The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication, Ing Dr. Ken Ashigbey, has indicated that with the changing dynamics in readership and influence of the internet of things, only financial and economic reporting forms of journalism would stand the test of time.
According to the Former Managing Director of Graphic Communication, in the 21st century, news has shifted and most consumers/small businesses are scrambling to find the news and information they need to thrive on free-to-air radio, tv networks, and other social media platforms rather than subscribe to expensive newsletters and portals.
However, unlike politics, entertainment, sports, and the like that are easily accessed through these mediums, financial and economic information will still be relevant and not absolutely free, as business owners will need proper analytical reports produced by a financial and economic journalist.
He, therefore, urged financial and economic journalists to study more to upgrade themselves and be capable of providing analytical reports that will be relevant to businesses consumption.
“In a world of blogs, tweets, alerts, and clickbait is there still room for news, much more business news and how can the business journalist equip him or herself to stay relevant? Because new technology is rewiring people’s reading habits, many newspapers and magazines along with the legs of traditional media are withering in size and influence while new media outlets continue to emerge to reach a targeted audience.
Financial and economic reporting is going to outlive all other forms of journalism because going forward, for the audience, it is not just going to be reading for information and education, but the utility that they would gain from the media that they consume,” he said.
The CEO made these remarks at the launch of the 2022 Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) ‘Flamingo Awards’ for Business and Financial Journalism.
This eighth edition of the awards is to be held under the theme: “ICT in Ghana’s financial accessibility and development,” and would recognise business and financial journalists whose high-quality reports have influenced policy for growth and development in the country.
President of IFEJ, Rayborn Bulley, started that since its inception, the Institute has helped build the capacity of journalists to specialise in Business, Financial, Economic and Extractive industry reporting. These capacity building efforts he said have paid off to a large extent and it is evident in the high standard, analytical and well researched stories on business and financial reports being churned out on relevant issues for public consumption.
“IFEJ instituted the Flamingo Awards to recognise first the writers as well as raise awareness on the need for reliable, objective, analytical and comprehensive reporting on Ghanaian businesses,” he said.
Chairperson of the Awards Jury, Dr Felix Klutse, explained that all submissions must have been published in print, online or broadcast on wire, radio or television during the year under review September 1st , 2021 – August 31, 2022, and have not been previously entered into the award scheme.
“We the jury will among others be looking for entries which are ground breaking articles that provide excellent analysis and clarity of the business climate, content supported by facts and investigative research, a clear and balanced presentation of the issues involved, and journalistic flair -a style that is engaging, thought-provoking and accessible to its audience,” he said.
Flamingo Awards Categories
The nine categories up for grabs include Best Finance Feature; Best Business/Manufacturing Feature; Best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Feature; Best Natural Resource Feature; and Best Agribusiness Feature/ Newsstory.
Others are Best Tourism Feature; Best Development Feature; Best in Local Economy feature; Best Business of Health feature/News; and Overall Best Business and Financial Journalist (The Ultimate Award).
