Makers of Ghana’s journalism, finishers

The foundation of Ghana’s journalism was laid by Governor Sir Charles MacCarthy of the Gold Coast, from 1822 to 1823.

Governor MacCarthy, the first Governor of the Gold Coast, established the Gold Coast Gazette and Commercial Intelligencer in 1822.

The newspaper ceased publication in 1823 when the governor was killed in the first Anglo-Asante war that year.

The Bannerman brothers, Charles Bannerman and Edmund Bannerman, completed the foundation laying with the publication of the Accra (West African) Herald from 1857 to 1873.

“On Saturday, March 28, 1874, the uncertainties and hesitation of the formative period of the Ghana Press were laid to rest.

“On that day, a newspaper appeared at Cape Coast, the political and educational capital of the country, which was also its centre of journalistic endeavour and enterprise, from near the beginning of and throughout the 19th Century,” Prof. KAB Jones-Quartey wrote in his book: History, Politics and Early Press in Ghana (1975).

In Chapter 5, headed “The Ghana Press Established”, Jones-Quartey named the newspaper the Gold Coast Times.

He wrote that the Gold Coast Times, “outdoored” at Cape Coast on a Saturday in March 1874,… “became the first of its kind in the country to be owned and run exclusively by natives of the soil and was printed from the first number to the last.”

It was owned and edited by James Hutton Brew.

According to Jones-Quartey in his book, Hutton Brew “was a gifted individual and one of the earliest in the line of new Gold Coast men who established, for the country, the tradition of leadership in political and social advancement, which eventually culminated in independence some two to three generations later”.

On the editorial content of the newspaper, James-Quartey stated in his book: “The Times not only paid close attention to the burning social issues of the day in its editorials but gave wide coverage to the opinions of English papers, notably the Times of London, the Manchester Guardian, the Morning Post and the Standard.

“It also reproduced excerpts from Hansard of British parliamentary debates on questions such as the persistent one during this period, which was whether Britain should or should not withdraw from the Gold Coast.”

I have to rely, further, on Jones-Quartey for more about the functions and operations of the Gold Coast Times.

He wrote: “The Gold Coast Times was, on the whole, that mild and not very busy about nationalistic politics. Thus, it found no reason either, to wish the British away. On the contrary, it was interested in what the latter should be doing about material improvements and the unextinguished threats of an Ashanti takeover of the coastal areas and its peoples…

“However, the paper was fairly well-produced and presented, was clear of type (though terribly crowded) and always lively.”

I do not think Jones-Quartey was fair to Hutton Brew on his paper’s role with regard to whether the British colonial administration should stay in the Gold Coast or leave at that time.

As a “mouthpiece” of the people and defender of their rights, the Gold Coast Times was right in wishing that the colonial administration should stay and develop the coastal areas rather than leave.

The Asante kingdom’s threat, in respect, of its overrunning and taking over the coastal areas without the intervention of the British was a very frightening prospect to the people.      

That was why they wished the British to stay and offer them protection.

The Gold Coast Times which started in March 1874, folded up in 1885.

One year before the demise of the Accra (West African) Herald in 1873, the Gold Coast Gazette, with the new name Government Gazette, was re-established.

The state-owned monthly continued to publish until today.

Its headquarters was moved from Cape Coast to Accra between 1876 and 1878 as the government relocated its seat to Accra, which became the new capital of the Gold Coast.

Before the Gold Coast Times disappeared, another newspaper, Gold Coast Assize, was circulated from 1883 (November) and stopped in February 1884.

It was a weekly published and edited paper by an English lawyer, WC Niblett.

The Gold Coast Assize specialised in legislation and legal matters.

Lawyer/editor Niblett owned and edited another newspaper called the Gold Coast News.

It was started in March 1884 or 1885 and folded up in August 1885.

In November 1885, the month and year that the Gold Coast Times ceased publication, Hutton Brew came out with another newspaper he called Western Echo.

About Western Echo, Jones-Quartey wrote that “the character of the publication that ran under the second name was different from that of the first.

“Where the former was mild about politics and faint in praise as in blame, the latter was committed, direct and hard-hitting, choosing frontal attacks against flanking movements in much of its handling of the public interest.”

In the editorial department of Western Echo were Joseph Ephraim Casely-Hayford, a nephew of Hutton Brew, and Timothy E. Laing.

Casely-Hayford was the sub-editor of the newspaper and Timothy Laing was the manager.

Casely-Hayford was a lawyer and journalist and Rev. Laing was an ordained minister of the Methodist Church.

The Echo was published in November 1885 and ended in December 1887.

The late 19th century saw some prominent, enterprising and committed Ghanaian personalities who dedicated themselves to the profession of journalism for the sake of it.

These men included J.E Casely-Hayford, Rev. Timothy Laing and Rev. Attoh Ahuma.

They were associated with founding, editing or running several newspapers in the Gold Coast.

Rev. Attoh Ahuma was connected with the Gold Coast Methodist Times founded by the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1886 and published until 1898(?).

J.E Casely-Hayford established the Gold Coast Echo and edited it from 1888 to 1889. It was his first attempt at running a newspaper on his own.

Timothy Laing, in association with others, including J.H Cheetham and Casely-Hayford, founded and managed the Gold Coast Chronicle from September 1890 and 1896.

Gold Coast Express (March 1897 to March 1900?) was founded, edited and managed by the relentless Timothy Laing.

It was the first attempt at publishing a daily newspaper on the Gold Coast.

Rev. Attoh Ahuma, another relentless journalist of that period, edited the Gold Coast Aborigines (January 1896 to June 1909)(?).

That weekly was founded by the Gold Coast Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society.

The newspaper was managed by Rev. Egiyir Asaam.

The publishing of that newspaper was said to have been inspired by John Mensah Sarbah, a prominent lawyer.

Gold Coast Leader (1902 to 1933/1934) was, from the onset, associated with Casely-Hayford and, later, Attoh Ahuma and others, such as John Buchman, Gaddiel Acquaah, Kobina Sekyi and K Sekyi Armah.

Gold Coast Courier (August 1905 to January 1907) was edited by Timothy Laing.

Rev. Attoh Ahuma was on the records to have also edited the Gold Coast Nation and Aborigines from 1912 to ??.

Timothy Laing was also editor of a fortnightly, Voice of the People (later Vox Populi) (1917 (?) to 1939), then from another date to 1948 (?).

Founders of the new Gold Coast Independent included J J Akron and GD Tackie, who were long-time editors of the publication.

Dr FV Nanka-Bruce and the Bruce family and Dr CE Reindorf were connected with the revival of that newspaper.

A Gold Coast businessman, Alfred J Ocansey, was notable for the establishment of several newspapers including the Gold Coast Spectator and the African Morning Post.

Gold Coast Spectator (1927? to 1955) was first edited by R.W Dupigny.

R.B. Wuta Ofei took over later as editor of the newspaper.

The African Morning Post (1934 to 1956), a daily, was edited for some time by Nnamdi Azikiwe, a Nigerian who settled on the Gold Coast for three years.

Dr Azikiwe later returned to Nigeria and published several newspapers including the West African Pilot.

He became president of the Nigerian Federation from 1963 to 1966.