4 Media General journalists honoured at 28th GJA Awards

Four journalists working with Media General have been honoured for their sterling and impactful story telling prowess at the 28th Ghana Journalists Association Awards held on September 28.

Castro Senyala, Bill Eshun, Godwin Asediba and Stanley Nii Blewu were among over thirty journalists recognized on the night. The awards ceremony was used to recognize 32 individual journalists, media organizations and content programming.

Media general media general swept four awards on the night.

Castro Senyalah, the Upper East Regional correspondent won the Crime and Court reporting category with an online story which vividly detailed how a border community Manyoro in the Upper East Region initiated the construction of a Police Station to check cross border crimes.

Speaking to 3news.com, Castro said “this award means a lot to me. First it is an encouragement for me to do more, to go into rural communities and tell more issues, especially the area I like very much, crime, security and court reporting. This award has given me reason to do more.”

3sports journalist, Bill Eshun, was adjudged the best reporter in the disability category on the night.

His story on a sporty disability high jumper served as encouragement to persons living with disabilities while buttressing the point that says that disability is not inability.

Bill Eshun’s recognition is a testament to his unflinching passion for sports and development of its facets. He said “I feel very excited knowing that the kind of stories I do have gotten me this far. It also pushes me to make an impact as a journalist.”

When asked what Ghanaians should expect from him in the years ahead, Bill responed that Ghanaians should be expectant of more positive stories that a lot of people will admire and “that pushes me to do more and more every day.

Godwin Asediba added to his laurels, another award after being adjudged the Health Reporter of the Year prior.

Titled ‘my period is not a shame’, Asediba highlighted the dire challenges teenage girls face in their quest to secure menstrual pads as some resort to the use of inappropriate materials when menstruation sets in.

His story also drew government’s attention to the phenomenon and the need to remedy the situation especially among the young female population.

Godwin said, “It feels really great. I am a journalist who is passionate about health reporting or telling health stories. I just feel this is humbling, it is just the icing on the cake. It is just going to motivate me to do more.”

“The story that won me this award is ‘My period is not a shame’ and as a male, tackling the angle of young girls who are struggling to have access to sanitary pads, it was just disheartening. Telling the story I had wanted to give it my all and I am excited today that the board has been able to recognize how important the topic is and going ahead to recognize me. I am happy,” he said.

For his investigative documentary that exposed the black market involving the sale of semen by a cartel of hook ladies to suspected ritualists in the Upper West Region, Stanley Nii Blewu was adjudged the Best Documentary Reporter of the Year (Online category).

Titled, ‘The Sperm Merchants’, the documentary served as an eye opener for patrons of sex workers, especially in La in Accra.

According to Stanley, “at the time when I was working on the story, I didn’t know that it will bring me here, but here I am. I think that this recognition is in order, and it is just to propel me for greater heights. It is to urge me to do more in the years to come so I am very happy.”

He added that, “currently I am working on other mind-blowing projects so I want the viewers of TV3 to continue watching and reading our stories on 3news.com because we will be churning out more compelling contents.”

The night was crowned with Edward Adeti of Reporters Without Borders being adjudged the PAV Ansah Journalist of the Year.