Dr Kaufmann is national asset — Graphic MD
The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Ato Afful, has described the Quiz Mistress of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), Dr Elsie Effah Kaufmann, as a national asset who cannot be forgotten in the annals of the country.
According to him, Dr Kaufmann’s contribution to academia and her role in helping to impart knowledge to youngsters were quite commendable and in line with Ghana’s national development efforts.
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“You are a national asset and we can’t forget you,” Mr Afful said when Dr Kaufmann paid a courtesy call on him yesterday as she assumed the position of Guest Editor of the Daily Graphic.
Guest Editor
Dr Kaufmann is the fourth Guest Editor after the Managing Director of Stanbic Bank, Mr Alhassan Andani; the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah, and a former Editor of the Daily Graphic, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, had had their turns.
The Guest Editor initiative, by which some distinguished personalities are given the opportunity to edit the GCGL’s flagship newspaper, the Daily Graphic, forms part of the 70th anniversary celebration of the group.
The GCGL turned 70 on Friday, October 2, 2020.
The company was established by the British merchant, Cecil King, on October 2, 1950.
Throughout its existence, the company has established subsidiaries, such as G-Pak and Graphic Courier, offering employment to hundreds of Ghanaians and influencing society through its publications and digital channels.
Currently, the GCGL has six brands of newspapers — the Daily Graphic, Ghana’s biggest selling newspaper; The Mirror, the country’s favourite weekend newspaper; Graphic Sports, Graphic Showbiz, Junior Graphic and Graphic Business.
In line with the changing trend in technological development across the globe, the company has moved into the digital space with its online portal, www.graphic.com.gh, as well as the Graphic News Plus.
Privilege
Mr Afful noted that as the company celebrated its 70th anniversary, it was privileged to have someone from academia to make an input and suggestions to further project the Daily Graphic as the number one choice.
The Daily Graphic, he said, was a national brand projecting Ghana’s contemporary history, as well as working to foster national cohesion.
The managing director told Dr Kauffmann that there was no interference in the work of the editors of the various brands and urged her, as Editor of the Daily Graphic for the day, to be free and decisive in the decisions that she should take.
He said she was free to offer suggestions, as an academic, that would go a long way to ensure that students not only picked up the paper to read but also went online, as well to take advantage of the Graphic News Plus.
Conscience
The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Kobby Asmah, said the newspaper was the conscience of the nation, as it decided Ghana’s mood and psyche.
The newspaper, he said, was guided by its mantra: “Truth and Accuracy, Every Day”, which had guided it throughout its 70-year existence and make it the favourite of people across the length and breadth of the country.
Honour
For her part, Dr Kaufmann said the opportunity to be Guest Editor was a huge responsibility, although she felt honoured by that.
“I am excited about it,” she said, adding that the newspaper was recording Ghana’s history.
She thanked the Daily Graphic for the publicity it gave to this year’s edition of the NSMQ.
Inputs
The Director, Marketing, of the GCGL, Mr Franklin Sowa, said the Daily Graphic needed personalities such as Dr Kaufmann to be writing articles for it to educate people and stimulate national discourse aimed at bringing about development and national cohesion.
The Director of Technical Services, Mr Charles Amoako, said the production of newspapers went through various stages before they hit the newsstands.
The Technical Department of the company, he said, played a crucial role that led to the printing of the newspapers before they hit the market.
Mentee
Dr Kaufmann, accompanied by her mentee, Ms Jessica Frema Appiah, was later taken to the Graphic Press House to see how the printing was done after the editorial work.
Elated at what she saw, Dr Kaufmann commended the Technical Department for the great work they were doing for the company and the country at large.
She later chaired the morning and the afternoon editorial conferences, during which the day’s edition of the Daily Graphic was reviewed and stories selected for the following day’s edition of the paper.
Mr Asmah took her round the Daily Graphic Newsroom to interact with staff and then later to the Junior Graphic, The Mirror, Graphic Showbiz, Graphic Sports, the Proofreading Unit, among other places.