THE HISTORY OF BROADCASTING IN GHANA
The History of Broadcasting in Ghana
Broadcasting in Ghana began as a department of the Ministry of Information when it started in 1935. The ministry was responsible for the formulation of national mass communication policies and for ensuring the full and effective use of the mass media for the dissemination of information, and for economic and social development of the nation.
Radio Broadcasting was first established in Ghana (then known by its colonial name of Gold Coast) in 1935 with approximately 300 subscribers in Accra. The number was low because radio sets were then rare and expensive, and was the privilege of only a rich few, mainly the expatriate community who had come from countries that already had these mass communication facilities. The brain behind the introduction of broadcasting into the country was the then Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Arnold Hodson.
Broadcasting began in Ghana essentially as a relay service, re-broadcasting programmes from the BBC World Service. A year later, the service began to expand and a re-diffusion station was opened in Cape Coast, the Central Regional capital to cater for that part of the country. Three more stations were opened the following year and a new broadcasting house built in Accra during the Second World War in 1940. It had a small 1.3KW transmitter, with which transmissions could be broadcast to neighbouring institutions. During the 1940s, broadcasting began in four of the major Ghanaian languages - Twi, Fanti, Ga and Ewe.
In 1952, the then colonial government appointed a commission to advise it on ways of improving and developing broadcasting. It was to investigate among other things the establishment and maintenance of a statutory corporation to assume direction and control of broadcasting services as was the case in parent country Britain. As a result of the Commission's report, a new broadcasting system, the national service of the Gold Coast Broadcasting System was set up in 1954.
Broadcasting became a new department distinct from the Information Services to which it had previously been attached. Broadcast content at this time was mainly governmental announcements and rebroadcasts from the BBC.
From 1956, locally produced programmes increased, educational broadcasts to schools and teacher training colleges were started and outside events were broadcast live into homes. When the Gold Coast became Ghana in 1957, the Gold Coast Broadcast System became the Ghana Broadcasting System, or as it was popularly known as Radio Ghana. Mass Communication was embraced as a way of changing society. Broadcasting in Ghana was thus to be a public service dedicated to the enlightenment and instruction of the people. Taking into consideration that its main model was the BBC, the pioneer of public service broadcasting, it was no surprise that the public service model was adopted from the onset.
Ghana’s foray into the international broadcasting scene began when in 1958 the government set up another commission to advise it on launching an external service of Radio Ghana; the External Service was inaugurated in June 1961 as a result. This was an unusually bold step for a newly independent country with a less than mature broadcasting service. The external service came about primarily because Kwame Nkrumah, the then prime minister saw broadcasting as an opportunity to propagate his pan African message to his fellow Africans. At the same time, television was being considered and GBC Television Service was launched on 31 July 1965. In 1997, GBC entered into an agreement with WorldSpace to provide GBC with a channel on its Afristar satellite. This capability enabled GBC to provide a 24-hour, Direct Digital Broadcasting (DDB) service over a coverage area of 14m sq km, encompassing millions of radio listeners. Today, due to deregulation, availability of technology and a shift in market economy, there are five television stations in Ghana and at least seventy radio stations. Broadcasting has been privatised and commercialised bringing with it the attendant competition, issues of regulation of content and of operation.
This paper set out to study the state of broadcasting in Ghana at present. The major terms of reference included news broadcasting, feedback, information sources, equipment and personnel; it also set out to look at change and development in the system. As an industry case study, this was done through interviews as well as observing people at work. Before the method is looked at in detail, it is imperative to look at the theories underpinning this study.
Briggs A. (1961-65) History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom, five vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press
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