State-owned newspapers get the advertisements

The newly sworn-in President of the Private Newspaper Publishers Association (PRINPAG) says her associates are being starved of much needed advertising revenue. Mrs. Gina Blay says only state-owned newspapers seem to be doing well financially.

According to her, most of the advertising from government and its affiliate bodies are channelled into state run media organisations or specific publishers who are considered to be favourably disposed towards government. She recounted how members of her association ?flip through the state-owned newspapers with green-eyed envy as we see millions of cedis going in one direction towards the Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times junctions?

According to Mrs Blay, theoretically, newspapers are supposed to comprise 65% advertisements and 35% news, since their existence depended on adverts. She told an audience witnessing the inauguration of PRINPAG?s new executive that sections of the private sector have also starved private newspapers of advertising revenue.

She proposed an equal spread of advertising among publishers and the private electronic media, which she said depend on the impoverished newspapers for a great percentage of their programming content. Mrs. Gina Blay noted that private newspapers would have more pages than the current eight pages if they get advertisements.

The new PRINPAG executive intends to deal with problems of an unreliable network of distribution, the glaring discrimination in the placement of adverts by advertising agencies, public relations offices and affiliate institutions of government.