GhanaWeb
 GhanaWeb | |
Type of site | General news and information |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | AfricaWeb Holding |
| URL | ghanaweb |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | January 1, 1999[1] |
| Current status | Online |
GhanaWeb is Ghana’s first vertical portal, content curation and syndication website covering news, politics, business, sports, entertainment, opinions and general information about Ghana. It was launched by GhanaWeb B.V., a privately-owned Dutch company in 1999.[2] It also offers background information, classifieds, radio stations and a social network for Ghanaians and the Diaspora.[3][4] According to Alexa Top Sites rankings by country, GhanaWeb ranks third in Ghana and is very popular among Ghanaian migrants in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Italy, South Africa, Netherlands, France and many other countries.[5]
GhanaWeb is part of the AfricaWeb Holding group, an advertising and digital solutions provider for African publishers. It has evolved over the years to include video content (GhanaWeb TV)[6] and social media components as well as a mobile app (GhanaWeb Reporter).[7]
Initiatives[edit]
In July 2020, GhanaWeb partnered with Africa Consumer Pane, a cooperative effort between the digital publisher Africa Business Communities and market research firm MSI-ACI, to launch the Ghana Election Polls, conducted monthly to enable citizens express their opinions and projections of the 2020 elections.[8] In February 2020, GhanaWeb was the only Ghanaian media company to receive funding from Google (Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation[9]) to enable the media company to thrive in a digital era and expand its projects.[10]
History[edit]
Ghanaweb.com began in 1994 as a print magazine serving the growing Ghanaian community in Amsterdam by collating news stories from Ghanaian newspapers. The website was launched on January 1, 1999, as an amalgamation with GhanaHomePage[11] - a blog on the domain of the University of Uta in Finland - which was conceived in the early nineties by a Ghanaian lecturer working in Finland.[12] GhanaWeb.com/GhanaHomePage featured links to news, sports, announcements, chat rooms,[13] a Ghanaian dictionary and many other resources. News stories from Ghana were republished from different sources and mailing lists from magazines.
GhanaWeb has currently evolved from a news aggregator to a producer of original content. It also has a mobile app. In 2020, it won the first Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge[14] for its GhanaWeb Reporter project.
On Thursday, the 18th of July, 1800GMT, visitors of GhanaWeb noticed that the entertainment and news publishing site has been hacked[15] and was being used for fun purposes by the hacker. This left many people shocked, the pages weren't leading them to the supposed article and they had no idea what was going on. Working around the clock, the technical team of GhanaWeb were able to regain full access of the website whiles tightening their security to avoid future hacks.[16] Who was responsible? Up until this day, the perpetrator(s) is still unknown as the hacker used political parties to divert attention about his/her identity.
Awards[edit]
In December 2020, GhanaWeb was adjudged the Best Online Portal at the Ghana Election Coverage Awards 2020 for its comprehensive online coverage of the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections. Organised by Big Events Ghana, organisers of the esteemed Radio and Television Personality (RTP) Awards, GhanaWeb beat shortlisted platforms myjoyonline.com and peacefmonline.com to win the award.
GhanaWeb won the first Google News Initiative GNI Innovation Challenges for its novel GhanaWeb Reporter project which will inject new ideas into the global news ecosystem. Announced in February 2020 by Google, the GhanaWeb Reporter is among 21 projects from 13 countries in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa region to receive $1.93 million in funding. Eight of the projects are from African countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Morocco. GhanaWeb is the only company from Ghana to receive the highly coveted award.
References[edit]
- ^ "GhanaWeb.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools". whois.domaintools.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ Online, Peace FM. "Sam Jonah Threatens Ghanaweb". www.peacefmonline.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ "Ghanaweb Hacked Down". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ "About GhanaWeb". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ "Alexa - Top Sites in Ghana - Alexa". www.alexa.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ "GhanaWeb TV to go LIVE on December 7". www.ghanaweb.com. 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ^ "Selected Projects". Google News Initiative. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ^ Atoklo, Dziedzom (2020-07-03). "Ghana Election Poll launched to help project December 2020 elections". Business Financial Times Online | Economy, World, Finances, IT, ICT, Business. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- ^ "Selected Projects". Google News Initiative. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ^ Communities, Africa Business. "GhanaWeb wins Google funding to help journalism thrive in the digital age". Africa Business Communities. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- ^ "Taking A Look At GhanaWeb - GhanaWeb Homepage". www.ictcatalogue.com. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ "GhanaWeb". ghana.mom-rsf.org. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ^ "Ghana Chat Rooms". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ^ "Selected Projects". Google News Initiative. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ^ "Who Is Responsible for The Hacking of GhanaWeb?". www.ictcatalogue.com. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ "GhanaWeb's Website Has Been Hacked". www.ictcatalogue.com. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2021-02-07.