NTC, formerly known as The Guinea Press Limited, was established by the first President of Ghana, the late President Kwame Nkrumah, in 1957. Initially it was the main publisher for Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party (CPP). In 1971, the company was transformed into New Times Corporation. It publishes the newspapers The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator Ghana.
Media assets
Publishing: The Ghanaian Times, The Spectator
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
NTC is a state owned company registered as such with the Ghanaian State Enterprise Commission. Its highest governing body is the board of directors whose members are appointed by the government-controlled National Media Commission (NMC), the country’s media regulator, in consultation with the President. The NMC also appoints the Managing Director of NTC in consultation with the President. In March 2022, the NMC appointed a new board at NTC.
Source of funding and budget
NTC relies on advertising and other commercial revenues to be able to run its operations and achieve sustainability, according to data from the government. In 2019, NTC had a turnover of GHS 12.35m (US$ 2.4m). In 2020, the company had revenues of GHS 11.97m, some 74% of which were generated through ad sales, according to a government report.
In recent years, the government has pushed NTC to become more aggressive in competing with other media outlets to be able to boost its sales and hence its sustainability.
Editorial independence
NTC is known to be editorially controlled by the government through the National Media Commission, which appoints the publisher’s management. An ad hoc content analysis also identified a strong bias in the content published by The Ghanaian Times, NTC’s main newspaper, with articles promoting the government and its activities. No criticism of authorities was identified.
No domestic statute and no oversight or assessment mechanism to validate the editorial independence NTC’s publications have been identified.
September 2023