Human-Centered Stories Bring Out the Best in Journalism

Nii Akrofi is a foreign correspondent from Ghana, former news anchor/producer at Africa News and Euro News, and a member of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents USA. In this conversation hosted by the Foreign Press U.S.A, Akrofi opened up about the main differences between U.S. coverage and that in Africa, the importance of telling human-centered stories, and the necessity for journalists to reinvent themselves. 

Based in New York, Nii Akrofi has noticed the difference between accessing information in his home country instead of the U.S. Given that Ghana is the place he grew up in, approaching people was a task he could easily manage. 

“The main difference I’d say is access to resources because reporting in Ghana is my home and where I grew up. It was the place that I started my profession sometime in 2005, so over the years, I have established various contacts. Even when it comes to speaking with people in government, I have my ways to reach out to people.”

This wasn’t the only difference that Akrofi took note of. Last year, the correspondent had covered the U.S. elections and realized that the dynamic contrasted to the experience he underwent during the 2017 elections in Liberia.

“I was at the Madison Square Garden, reporting from there, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were absolutely no people in line and nothing was happening over there… Meanwhile, in Liberia, I had left my hotel at 5 a.m. and got to my first polling center by 6 a.m., and there was already a very big line.”

Halfway into the conversation, Nii Akrofi spoke about the highlights of his career. One of the takeaways he mentioned was speaking with history-making osteopathic physician Ashley Peterson especially since her story is focused on a human-centered narrative and not a topic targeted to please the masses.

“In Journalism school, we are told that “when it bleeds, it leads,” but I’ve not been interested in following the story because it “bleeds it leads.” I am more interested in telling the human story, and finding someone like Ashley Peterson was one of those highlights for me that indeed there are stories that are important and that need to be put out there.”

Akrofi mentioned another remarkable and unexpected event in his journalism trajectory. He was working on a documentary that would capture footage from the highest mountain in Ghana, and on his way to the touristic landmark, he noticed that the roads were in terrible conditions. Akrofi decided to keep the cameras rolling, and the videos led to surprising aftermath.

“So I did the story about that, and within a week, one of the people in the village that I spoke to said: “Hey, thank you so much for your story. They are fixing our roads now.”… That wasn’t what I set out to do, but I am happy that at least it yielded to this result.” 

He also shared that being a foreign correspondent in the U.S. has allowed him to present the day-to-day reality of living in America to his audience in Africa and the other way around. His role in providing coverage from opposite sides of the globe is an advantage that he is well aware of.

“I feel here in this crossroads between two cultures. People on this side want to know about that side, and people from that side want to know about this side. So I feel that I am in this unique position to tell the stories on both sides if I can and have the resources to.”

Lastly, Nii Akrofi talked about the importance of young journalists exploring and reinvent themselves to provide the news in different mediums.

“My advice is if Journalism is what you want to do, right now there are so many avenues to journalism. Just make sure you pick one that interests you and learn it very well…Find people that can help you learn radio, print, online, TV.”