Over 80 Sports Journalists Attend SWAG Betway Sports Conference
The Alisa Swiss Spirit Hotel on Friday, February 7, 2020 was the hot spot for over 80 sports journalists who attended the first SWAG / Betway Sports Writers Conference.
The main speakers were Maurice Quansah of Graphic Communications Group who is vice president of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), Michael Oti Adjei of TV3 and Prosper Harrison Addo, the general secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) who is also a trained journalist and lawyer.
Other contributors were Gary Al Smity of the Multimedia Group, Ben Willie Graham of GTV and Akosua Addai Amoo an AIPS Young Reporter, Godfred Akoto of Citi News, Elleony Amande CEO of Karela FC, Nathaniel Attoh and Sammy Heywood Okine aka General 1.
Some of the topics discussed were how to report accurately and fairly, being ethical, digital reporting and making positive usage of the social media.
Mike Oti Adjei said the media are influencers of society and they must always act professionally and try to be on top of issues by being educated and build relationships.
Maurice Quansah stated that the way people dress determine how they are addressed and urged young journalists to seek opportunities to education, while Nat Attoh was of the view that journalists must be presentable and work hard to build their image and reputation.
Elloiny Amande said research is key in media, as the best journalists are the ones who do more research.
Sammy Heywood Okine advised the young journalists to follow the best journalists and link up, as well as specialize in the fields that they can report well.
“You have to be multi functional and have a lot of contacts” he stressed.
Willie Graham also said it is good to script your work as a guide and report on the positives of their assignments.
Gary Al Smith said “your competence is your brand”.
A similar seminar was held at the Golden Tulip in Kumasi on Wednesday February 5, and participants described the two events as successful.
By Elizabeth Alhassan and Sammy Heywood Okine