By: Stephen Ssenkaaba

We have been in Ghana for three weeks so far. Our internships have now taken shape. The office corridors at my workplace are starting to look and feel familiar. I have even started to throw friendly gazes at some of my office colleagues. Feels like I have worked here for months. I guess that is what newsrooms are like in many parts of the world: Brightly lit, busy-as-a-bee spaces with open cubicle compartments. Debates erupt spontaneously in the newsroom. So, if you like your peace and quiet, this may not be the place for you. I understand the banter because, from these conversations, ideas that turn into great stories emerge. A few days ago, the debate revolved around the recently concluded National Patriotic Party (NPP) executive elections. Who won by a landslide? Who came in by the skin of their teeth? Who flopped? All this and more came up for discussion. This week, the debate has changed. A disturbing corruption report has been released and several powerful institutions such as the police are implicated. This topic has got nearly everyone in the newsroom talking. When someone asks if journalists should also have been surveyed and reflected in the report, all hell breaks loose. Some journalists in the newsroom are for it. Others not so much. We all laugh about it and move on.

Meetings are the lifeblood on which the newsroom runs. The space where journalists discuss what is trending, who needs to be tracked down for an interview, and what the next big story will be. Journalists pitch their ideas and get feedback in such meetings. Assignments are also dished out to reporters. In my newsroom at GHOne TV and Starr FM, meetings are held in two formats: online and in-person.

It is interesting how the newsroom operations seamlessly flow through these animated meetings. The in-person meeting at GHOne TV starts at 8: 00 am. Journalists converge in the newsroom to present their ideas to a presiding editor. The editor will ask the reporters to elaborate their story pitch, writing the interesting ones on a whiteboard and a reporter’s name against each idea. Another meeting to review the 11:30 am news bulletin takes place at about 12: 30 pm. At Star FM, a GHOne TV partner station, meetings are held at 9:00 am, in the afternoon, and the evenings to rehash story ideas, catch up on breaking news and track the progress of ongoing projects.

The online meetings happen through WhatsApp groups to which all newsroom journalists belong. The most active groups are “The Newsroom” group where all Accra-based journalists, producers, and editors converge, and the “Newsroom Correspondents” group where all journalists, including regional correspondents, congregate. On the WhatsApp platform, journalists share important contacts, have quick answers to questions, and sometimes submit their completed stories in real-time.

A fascinating blend of online and offline interaction unfolds throughout the day revealing how journalists work so hard to bring new and traditional media to life in their daily duties. The offline and online platforms complement each other. The physical gatherings harness the conversational attributes common among the African peoples, enabling journalists to openly air their views and get honest and helpful feedback from the newsroom elders (the more experienced journalists) and other colleagues, with a joke or two thrown in for good measure. The online

platforms enable journalists to communicate easily and quickly. The in-person meetings often enrich the story ideas through detailed discussions which are often not possible on WhatsApp, creating a helpful synergy in the newsroom.

Through interviews with journalists and through my own newsroom observation this week, I have learned so much about the reenactment of journalistic roles by reporters, producers, and editors to fit particular circumstances. In a city where poor connectivity sometimes affects communication, ambitious journalists are always finding creative ways around such glitches. I have witnessed reporters speak into their phone recorders to voice stories in the absence of a functional studio recording booth. I have seen others use their phones to capture videos where no camera crew is available. I marvel at how these journalists have embraced the new and old forms of newsgathering in times where conditions sometimes complicate both forms. The creativity, the hope, and the grit I have witnessed here will stay with me for so much longer.

Now are spending a weekend in the Volta region taking in the cool splashes of the Wli waterfall, the highest in Ghana and all of West Africa. I like many things about this place beginning with the pronunciation by the indigenous people of Wli as Bli (with a subtle B at the start). I also like the local name given to this waterfall: Agoomatsa. I like its meaning even better: “Allow me to Flow”. Coming to Ghana has allowed a group of 12 curious journalism students from America to discover a new culture, friends, challenges, opportunities, and even themselves. Indeed, this Media in Ghana program has allowed us to flow and flourish in our academic, professional, and life experiences.

This weekend, our resolve has also been tested. We climbed Mountain Afadjato, Ghana’s highest peak at 855m. We have walked through shrubs, held on to logs, endured toxic safari ants, clutched onto rocks for dear life, sweated, and panted our way to the very top. I cannot think of a better metaphor for life’s daily struggles. Something in me says that after this, there will be no mountain too high to climb. Wish me luck.