Media Houses in Ghana Are Continuously Choosing Looks Over Excellence & Talent | The More Reason Why Professionalism is Going Down

Working in the media is in all probability one of the most hectic jobs you will ever find. It involves spending lot of sleepless nights in making sure a particular work is done right. This isn’t a day’s activity as it becomes a routine for any media person. Anybody who has or is still working in the media will understand what I’m talking about. Getting yourself involved with the media requires dedication, passion, talent, self-sacrifice, and so on.

In time past, our media houses had very talented individuals working for them who were driven by passion and dedication. Such ones include Tommy Annan-Forson, Moses Foh-Amoaning, Azigiza Jnr, Ebenezer Ampaabeng, and many others. If you were an ardent follower of these outstanding people, you would probably know they had immense love for the work that they were and are somewhat still doing.

Owners of media houses at that time paid meticulous attention to talent and dedication towards the job. Same cannot be said in our day. Talentless individuals have filled almost all media houses. Talent is no more regarded like before.

In the broadcast world (specifically television), TV personalities are in essence employed based on physical beauty (especially newscaster). Spend some few minutes with your TV set and pay attention to the hosts of programs and newscasters. One thing that put them in the lead is their physical beauty, aside that, anything else that has to do with talent or excellence is spurious to them. Why would you expect a television station to employ you as a newscaster when Kwaku Bonsam won’t even love to use you for blood sacrifice?

Over the years, I have heard people say they want to become newscasters because they look good. In a particular instance, I witnessed how a media guru told a friend of mine never to opt for TV broadcasting because he wouldn’t look good on TV. If a media guru tells you this, what is he actually implying? Looks are far more important than talent.

Based on situations like this, those with the real talent who might not be good looking are pushed aside. At least for a lady, you have to have some ‘cargo’ at your back, well positioned boobies, and smooth-looking face.

Most of the television stations in Ghana want to brand themselves in a particular way to attract viewership and advertisers. One of the ways to catch the attention of such people is the use of good looking news anchors and hosts. I can name a friend who always watches Metro TV news because of a certain ‘fresh’ lady.

Gradually, real talent has not become a factor in determining one’s possibility of getting employed by a media house, especially television station. The talentless good-looking individuals who might not have any passion and dedication for the job may end up being the ones employed. It creates fun for them to just be on television for the entire populace of Ghana to take notice of them. It is not surprising that professionalism has dwindled in our day. The media is now thriving on sensationalism. This can be as a result of the level of professionalism that has gone down the drain nowadays.

This, however, does not mean some of the pretty faces are not good. Many are equally good, but the media houses subconsciously pay much attention to the looks rather than the talent.

You see all sorts of people claiming to be presenters and all that, yet have no idea about whatever they seem to be doing. The pronouncement of certain words correctly is a different topic for another day. Gradually, professionalism is sinking, and if we do not find proper solution to it, we cannot revive it again.