TV3 ‘s Paa Kwesi Asare, has won the 2023 BBC News Komla Dumor Award.
This remarkable feat marks the first time a Ghanaian journalist has been awarded the ‘BBC News Komla Dumor Award’, instituted in 2015 to honour the legacy of ace broadcaster, Komla Dumor.
Komla Dumor, a distinguished Ghanaian journalist, worked for BBC News and was the main presenter of its programme ‘Focus on Africa.’
The coveted annual award is presented “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.”
Over the past seven years the award has been won twice each by Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and once to Zambia
The award package includes professional training at the BBC’s world class training academy in London.
Commenting on the award, Paa Kwesi said he felt incredibly honored to have won the BBC News Komla Dumor Award.
“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 and had a towering figure. “I will try and hold on to the values he espoused while striving to be the best of myself” he added.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of Media General, Beatrice Agyeman, congratulated Paa Kwesi for being the first Ghanaian Journalist and a TV3 Journalist, to bring this prestigious award home.
“The award is a reflection of TV3’s excellence in journalism and we are motivated to continue our training programmes to build our news team into world class journalists to win more of such awards” she stressed and wished Paa Kwesi well as he travels to the BBC to acquire more experience to impact his country and the world with quality journalism