Three Decades of Excellence: Celebrating Emmanuel Dogbevi's Journey In Journalism
Journalists have made great strides in enhancing development and promoting democracy, and the name Emmanuel K Dogbevi can not be excluded from Ghana's journalism landscape when acknowledging those who have played a key role in telling the Ghana story.
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A trip down memory lane in Emmanuel's life is a testament that everyone can reach their goals with determination and the will to succeed.
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From a humble beginning in Nima, where he grew up, Emmanuel told YEN.com.gh that he didn’t know he was going to end up as a journalist, mainly because of his love for football.
At a point, the media stalwart even envisaged his life as a professional footballer. However, that dream never came true when he decided to prioritise his books over his boots.
"I loved and played football a lot. At some point, I even entertained the dream of becoming a professional footballer. But that never happened because I chose to concentrate on my education. I was about to write my final exam, the Middle School Leaving Certificate, when I registered for Mine Stars, a Colts team in Accra. I briefly trained with Knicks International at Kotobabi and Olympics Babies at Avenor in the early 80s."
Despite his zeal and desire to climb the academic ladder after completing middle school in 1983, financial constraints led Emmanuel to take up a job as a corn miller and do other menial jobs, all in a bid to make ends meet.
During this phase, he never gave up his desire to go to school. Eventually, his determination paid off as he studied privately to write the then General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE ‘O’ Level) exams and later qualified to attend university.
Emmanuel now holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Ghana and a Master of Science Degree in Journalism from Columbia University in the US.
Emmanuel's entry into journalism
“I don’t think I chose to become a journalist. I believe journalism chose me.”
These are the words of Emmanuel Dogbevi as he opened up about how his journey as a journalist began.
As an avid reader of newspapers right from childhood, he developed an interest in writing. He read the works of Carl Mutt, Prof Kwesi Yankah, Merari Alomele, Kofi Coomson, Prof PAV Ansah, Dornu Adjorkatcher, his former boss, Kabral Blay-Amihere, and mentor Gilbert B.K Owusu. These remarkable journalists and writers had an early influence on his career.
However, he singled out Lawrence Darmani, the outstanding Ghanaian writer and CEO of Step Publishers, praising him for discovering and nurturing him to become the journalist he is today.
Emmanuel Dogbevi's journalism accolades
With over three decades of experience as a journalist and having previously worked at Citi FM and Myjoyonline, Emmanuel founded Ghana Business News in 2008, which he edits to bridge a gap in business reporting in the country.
He is currently the Executive Director of NewsBridge Africa, a non-profit organisation engaged in media advocacy, training, and mentoring journalists, and the vice president of The African Editors Forum.
His crowning moment in his 30-year career came in 2013 when he became the first Ghanaian and seventh journalist from Africa to be awarded a Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University in the City of New York.
Emmanuel Dogbevi, in 2022, also won the Christopher J. Welles Memorial Prize for excellence in business reporting.
Celebrating his impact, Robert Smith, one of the judges and the Director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship, labelled Emmanuel Dogbevi a model for the profession.
“Emmanuel Dogbevi's reporting spans a wide range, and he does it on his own without the benefit of an institutional infrastructure. His commitment to finding the truth stayed strong even in the face of personal setbacks, including a 2020 office fire that destroyed his archives and equipment. His work stands as a model for the profession."
Dogbevi on journalistic standards in Ghana
When quizzed on his take on journalistic standards in Ghana, Emmanuel expressed concerns by stressing the need for reforms in the training of journalists.
With this, he called for scrutiny of lecturers tasked with imparting knowledge to students, explaining that some lack practical experience.
Emmanuel also expressed concerns about journalism illiteracy in Ghana, emphasising the need for people to reorient their minds on the role and impacts of journalists.
He stressed that journalism should not be seen as a promotional tool aimed at giving the high and mighty a positive image in the eyes of the masses.
"They think that journalists are supposed to simply report what they have to say and promote and project their positive images to the rest of the world. They see journalists like the mouthpieces of powerful or influential people. But journalism is far more than that."
He also appealed to media houses and journalists to keep abreast of changing trends, especially with the advent of social media, where fake news and disinformation are rife.
Having gained a wealth of experience as a journalist, Emmanuel's message to young journalists is that the profession is a calling and a noble one; hence, journalists must endeavour to work for the public's good.
"I see it as a call. If they are into it because they want to be famous, or wealthy, then they are in the wrong field."
Google honours Herman Chinery-Hesse
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Google had honoured one of Ghana's top technology entrepreneurs, the late Herman Chinery-Hesse, by naming a space in its headquarters after him.
One of its meeting rooms is named after the founder of SOFTtribe, the largest software company in Ghana, who also made the list of 15 Black STEM Innovators in 2016.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
