ModernGhana is a Ghanaian online media portal that has been in operation since 2005. The site covers news, politics, business, sports, entertainment and opinions. It is owned by Modern Ghana Media Communication Ltd., a privately owned Ghanaian company.

History

Modernghana.com was officially launched on August 3, 2005 in Amsterdam by Bright Owusu, a young Ghanaian who saw the need to bring news closer to Ghanaians in the diaspora. It initially started as a

news aggregator In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, content aggregator, feed reader, news reader, or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates digital Content (media), content such as online newsp ...

and later evolved to a producer of original content. The news platform is also the first ever Ghanaian website that aggregated all Ghanaian local radio stations online. The site started innovations that became the standard for upcoming Ghanaian news websites. It has evolved over the years to include video content (ModernGhana TV) that covers a wide range of topics including interviews with the news makers, public and private organizations, business enterprises, topical political issues, personalities in the entertainment and lifestyle industry and voice pops on both social and national issues of

News values News values are "criteria that influence the selection and presentation of events as published news." These values help explain what makes something "newsworthy." News values are not universal and can vary between different cultures. Among the ...

Legal cases

ModernGhana editor Emmanuel Ajarfor Abugri was arrested together with Emmanuel Britwum, a reporter, by Ghana's National Security operatives on Thursday June 27, 2019 in what was described as a secret operation. The news outlet's offices were raided during the arrest and working equipment including laptops, mobile phones and a tablet were seized. They arrested were detained for days and interrogated on an

opinion piece An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...

the website published that was authored by one Constance Kwabeng about the National Security Minister

Albert Kan-Dapaah Albert Kan-Dapaah (born 14 March 1953) is a Ghanaian chartered accountant and politician. He is the current National Security Minister of Ghana since his appointment by President Nana Akufo-Addo in January 2017. Early life and education Kan ...

. The National Security Secretariat accused the arrested staff of ModernGhana of

Cybercrime Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or Computer network, networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cyberc ...

but Mr. Abugri on his release said he was physically assaulted and his privacy violated by the forceful seizure of some of his electronic gadgets. Passwords to his personal gadgets were forcefully taken from him by the National Security personnel and accessed without his consent. Ajarfor and his reporter were put before court but the State subsequently withdrew the charges proffered against them. Emmanuel Ajarfor later sued the National Security Coordinator, Joshua Kyeremeh; the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu; and the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo for violating his

Human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. Ajarfor's lawyers sought him

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

. To date, Ajarfor's two cellphones, tablet and laptop are still with the National Security. As at March 2021 the case was still in court.

References

Internet properties established in 2005 2005 establishments in Ghana News agencies based in Ghana Ghanaian news websites {{ghana-media-stub