Paa Kwesi Asare of TV3 has been named the 2023 BBC News Komla Dumor Award winner. Paa Kwesi oversees the business desk at Media General, the top media organization in Ghana.
He serves as an anchor for TV3’s main newscast at 7 o’clock each evening and is the host of the weekly business and economic analysis show Business Focus.
With this outstanding achievement, a Ghanaian journalist becomes the first recipient of the “BBC News Komla Dumor Award,” which was established in 2015 to honor the memory of renowned broadcaster Komla Dumor.
A renowned Ghanaian journalist named Komla Dumor worked for BBC News as the primary presenter of the show “Focus on Africa.”
The prestigious yearly award is given “to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills, on-air flair, and an exceptional talent in telling African stories with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future.”
Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia have all received the honor twice during the past seven years, respectively.
The award package includes access to the BBC’s elite training facility in London for professional development.
Paa Kwesi expressed his gratitude for receiving the BBC News Komla Dumor Award by saying that he was immensely honored to receive it.
“As the first Ghanaian [to win the award], it is humbling, and I thank God for his grace. I believe this is a watershed moment in my career. Komla is someone I admired greatly and respected. I looked up to him for inspiration and I believe he influenced me positively in my journalism career. Like Komla, we both didn’t start off as “out and out journalists”, but we persevered to make a difference in the profession” he said.
He described Komla’s style of journalism as authentic, charming, coupled with his towering figure. “I will try and hold on to the values he espoused while striving to be the best of myself” he added.
