Ina-Thalia Q.
Takoradi, Ghana
$150 - $500
1 reviewSince December 2016, Miss Ina-Thalia Quansah has been a correspondent for JoyNews (TV/Radio/Online) from the Western and Western-North Regions in Ghana. She actively contributes to the central newsroom in Accra by reporting on news, events, and features from the two regions. As a regional correspondent, she is committed to writing stories that, for a change, emphasize the voices of underprivileged groups and individuals in society. She began her career in 2014 as an intern at Radio Maxx 105.1 FM in Takoradi, where she later advanced to the positions of reporter, news anchor, and news editor. She designed and edited content for the station's local news, which concentrated on social concerns, and business news. Between 2017 and August 2019, Miss Quansah worked alone to produce and read news for the station, co-creating a weekly business show called "Business Agenda" with her then News Editor Francis Whajah. She has reported and written extensively about how poor roads hinder agriculture, particularly in the Western North region where cocoa is grown widely. Her reports prompt the government to consult local authorities in troubled areas. However, in the majority of cases, local government officials and citizens use her platform to express their sentiments with government about why specific development initiatives are not carried out. There have been instances where the private sector has been inspired to take action by her story. During her visit to the area, she visited "Assemkrom" to assess the road system and agricultural activity as part of her beat. She reported on the poor telecommunication (mobile) in the area. Miss Quansah was forced to write a story about the bad mobile phone/internet connectivity in the area due to the difficulties she had connecting to the newsroom. Strangely, the cemetery, which was perched atop a tree, was the only location in that neighborhood where mobile phone service was available. The telecom service provider MTN began construction on a communication mast to increase the network frequency in that area a few months after her report was broadcast. Her actions during the kidnapping of the four girls in Sekondi-Takoradi are another excellent example. She worked with other journalists to develop a succession of news story angles and press-related initiatives to get authorities' attention in order to support the parents. The Regions she covers have been leading in cocoa production in Ghana for the past few years, but the difficulties with transporting cocoa and the impact of swollen shoot disease have been a serious issue. With readily available statistic, it is obvious that the majority of the roads leading to cocoa farms in the Western and Western North regions are terrible. This, combined with the swollen shoot disease, is causing a significant loss in income. As a cocoa industry enthusiast, she regularly takes on the challenge of visiting farmers in remote areas, paying particular attention to their roads, the issues cocoa extension workers face in reaching farmers with the necessary inputs, and the general wellbeing of the farmers. She has delivered excellent media output through video, audio, and photography in rural communities across Ghana in very challenging times. I thrive in difficult and fatiguing conditions to tell compelling stories even if I have to spend more than I can afford. She has received training from a number of organizations, such as the USAID and Deutsche Welle (Germany), on reporting on HIV/AIDS-related issues and data journalism, respectively. She has occasionally assisted the British High Commission's media liaison in getting in touch with companies that engage in organic farming, such as B-BOVID. She also gets along well with the Western Regional Coordination Council, the Western Region Coastal Foundation, the Oxfarm Ghana Foundation, the Fisheries Ministry, the Ghana Medical Association, the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Sekondi- Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Western Region Police Command, the Western Region House of Chiefs, and the Queen Mothers Association, among other organizations. She served as a board member for the Hurds foundation for two years, a non-governmental organization that works to empower women and children, especially girls, by promoting gender equality and influencing change at the community level. The organization works to protect sexually abused girls in Ghana. Since May 2019, Miss Quansah has been training aspiring journalists the skills of news reporting, broadcast journalism, and interviewing at the Mexx Multimedia Institute in Takoradi, Ghana's Western Region. She has a BA in Communication Studies and graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (Public Relations). She was recognized for my works for the first time in her career with nominations and awards. I received the honorary title of "Komla Dumor Most Promising Young Journalist of the Year" from the Ghana Journalist Association (National). She was also moved by the acknowledgement from the Western Region Chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association, where I won three prizes, including "Most Promising Young Journalist of the Year" and "Rural Reporter of the Year." At the inaugural Ghana Cocoa Awards in 2019, she was one of four journalists nominated for "Cocoa reporter of the year" in the entire country of Ghana. These accolades simply served to inspire me to work harder and accomplish more. My current study of "A MASTER'S IN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION" is motivated by my desire to take action and bring about the change that society so desperately needs. In May 2021, she accepted the challenge of assisting a satellite TV station in Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana to launch a morning show dubbed "Business Breakfast." The show's main goals were to promote business and aid viewers in understanding the business communities and all the legalities related to business, trade, entrepreneurship, and other topics. Being an editor, a regional correspondent, and most all, a senior sister to younger women in the press is incredibly satisfying. Miss Quansah was a member of a group of journalists in March 2022 who were "promot[ing] inbound and outbound tourism between Ghana and Morocco." Miss Quansah is enthusiastic about her work and is eager to learn more about cutting-edge technology and in-depth development communication knowledge. Miss Quansah on 24th June 2022, facilitated the shifting blame series of the American Series on the Topic "RURAL WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ". Her advantage in the aforementioned field of research comes from her six years of rural reporting experience in the Western and Western-North Regions. She wants to learn more about methods for advancing society, particularly rural areas. If you don't develop the ability to see and hear fresh perspectives, answers to common problems, and opportunities to contribute to policies that will advance society, life as a rural journalist might become "boring."
- Reporter / Journalist
- Social Media Producer
- Field Producer
- Video Editor - News
- Executive Producer