TAEF honours Prof. Kwame Karikari with lifetime journalism award

Professor Kwame Karikari./FILE

The Africa Editors Forum has conferred its Lifetime Service to Journalism Award on Professor Kwame Karikari, recognising decades of leadership that have shaped media freedom in Ghana and across Africa.

The award was presented during the Africa Editors Congress, where editors from across the continent gathered to advance a shared agenda for sustainable, independent journalism.

In announcing the honour, TAEF said Professor Karikari’s work reflects a “rare blend of scholarship, institution-building, and public service.” The Forum added that his career “stands as a reminder that media freedom is not self-sustaining but requires vigilance, integrity, and sustained engagement.”

Prof. Karikari retired as Associate Professor and Director of the School of Communication Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon, after what was described as a distinguished academic career. He dedicated decades to strengthening journalism education and communications policy.

A graduate of the City University of New York and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he began his professional journey as a working newspaper journalist. He later transitioned into academia, where he mentored and influenced generations of media practitioners.

Since the 1980s, Prof. Karikari has played a defining role in media governance and reform. He served as Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. He later became a member and Chairman of the Board of Graphic Communications Group Ltd., publishers of the national Daily Graphic and its allied titles.

In the 1990s, he served on Ghana’s National Media Commission, the independent constitutional body mandated to safeguard press freedom and uphold media standards.

In the mid-1990s, he founded the Media Foundation for West Africa. The organisation is now regarded as one of the region’s leading press freedom advocacy groups. Through this platform and broader continental engagements, he championed legal reform, defended journalists under threat, and anchored the struggle for media independence in democratic accountability.

His expertise also informed policy processes at regional and global levels. He undertook consultancies for UNESCO, WHO, ECOWAS, and the African Union. In 2012, he served on South Africa’s Press Freedom Commission.

In January 2026, Prof. Karikari concluded service as a member of Ghana’s Constitution Review Committee, contributing to proposals aimed at strengthening the country’s democratic framework.

“For a lifetime of commitment to independent journalism and freedom of expression, the Africa Editors Forum proudly recognises Prof. Kwame Karikari with the TAEF Lifetime Service to Journalism Award,” the Forum said.

The recognition places Prof. Karikari among Africa’s most influential voices in the defence and advancement of independent journalism.