Gold Coast Broadcasting Service
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| Terrestrial television and radio broadcast network |
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| Industry | Mass Media |
| Predecessor | Gold Coast Broadcasting System-31 July 1935 |
| Founded | 1 January 1953 |
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Area served
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Ghana, 10 regions |
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Key people
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Dr. Kwame Akuffo Anoff-Ntow (Director General) l Mrs. Francisca Ashietey-Odunton (Deputy Director General) |
| Products | Broadcasting, radio, web portals |
| Services | Television, radio, online |
| Owner | Government of Ghana |
| Website | gbcghana.com/ |
The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is the public broadcaster in Ghana. It is funded by broadcasting television commercials and the levying of a television licence, costing 3 cedis (about € 0.60).
The broadcasting service was originally known as the Gold Coast Broadcasting System, introduced on 31 July 1935 by the colonial Governor, Sir Arnold Hodson, before it was renamed to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation upon the country's independence in 1957. Throughout its history it has been independent of the government's Information Services Department.
Broadcasting began in Ghana on July 31, 1935 from a wired relay station opened in Accra. The brain behind the introduction of broadcasting into the country was the then Governor of the Gold Coast,Sir Arnold Hodson, affectionately known as the "Sunshine Governor".
He was ably assisted by a British radio engineer, Mr. F.A.W. Byron. By 17:00GMT on that historic day, gramophone records of martial and light music were relayed and at exactly 17:45GMT the voice of Sir Arnold Hodson came through to break the tension and the suspense with this explicit message:
“One of the main reasons for introducing the Relay Service is to bring News, Entertainment and Music into the homes of all and sundry. This will bring to an end the barriers of isolation and ignorance in the path of progress and also to enable the people of Gold Coast to improve on their very rich cultural music".
The new broadcasting Service was code-named Radio "ZOY". It was manned by eight technicians and housed in a small bungalow on 9th Road near the Ridge Police Station in Accra. Broadcasting first begun in four Ghanaian languages, namely Fanti, Twi, Ga, Ewe, and later Hausa. Part-time staff were engaged to translate and announce the news in these languages until 1943 when full-time staff were appointed. Between 1946 and 1953, the organisation was administered by the Public Relation Department, now the Information Services Department.
On the recommendation of a commission set up in 1953, the Gold Coast Broadcasting System (GCBS) was established and from there it became a department in its own right. On attainment of independence in 1957, the Gold Coast was renamed Ghana and the GCBS became Ghana Broadcasting Service (GBS). The legislation that basically set up GBC as an establishment was National Liberation Council Degree number 226(NLCD266) of 1968.
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Wikipedia