When the Chairperson of the National Media Commission (NMC), Professor Akua Opokua Britwum, says the relevance of state-interest media organisations lies beyond commercialisation, she is stating a constitutional truth that Ghana must not forget.
Speaking at the inauguration of a new nine-member Board of Directors for Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) in Accra last Friday, Prof. Britwum made a timely intervention in an old but important debate: what is the purpose of state-owned media in a liberalised, digitalised media environment?
Her answer was clear, and the Daily Graphic fully endorses it.
State-interest media such as the GCGL, Ghanaian Times, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Ghana News Agency are not just businesses; they are constitutional instruments for democracy, national cohesion, good governance and national security.
Their value cannot be measured only by profit or loss.
The constitutional mandate is costly.
Article 162 (8) and Article 167 of the 1992 Constitution impose a unique duty on state-owned media: to afford fair opportunities and facilities for the presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions.
That is not an easy mandate. It means that while a partisan or purely commercial outlet can choose to serve only its audience, its political base, or its commercial interest, the state-interest media must serve everyone — government and opposition, majority and minority, rural and urban.
As Prof. Britwum rightly noted: "Keeping to this mandate of providing national coverage comes at a cost.
Maintaining a presence nationwide to gather content and distribute newspapers beyond the established, commercially vibrant sectors of our nation requires significant resource deployment."
This is the point many critics miss. It is expensive to keep correspondents in Bunkpurugu, not just in Accra.
It is expensive to distribute newspapers to Sefwi Wiawso when sales in Accra and Kumasi are more profitable.
It is expensive to publish content in local languages, to cover agriculture, education and health in remote districts, when celebrity gossip sells faster online.
But that is the mandate. Graphic does not exist only for the commercially vibrant sectors of Ghana.
It exists for the whole of Ghana.
It must promote good government policy when it is good, critique it when it must, provide space for divergent views, and help build a national conversation that includes everyone.
That mandate cannot survive on market logic alone.
Prof. Britwum was right to commend GCGL in particular for responding to the changing terrain by diversifying its revenue sources and expanding its product range. Indeed, the transformation of Graphic over the past decade deserves recognition. From a newspaper company, GCGL has become a content and integrated media group — with print titles for different segments, a strong digital presence on Graphic Online, events, printing services, books and business units. It has embraced digital media not as a threat but as an opportunity.
As the NMC Chairperson said, digital media presented opportunities: drastic reduction in printing and distribution costs, access to a global audience, and even reduction in environmental footprint.
In a period when many print organisations globally have collapsed, GCGL has maintained its leadership position and continued to employ hundreds of Ghanaians.
That is no mean achievement, and it is a tribute to past boards, management and staff.
However, diversification must not become distortion.
The core must remain journalism — credible, balanced, national, developmental journalism.
At Graphic, our belief is that we must not become indistinguishable from a click-chasing blog in order to survive.
The organisation’s strength has always been credibility. In an era of fake news, disinformation and AI-generated falsehoods, credibility is the most valuable currency.
GCGL is diligently protecting it.
Digital is the future, but print still serves a large portion of Ghana, especially older readers, schools, and the rural areas where the Internet is weak.
The task is to build a truly converged newsroom where content is created once and distributed efficiently across print, web, social, audio and video channels, while better monetising the digital space.
The greatest asset of GCGL is its network of regional correspondents and reporters who know the country.
In an age where Accra-based social media commentators dominate discourse, GCGL’s ability to report from every district is its competitive advantage and its constitutional duty.
The relevance of GCGL is beyond commercialisation.
It is about democracy itself. In a fragmented media landscape, Ghana still needs a common platform where facts are verified, divergent views are respected, government policy is explained, and the nation can talk to itself.
We wish the new board well. The mandate is clear. The terrain is tough, but the mission remains noble.
