Celebrated Broadcaster and Journalist, Nii Odartey Lamptey has shared his story of how he begun his career as a Broadcaster and Journalist.
Speaking in his first-ever radio interview with Giovani Caleb on 3FM Drive, Odartey Lamptey disclosed that after completing his secondary education at St. Augustine’s College, he enrolled in an airline school.
The ace broadcaster said at the time, he had no thoughts of being in the media and had even completed advanced certificate courses in airline and had forwarded some applications to Ghana Airways and other companies, hoping to be offered employment.
According to him, while awaiting responses for these applications, he accompanied a friend to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation where they both visited the open-air theatre – a very big room provided for broadcasters to have final rehearsal before going live on-air.
As fate would have it, Odartey Lamptey’s unexpected Broadcast Journalism would surface in the open-air theatre room.
A presenter had been absent on that day and he was asked by the Director to read the script just to help with the rehearsal for the news team.
He said after his first two lines of reading, he received a compliment from the Director who said he has “a good voice.”
Odartey Lamptey mentioned that the Director inquired from him if he would consider an offer for a male newscaster.
“I read the script and after my first two lines, the man said you have a good voice. We need male presenters and newscasters, would you consider? So I was like where from this one? Let me give it a try,” he recounted on Wednesday, June 5.
“So he asked me to come two days after. He asked me to see another lady, one Clara Kushi. I went see her. She said so gentleman we heard a few things about you, we want to try you. Would you mind? I said I don’t mind. Then I got a few encouragements from Wilfred and co that go for it,” he added.
He said he was later asked to present his documents and certificates, which he did and assumed work beginning with a probation of more than three months.
The celebrated Broadcaster recalled beginning with other ace broadcasters like Earl Ankrah, Gabby Lamptey and Aku who undergone audition and later to the GBC training school for a BBC presenting standard.
“You might have a good voice but at the end of the day your voice has to be fine tuned for radio or television. So, we were taken through the GBC training school for a couple of months,” Nii Odartey Lamptey noted.
According to him, together with the four others, they begun the news presenting with news in brief which was about five minutes before proceeding with the evening’s announcements.
Years later, he proceeded to head the business desk as an Editor at GBC while hosting a morning show and becoming the main news presenter later on.
Nii Odartey Lamptey is the current head of news at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation after almost three decades in the industry.
