I wish to dedicate this piece to the wonderful journalists I met when I first entered the Graphic newsroom sometime in September 1974 to begin my career as a reporter. I had then been assigned to the Daily Graphic to do my national service.
That was 40 years ago and the Daily Graphic had then been in existence for only 24 years having been established as part of the Mirror Group of Newspapers. Most of those working on the paper were 1950 pioneers and the enterprising ones had trained themselves on the job to become journalists.
It was a whole new world for me and indeed, a dream come true since from my school days I thought of nothing but to become a journalist one day.
And there I was, face-to-face with the celebrated journalists of those days, writers who made the Daily Graphic tick and made the paper a must-read for anybody who wanted to broaden his or her horizon, and at the same time get some entertainment from reading the paper.
The Graphic newsroom I joined in 1974 was a place where serious business was conducted. At the apex of the whole Graphic establishment was the renowned journalist and one of the best sports writers Ghana has ever produced, Mr Kofi Badu.
He was not just the Managing Director but was interested in the content of the paper and was always in the newsroom to make sure that nothing went amiss. I believe Kofi Badu had a hand in the move that led to the recruitment of graduates from the University of Ghana to join the Daily Graphic.
Before I came in, Elizabeth Ohene, Kofi Akumanyin, Kwamena Anaman, Ben Mensah and Nana Daniels had been integrated into the Graphic family and had started making their marks. Individuals like Ted Konu and Nii Bortey Tagoe came and left immediately.
Before then, journalism in Ghana did not hold much attraction for graduates. Most of those who made a career out of journalism were secondary school leavers who had learnt on the job or had done some correspondence course with overseas colleges or had gone to the newly established Ghana Institute of Journalism.
There were, however, senior practitioners, like the editors who had gone abroad to study journalism.
But the middle level personnel were real professionals who were competent, disciplined, and knew what they were about and ready to produce quality newspapers. Above all, they also ensured that discipline was maintained in the newsroom.
With Peregrino Peters as the news editor supported by Wallace Johnson and D.A. Okine, no reporter dared misbehave. Those assigned to cover morning events would be back by noon. There was no excuse for being late.
Before they could write their stories, reporters would first submit their “intro” for approval before they would be allowed to write the full story. It was a privilege to find your story with your by-line in the paper the next day.
The atmosphere in the newsroom was always serene and woe betide anybody who was seen malingering or moving about the newsroom aimlessly. The senior reporters were always there to assist the young ones.
Even though I had come in with a post-graduate diploma in Journalism, I still found myself apprenticed to AK Poku, a senior reporter who was covering the Castle, the seat of government.
My first assignment was to attend a press conference by the then Head of State, General Kutu Acheampong, at the Castle with Mr Poku as my guide. We wrote the story together and I got my first by-line in the Daily Graphic around October, 1974.
The first editor I came into contact with was Richard Horsley who later gave way to I. K. Nkrumah. “I.K”, as we all fondly called him, was a complete father to all and would never hurt a fly. He was later in the Third Republic, under the administration of Dr Hilla Limann, posted to Zimbabwe as Ghana’s press attaché.
Mr Nkrumah was assisted by the re-doubtable Nana Addo Twum, who served for many years as Sports Editor and was known in Horse Racing Circles as Dan Rana. Ken Bediako was also for several years deputy to Addo Twum and took over as Sports Editor around the time I joined the paper.
During this time, the newsroom was under the control of Mr A. W. Adjaye, an elderly fellow also fondly called “Old Boy”, the Editorial Manager. He made sure reporters were reimbursed for using their own money for transportation while on assignment. He was later to handover to D. A. Okine.
From the sister paper, the Sunday Mirror, now The Mirror, came Mr George Aidoo, popularly called Uncle George and Nicholas Alando, later Abdul Rauf Alando who became Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in the Acheampong regime. Both were effective editors of the paper. Also around was Nana Yaw Boakye Ofori-Atta, who was to move to the Weekly Spectator as editor. Ajoa Yeboah Afari was also there to add some spice to The Mirror.
Investment in graduates began to reap rewards at Graphic from 1975 when Ben Mensah was made the News Editor and Kofi Akumanyin, the Features Editor while Elizabeth Ohene also became the acting Editor.
One cannot forget Charles Asante, the master planner, who was the Art Editor and was always on top of his job. Charles, Wallace-Johnson and Peters will always be remembered by the old brigade for the way they turned the newsroom into a chimney with their chain-smoking
All the same, it was a period of camaraderie. We were then in the midst of a long period of military rule represented first by the SMC I of General Acheampong, to be followed by SMC II led by General Fred Akuffo who upstaged his boss in a palace coup in 1978. The absence of partisan politics brought all of us together as one family devoid of any bickering.
It was one moment of unity for all Ghanaians as everybody rallied round to ensure the success of “Operation Feed Yourself” against foreign domination of our economy. The efforts of the military government of the day to capture “the commanding heights of the economy” by challenging all forms of foreign influence in our society was welcomed by all.
Finally, it is necessary to add that journalists of those days lived very simple lives. Most were married to the job and rarely found time to go after any “soli” as is common today.
Because there was no partisan politics, Ghanaians were united under the military, especially when Acheampong refused to pay Ghana’s external debt and mobilised everybody in the country to go back to the land and produce what we had to eat. The “Operation Feed Yourself” was a clarion call to national duty and every hand was on the wheel.
The Graphic newsroom in the 70s also had an aroma of unity.
In conclusion, I wish to state that the period under review was a period of comparative financial discipline among Ghanaians.
That was a period when no civil or public servant, journalist in the state-owned media, teachers, doctors etc could own a car without going for government loan.
And nobody who was not qualified could access such a loan.
As a result, there was no craze to own a car and everybody waited for his turn. If you qualified to own a car it was brand new, either from Auto Parts, Japan Motors, or GNTC Motors. The era of “home” second-cars was some decades away.
