Indeed, since 1992, the Ghanaian Media has played an integral role in the nation’s general presidential and parliamentary elections. Even more powerful than ever, the various media groups in Ghana during our just ended 7th polls proved to us that surely the Media is the fourth estate of the realm, in other words, the fourth arm of government after the executive, judiciary and legislature.
After the election, most of us have now channelled our focus on the post-election issues and have forgotten about the major stake holder in the whole pink sheet drama; THE MEDIA.
In this article, ENTAMOTY will analyse and rank the various media houses per their performances in this general election with best and worst outlets.
BEST MEDIA GROUPS
1st. MULTIMEDIA GROUP
The multimedia group which consist of Adom fm, Joyfm, Hitz fm, AsempafmAdomTV, JoyprimeTV and Myjoyonline.com is undoubtedly topping the lists of media groups who really toiled by the sweat of their brow to update listeners and viewers with every bit of information surrounding the election. They streamed live on their television stations, fm stations and online as well. We loved the blending of both radio and TV presenters on the same platform and we couldn’t help but applaud their calculations. In fact, Multimedia was the first media house to project the president elect Nana Akuffo Addo which reflected the results released by the electoral commission.
2ND EIB GROUP
The EIB group has been updating us on the 2016 election since the beginning of this year. They started with their mobile application that helped people to participate in pre-election activities like polls and what have you. Calling their centre, the EIB Election Hub, was certainly a level of professionalisms that fits the choice of name. We loved the jackets worn by their reporters, and one could tell the high level of professionalism exhibited by them while on the field. In the studios, Nana Aba, Kemini Amanor, Kafui Dei and the likes were absolutely nothing but articulate, commanding and analytic. Their graphics and pictures were also very crystal; there is nothing we can say but a huge congratulation to the team that have done this excellent work for the first time.
3RD DESPITE GROUP OF COMPANIES
Just like the others, UTV, Peace fm, Okay fm and the others were also actively on their toes during the election. Their correspondents were spread all over the 275 constituencies that we have in Ghana and they delivered accurately. Their numerological gymnastics were mathematically precise as they kept comparing this year’s figures to the previous election years. The only lapses they had was with their television set designs, it wasn’t really appealing and their graphics was not really colourful, so viewers could easily switch to different channels. Some of their television presenters also kept making mistakes on the big screen as if they were not really conversant with the advancements.
4TH TV3 NETWORK LIMITED
Many of you will be wondering why Tv3 didn’t make it in the first 3. It is true that the hash tag #EllectionCommand was really trending on social media with updates on the election, however they did not actually to expectation on the day of election. Despite the adept reporters they had across the 10 regions of Ghana, they really lagged behind in their updates from both polling stations and coalition
centres. At point in time, one panellist whom they invited even stated live that their team is really slow with their projections because their competitors have outwitted them. Eventually their projections did not match with what the EC brought. Nevertheless, their studio presenters were very confident and professional.
5TH ATINKA GROUP
Atinka has joined this list because they came to the scene not long ago, meanwhile they were able to take charge of the election. They also had their correspondents everywhere and were persistent with their delivery. They gave us live and clear transmissions from various centres with updates. Their challenge was that they couldn’t maintain the pace; the moral that they commenced their delivery with was not maintained throughout, it dwindled especially during the awaiting period of the results.
WORST MEDIA HOUSES
There are always two sides of a coin, just as we had media houses who were exceptionally amazing, there were others too who received very low ratings.
1. VIASAT 1 GHANA
Viasat 1 did not even have a single reporter on the field. We couldn’t tell whether the Electoral Commission of Ghana denied them of accreditation cards or they refused to pay the GH10 fee. Their viewers were completely disappointed in their lack of contribution towards the history that was made. I doubt they will ever forgive them. ENTAMOTY therefore rank Viasat 1 Ghana as the worst Performed Media house as far as the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections is concerned.
2. ETV GHANA
ETV Ghana kept whetting our appetite for the election through their series of commercials about the polls, however they couldn’t deliver to expectations. No one was even talking about them, and I doubt if others were watching.
3. METRO TV
Metro TV used to be one of the best in the country but now we can confidently say no more with the likes of other competitors. There wasn’t much enthusiasm in their delivery and it was boring watching them amidst the keen election.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.