Daily Graphic determines mood, psyche of nation — Alhassan Andani

The Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic Bank Ghana, Mr Alhassan Andani, has urged the Daily Graphic to maintain its high journalistic standards, given the critical role it plays.

“What comes out in your content affects the national mood and psyche on a daily basis so that must be taken into consideration anytime you set out to do your work.

“It is not for nothing that you are celebrating your Platinum anniversary. You have set the standards and maintained the bar, you cannot lower it now.

“The barometer of the national psyche is so dependent on what you carry on the day so consider your role as very important and critical,” he told the Editorial conference yesterday.

Mr Andani made this assertion in his role as the first Guest Editor of the Daily Graphic yesterday.

It is the first in a series of Guest Editor programmes which forms part of activities to mark the 70th anniversary celebrations.

The Guest Editor edited and helped to produce today’s edition of the Daily Graphic, the flagship of the GCGL stable of newspapers.

Format

The newsroom of the Daily Graphic saw the Editor of the nation’s leading newspaper, Mr Kobby Asmah, step aside to allow the Guest Editor to lead the production of today’s edition.

By 10.15 a.m, Mr Andani had reported for duty and his first port of call was the Editor’s office where he was welcomed by Mr Asmah.

He also held a brief meeting with the Managing Director of the company, Mr Ato Afful. Accompanying the Guest Editor was the Editor and the Director, News, Mrs Mavis Kitcher.

After that brief interaction, he was ushered into the editorial conference room to begin his day’s work.

Mr Andani, who is also the President of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB), chaired the morning conference which reviewed the day’s newspaper.

In the afternoon, he again chaired the conference, keenly participating in the process of critiquing the stories the News Desk had presented and making suggestions.

In addition to that, he wrote two editorials for the paper, after which he shared his views on varied issues.

Commercial value

Interacting with staff in the newsroom after his day’s work, Mr Andani commended them for the tireless effort they put in to be the link between stakeholders and very important constituents.

He stressed that the GCGL was a credible platform that made it possible for businesses to reach their target audience.

He observed that even as the company strived to strike a balance between content and advertorials, it was important to prioritise the former.

“The adverts and commercials that come to you is as a result of the content that you produce. I do not buy Graphic to look at adverts; I buy it to look at the content; so those of you that are producing the content need to do it well to get the commercial value for it,” he said.

“We buy because of the stories and nothing else, so as you set out to work, be reminded that a bad story would affect our mood and to an extent, productivity, while the positive outlook stories inspire us to do more,” he emphasised.

Experience

Sharing his experience on the role he played on the day, Mr Andani said it was his first time of taking up a role in the production of a newspaper and described it as ‘an invaluable one.’

He described it as a humbling experience that would remain with him for the rest of his life, stressing that the experience had given him a totally different perspective of how a newsroom and newspaper production works.

“It has given me the opportunity to appreciate what a serious paper such as the Daily Graphic does: the significant news competing for selection, the complexity of selecting stories to satisfy the diverse interests and all that have to be carried in a limited space; yet the paper comes out in the stands and it looks as if it’s such an easy task.

“From the outside, it looks so simple, but having been part of the process today, it is a completely different perspective.”

“As an ardent consumer of the Daily Graphic, the experience as a Guest Editor was overwhelming, Mr Andani intimated.

The Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank gave an assurance that his relationship with the paper and to an extent, the company, would be further strengthened by the opportunity given him.

“It won’t end here. Definitely, we will deepen this relationship and I return to my normal role as a complete apostle of Graphic”, he added.

Different perspective

Mr Asmah, on behalf of the company and the editorial team, expressed appreciation to Mr Andani for honouring the invitation to be the first Guest Editor.

He commended him for his insightful contribution to the day’s production and expressed the hope that it was the beginning of a stronger relationship between the two organisations.