President John Dramani Mahama has hailed leading political digital media, The1957News as a driver of national discourse and a key source for legacy media, underscoring the portal’s growing influence in shaping Ghana’s media agenda
The President observed that Ghana’s media space has witnessed the rapid rise of new media outlets, often referred to as bloggers, who are increasingly influencing agenda-setting traditionally dominated by legacy media.
Speaking during a courtesy call by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) at the Jubilee House on Friday, 5th September 2025, he noted that the dynamics of information flow have shifted significantly.
He noted that The1957News is one of the leading online platforms that serve as a key source of information for legacy media during routine morning news and talk shows, often generating captions that accompany the videos they capture
“The media landscape has changed, and the sources of information have changed. In many cases, it is these platforms that are setting the agenda because most of our stations in the morning pick their news from what The1957News covered or what GH…covered. They add these little inscriptions to their videos, and that drives the discussion in the morning,” he said.
The1957News, with a cumulative following of 1.2 million across social media platforms, amassed 156 million views between 7th May and 4th August 2025, cementing its place as one of the most influential online news portals in Ghana.
According to President Mahama, such platforms have become key sources for traditional media outlets, particularly during morning news bulletins and talk shows.
While acknowledging the relevance of new media, President Mahama raised concerns over the lack of regulation in the space, which, he noted, has led to the use of unprintable language and, in some cases, hate speech.
“They have become a very important part of the media ecosystem, but they are unregulated. Sometimes, they go to the extreme, the language is filthy, and they can insult people or even veer into hate speech. These are things that the whole world is grappling with—how to regulate hate speech and extreme foul language. The question is, would we classify these bloggers as journalists in the typical sense?” he asked.
The President also assured the GJA executives, led by its President Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor, that he had tasked the Attorney-General to determine adequate compensation for victims of electoral violence during the 2020 and 2024 elections.