Asantehene trusts Media General to lead in local content production

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has urged Media General, Ghana’s leading private media conglomerate, to overturn the foreign-dominated content within the television space. He made the remarks when the executive committee of Media General led by Group CEO, Beatrice Agyemang Abbey called on him at the Manhyia Palace on Wednesday. The executive committee members of the conglomerate used the visit to officially inform the Asantehene about the launch of Akoma FM, Onua TV and Ghana’s Most Beautiful, in Kumasi. The program dubbed “Kumasi Invasion” is slated for Saturday 10 August and Sunday August 11 respectively. In the case of Ghana’s Most Beautiful, it will be the second launch in Kumasi since 2011. “We are bringing Ghana’s Most Beautiful to the Ashanti Region because it is the epicenter of culture,” Beatrice Agyemang Abbey explained. [caption id="attachment_131999" align="aligncenter" width="960"] From L-R: Francis Doku, Beatrice Agyemang Abbey and Winfred Afful[/caption] She said TV3, a leading brand of the Media General group, since its inception has enjoyed unflinching support from the people of the Ashanti region. She underscored how the brand’s popular accolade “As Clear as TV3” has ingrained on the lips of viewers in the region. “Ashanti region has made the brand TV3 what it is now” Beatrice stressed. She was accompanied by the General Manager in charge of Operations, Winfred Afful and Acting General Manager, MG Radio and General Manager for MG Digital, Francis Doku. The team was led to the Manhyia palace by the Ashanti Regional Branch Manager of Media General, Kwabena Ampong. An apparent elated Asantehene praised the Media General group for being a game changer in the broadcasting space. Otumfuo was however worried the media space have recently been dominated by foreign content. “In the days of Sofo Dadzie and concert party one was treated with the rich Ghanaian culture, but now it is not as before. We are losing our heritage to western culture,” Otumfuo lamented. Nonetheless, he was optimistic that Media General could change the narrative, acknowledging, ” you have lived up to expectation, the reason majority of Ghanaians patronize your channel, let’s see more of our own”. The King was presented with his portrait which he received with huge admiration. Speaking on the sidelines of the visit, General Manager in charge of Operations at Media General Winfred Afful said, echoing the rich Ghanaian culture is one of the pillars for the establishment of both Akoma FM and Onua TV. “Already, Media General is known for the promotion of our rich culture through the Ghana Most Beautiful program. We continue to promote our heritage in our air space and both Akoma and Onua TV will follow that tangent,” he assured. OBSERVING AWUKUDAE The delegation as part of the visit joined the Asantehene to observe Awukudae which is one of the sacred event on the Asante calendar. During this period, the Asantehene performs some rituals and also sit in state to receive visitors. By Evans Nkum | 3news.com]]>