Media conglomerate, Excellence in Broadcasting (EIB), a kind that Ghana has never seen, employing over 400 Ghanaians with 7 radio stations and 3 TV stations under its belt in less than 3 years of taking off—has made headlines in the last few months over reported resignations of a few of its employees.
The eruption of EIB was volcanic; it therefore commenced its operation on scattered, albeit, strong pillars, encompassing a lot of duplication of personalities and functions, if the units are assessed as a single network.
The eventual salient plan, which is imminent, has always been to rationalize the various EIB media properties—and place what seems like distinct media houses into a proper network and accord EIB the needed economies of scale, smooth and efficient operation devoid of duplication of personnel and unnecessary bureaucracy.
What was once forthcoming is here and since the last quarter of 2017, EIB’s top management has been working on who’s going to make it to Meridian House, their acquired power station, an insider has explained.
Bigger and perhaps more complicated than Multimedia moving its Accra-based stations to one location, EIB’s rationalization which takes into consideration its high number of employees has typically attracted cross board appraisals of staff—resulting in a few shaky heads, waiting impatiently to be chopped off.
The above, a source familiar with EIB’s rationalisation, has said is the true reason why a few people who probably do not fit into the new EIB because of performance or contractual renewal concerns have decided to take a leap before the elegant take off.
“It’s absolutely nothing worth questioning. EIB employs about 400 people and if 5 or even 20 people leave, that’s an infinitesimal number in the grand scheme of things—it does not make a case for anything, even for the mischievous anti-EIB headline peddlers,” the source stated.
She continued: “labour is fluid in Ghana and people have left XYZ, Rainbow radio, TV3 and others in the last few months too, yet that’s not a case for concern. But the moment even a cleaner leaves EIB, it makes headline as if there’s a mass exodus of the network’s pillars or the network is crumbling over resignations that are sometimes just tendered in to save folks from getting chopped off eventually.”
As part of the rationalization, the network is taking a global posture, attracting specialist international recruits from London, New York and Johannesburg, to aid it to remain resolute to its principal vision of being an embodiment of “excellence in broadcasting” in a country where media standards are always questioned.
It’s undisputed that EIB has changed the media landscape in Ghana and many of its properties such as GHONE, Starr FM, Kasapa FM, Ultimate FM and Agoo TV have beaten expected rankings—perhaps, the reason why naysayers continue to zoom in on their activities and operations, in search for non-existing fissures.
Under the brave and super-efficient leadership of the CEO, Nathan Kwabena Adisi (Bola Ray), the huge network has literally risen out of nothing to compete with the early starters, the foremost stations in Ghana.
By: Kwaku Asare Ampofo
