The Informer's Mediocrity Exposed

*Akua Bonsu*

One of the very first things a newspaper must get right is its ability to construct sentences free of grammatical errors. It may employ editors who are not so bright; it can decide to side with political parties who are clearly on the wrong side of posterity; and it can even sell only a few dozen copies and sustain itself with money criminally looted from the national coffers. But when a newspaper cannot publish articles that are free of grammatical errors, it has crossed the line, and it must bow in shame.

One of the "NDC rented press" facilities known as The Informer, after committing a laughable blunder of characterizing the likes of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Hanna Bissiw, and Fiifi Kwetey as "intellectuals," apparently salivated at the prospect of picking up a fight with NPP-USA and elected to publish an article appearing on Ghanaweb on Monday January 30, 2012 to further that cause. But there was a problem - The Informer's writers cannot write.

For example the following, which is actually the opening sentence is fragmented: *"**Coming events they say cast their shadow, that is why The Informer is of the view that the nightmares of the Minority leader, Hon “Lawrence Addae” Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who doubles as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for the Suame Constituency in the Ashanti region, are far from over, following the outcome of the NDC’s parliamentary primaries." *

Other frangments include: *"In that very publication, this paper indicated that with Nii Lantey and Fiifi Kwetey joining Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Hannah Bissiw and Richard Quashigah in parliament, the Minority leader can no longer find his voice as he used to, since he will be floored in his own ignorance."*

Here are other examples of bad grammar: *(1)".......**Mr. “Lawrence Addae” Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who has gain notoriety for his unparliamentary conduct." (2)"According to them , unlike the Cletus Avoka–led Majority that has virtually surrender to the Minority leader........." (3)"For our prize, the NPP-US through its Public Relations Committee, decided to rained insults on us..." (4)"Fine, now that Nii Lantey Vanderpuije will also be making it into parliament to represent the Odododiodio constituency and Fiifi Kwetey certainly to join his colleagues...." *And it went on and on.

In light of these shameful basic grammatical errors, The Informer should close down its operations as it represents a source of embarrassment to our nation. Again the first responsibility of a publication is to be able to piece together sentences that are free of simple grammatical errors. And the multiple instances of this grammatical shortcoming indicate that The Informer does not meet the basic requirements of a newspaper.