TV3 ‘s Paa Kwesi Asare, has won the 2023 BBC News Komla Dumor Award.

 Paa Kwesi is the Head of Business Desk at Media General, Ghana’s leading media house. He is a News Anchor for TV3’s major news bulletin at 7pm and is the host of the weekly business and economic analysis program, Business Focus.

This remarkable feat marks the first time a Ghanaian journalist has been awarded the ‘BBC News Komla Dumor Award’, instituted in 2015 to honour the legacy of ace broadcaster, Komla Dumor.

Komla Dumor, a distinguished Ghanaian journalist, worked for BBC News and was the main presenter of its programme ‘Focus on Africa.’

The coveted annual award is presented “to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills, on air flair, and an exceptional talent in telling African stories with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future.”

Over the past seven years, the award has been won twice each by Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and once to Zambia.

The award package includes professional training at the BBC’s world class training academy in London.

Commenting on the award, Paa Kwesi said he felt incredibly honored to have won the BBC News Komla Dumor Award.

“As the first Ghanaian [to win the award], it is humbling, and I thank God for his grace. I believe this is a watershed moment in my career. Komla is someone I admired greatly and respected. I looked up to him for inspiration and I believe he influenced me positively in my journalism career. Like Komla, we both didn’t start off as “out and out journalists”, but we persevered to make a difference in the profession” he said.

He described Komla’s style of journalism as authentic, charming, coupled with his towering figure. “I will try and hold on to the values he espoused while striving to be the best of myself” he added.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Media General, Beatrice Agyeman, congratulated Paa Kwesi for being the first Ghanaian Journalist and a TV3 Journalist, to bring this prestigious award home.

“The award is a reflection of TV3’s excellence in journalism and we are motivated to continue our training programmes to build our news team into world class journalists to win more of such awards” she stressed  and wished Paa Kwesi well as he travels to the BBC to acquire more experience to impact his country and the world with quality journalism.

Notes to editors

ABOUT PAA KWESI ASARE

Before joining Media General, he worked as a broadcast journalist at multi-media where he wrote for the online platform, myjoyonline. His interest in business led to the development of articles covering banking and finance and commercial real estate in a real-time news environment. 

Paa Kwesi holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Auburn University, Alabama USA, an MSc in Digital Marketing, Birmingham University UK and a BA Sociology/Political Science from the University of Ghana Legon.

 ABOUT MEDIA GENERAL

Media General (MG) is Ghana’s leading media company with businesses that include two television stations which have nationwide coverage (TV3 Network Limited and Onua TV), four radio stations across the country (3FM and Onua FM in Accra, Connect FM in Takoradi and Akoma FM in Kumasi), and an online news portal.

Media General also owns an audiovisual production unit called Adesa Production Limited, for in-house and external productions, and 3 Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility partner of MG.

 ABOUT TV3

TV3 Network is Ghana’s largest private free-to-air television broadcaster with nationwide coverage. The network is one of the media stations of Media General and has a strong presence in all 16 regional capitals. It is the television station of choice for millions of Ghanaians across the country.

TV3 began on-air transmission in 1997 as the first private television station in the country. Since its inception, the station continues to lead the industry, producing the most distinctive, relevant, and compelling content including news, drama, reality, sports, and entertainment programmes.

With its tagline, “First in News, Best in Entertainment”, TV3 has incomparably established itself as the most-watched free-to-air television station in Ghana delivering unmatched value for clients, viewers, and partners.

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