Ben Ephson Tells Exploiters of the Private Press

The Christmas buying and selling spree is gathering momentum and so is the advertising that goes with it.

However, publishers in the private sector can only drool at all that advertising, for very little of it, if any at all, would come the way of Ghana's privately-owned press.

What the publishers and editors of the private press can look forward to, are invitations to cover end-of-year activities of those denying them the adverts, or at best to partake of their end-of-year cocktails and "small chops"!

The paucity of advertising coming the way of Ghana's private press has been a source of great concern to publishers and editors in this sector since the beginning of the 4th Republic. Paradoxically, they suffer the exploitation of those same institutions and agencies that do not find them worthy of their adverts.

Last week, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) organised at workshop at Swedru on the theme, "Ten Years of Constitutional Rule: Challenges of the Ghanaian Media".

Mr. Ben Ephson, Editor of the Daily Dispatch presented a paper on "Challenges of Private Newspaper Publishing" in which he confronted the issue.

"One of the problems private newspapers face," he told participants that included media representatives of some of Ghana's biggest firms, "is advertising as a source of revenue. It is understandable that advertisers would want to advertise in media outlets to enable them get maximum effect, but many of the advertisers need to think of once a while, rotating adverts round some of the private newspapers."

Mr. Ephson then disclosed that, "There have been instances that I have turned down invitations to attend end-of-year get-togethers hosted by Chief Executives of some companies who do a lot of advertising."

He explained, "I usually have a simple message for their Public Relations Managers: 'I am being invited in my capacity as the editor of a newspaper in circulation. Your boss does a lot of advertising but we are left out. Why should I attend his function when I have been kept in business by adverts from other people."'

A major multinational company operating in Ghana has become notorious for its refusal to put adverts in the private press, but courts the media with its "sponsorship package" for the GJA Awards out of which it gets great publicity. Even when an editor from the private press has won the Journalist of the Year Award, this company refuses to advertise its congratulatory message in any private paper.

Mr. Ephson did concede however that, "We cannot force companies to advertise with the private companies" but editors in the private press too should not be under any obligation to honour "such get-togethers".

It is a parasitic relationship that is hard to understand. Fax machines, e-mails and telephones of private newspaper offices are kept busy by corporate/company invitations to "cover" this or that PR event but refuse to factor in the private press in their ad spend. Indeed, where it is not possible for the private press to "cover" these events, the ad agencies follow up to the offices of the targeted private newspapers with photographs and text for free insertions!

Mr. Ephson in his presentation said, "The lack of advertising means that quite a number of private newspapers rely on sales for over 90% of their revenue, with roadside vendors accounting for at least 95%." No wonder then, he argued, "that the private newspaper's stories will naturally follow the demands of readers."

The roadside vendor then becomes king, pushing those newspapers with catchy or outrageous headlines.

But the classical criteria being used by the ad agencies and companies that refuse to place ads in the private press are themselves being overtaken by modern realities. The Accra Daily Mail, in only its third year of operation now can boast of a very extensive global reach. Africa Online, Accra Daily Mail's website manager last week released the current visitor statistics to the website. Between June and November 2002, there were over a million hits. These are very impressive figures for a young publication.

What the Ghanaian private press seems to be suffering is the same age-old chicken-egg conundrum. How do they become wide circulation newspapers without advertising revenue and how do advertisers place adverts in them if they are not wide circulation newspapers?

Meanwhile, Mr. Ephson's righteous indignation has struck the right chord with a number of editors and publishers and some familiar faces may be absent from this season's round of company cocktails and end-of-year festivities.

A communique issued at the end of the Swedru workshop called for the institution of the Freedom of Information Act.