the medals that hang on his or her neck after months of hard training. Likewise, winning five Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards in 10 years is very much cherished. But what gladdens my heart most is the opportunity to travel around the country to tell the stories of the underprivileged in society. Visiting the deprived Dwarfs Island in the Afram Plains where politicians shudder to visit, except for the votes of the inhabitants in election year; Yeji where scores of children are engaged in fishing on the Volta Lake at the expense of education, and the Agbogbloshie slum in Accra where Olivia Agbenyeke, a brilliant girl whose dream of becoming a medical doctor had been snuffed by poverty until a Daily Graphic publication on her plight ensured her admission to medical school, have been some of my highest moments at Graphic. On the flip side, however, I have been very disheartened by a legal suit at my instance that caused the GCGL a whopping amount of money. It is a blemish I will never forget but it is never a setback to my commitment to the cause of helping develop Mother Ghana through my small pen. Writer’s Email: kofi.yeboah@graphic.com.gh / kofiyebo@yahoo.com