Hail 2013 Journalist of the Year

Salomey Appiah Sep - 06 - 2014 , 12:17

“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” - Mother Teresa

Watching her from afar, one would be mistaken to think it has been a ‘bed of roses’ for her but wait till you hear her story and how far she has come.

The winner of the 2013 prestigious Journalist of the Year Award, Ms Mabel Aku Baneseh, grew up wanting to become a doctor, just like many children would reply to the question “what profession will you want to pursue in future?

But as fate would have it, she found herself in the journalism field when her junior high school teachers advised her to do General Arts at the senior high School because she was good in English Literature.

Paying heed to their advice, she has never looked back and has since completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

The first of six children, she grew up as a ‘barracks girl’, and recalls being called “Nkyene wura” meaning salt seller, because she supported her mother to sell foodstuffs at Burma Camp, where she grew up.

She becomes the fourth female to win the Journalist of the Year Award following the footprints of Madam Ajoa Yeboah-Afari (The Mirror), Ms Elizabeth Ohene (Daily Graphic), both veteran journalists and Ms Peggy Ama Donkor of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.

A product of Mfantsiman Senior High School at Saltpond, Ms Baneseh, a Court Correspondent with the Daily Graphic, grew up from a humble background, but today she has excelled in her profession, to the admiration of all.

At the just-ended 19th edition of the GJA Awards, Ms Baneseh’s dexterity and devotion to covering last year’s Supreme Court election petition won her praises for being the Overall Best Journalist, Court/Crime Reporting and Political Reporting awards.

Ms Baneseh’s stories headlined, “Judgement Day” and “Ghana’s Democracy Scores First”, among others, convinced the awarding jury to deliver the night’s verdict in her favour.

A citation accompanying the overall award described Ms Baneseh’s reports from the court as ‘one that united the country’.

How journey began

Having joined the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), as a national service person in 2001 after obtaining a Diploma in Journalism from the GIJ, she started as reporter of sanitation issues which made people to call her “Borla reporter” but it paid off as the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) awarded her the Best Metro Reporter in 2002.

“During my service I had senior journalists commending me for my work and I always got a positive feedback for my stories, and that encouraged and motivated me to do more and work harder,” she said.

Her hard work and dedication got her a contract after the national service with the GCGL and she was finally employed in May 2004. She won the Best Worker award for her department in 2003 and 2013 and was adjudged the overall Best Worker for the company in 2013.

With an urge to break new grounds, Ms Baneseh later decided to find new sources for news stories. This led her to go into oil and gas, and later she started following a senior colleague to the court to try her hands on some court reporting.

Since then, Ms Baneseh has been reporting from the court and has over the last 10 years, reported on high-profile cases, including the “Ghana Rubber Estates Limited Trial” in 2005 and the 2012 election petition.

“Reporting from the court is very interesting, thought-provoking and a learning process for me; but it is also very challenging. I learn a lot and I ask a lot of questions from lawyers of litigants and the courts to get my facts right,” she said.

“My sources also know me very well that I do not take a no for an answer, so some even prepare the answer before I get to them and over the years, I have developed very decent and professional working relationship with my sources,” she stated.

Growing up

When asked to describe her childhood, she said, “I did not have a luxurious childhood. My father, WOII Solomon Kwame Baneseh (retd), obviously was a soldier and my mother, Mrs Comfort Adjabre-Baneseh, was a petty trader selling foodstuffs such as cassava, plantain and salt, at Burma Camp where I grew up.

“I remember people in our neighbourhood to called me salt seller and I would get very angry but now I take joy in it, ”she said.

According to her, she supported her mother to sell foodstuffs to support the family and added that in the past, she sold shito prepared by her mother to some office workers and lawyers.

Combining work with family

Over the last eight years since she got married in a customary way to Lt. Col. Jude Barry Mwinyel, Ms Baneseh has strategised to combine her passion for her work with her family and domestic chores.

“Knowing the kind of job that I do, I plan very well to ensure that I take care of my family and also work hard to produce stories for the news desk.

“I also have a supportive husband and family members who take care of my children when the need arises”.

Considering the fact that her children get to see her everyday but very late in the evening and early in the morning, she describes moments with the family as “golden moments”.

“My work schedule is so tight that I hardly go out for social functions. So at my church, Garrison Methodist at Burma Camp, for instance, I do not belong to any group”.

Her advice

Ms Baneseh advised young journalists to work hard, be diligent and have initiatives in their work as well as passion for the job for the greater good of the society and leave society to judge their works.

“Work very hard; do not expect any reward. Society will recognise your work one day,” Ms Baneseh advised.

She also advised women to be confident and believe in themselves and not to be intimidated because of their gender.