Juliet Bawuah: The journalist breaking down walls and demanding to tell her stories

Juliet Bawuah is one of the African continent’s most accomplished and respected African journalists; a role model par excellence.

The Ghanaian’s search for the truth and her gift for storytelling are renowned and she has become a beacon for excellence.

A prominent media figurehead with a heart for bigger ambitions, Bawuah is the founder of the Africa Women’s Sports Summit, a platform designed to encourage greater inclusion, longevity and excellence for African women in sport. In 2019, she hosted over 500 African women in sport in the Ghanaian capital Accra to make a call for female sports journalists to take their place. “[My philosophy] is to always give of your best no matter the responsibility you are entrusted with. Your work should always speak for you. Beyond that, live right, do good and always leave your mark,” she says.

Given her outstanding contribution to African sport, Bawuah is among those chosen to be celebrated in SuperSport’s “Define your Great” campaign, an opportunity for African achievers to reflect on their individual journeys through the world of sport.

The campaign launched on SuperSport recently and shines a light on what has defined these women’s paths and what drives them to leave a legacy.

Bawuah’s reach and mileage offer her a competitive edge; she has the highest number of followers of any female sports journalist in Ghana on Twitter and Facebook, building on years of direct content engagement. Her media visibility is unrivalled, having contributed to the front pages of three major national newspapers in Ghana. In the last few years that she has been practicing, she has built on an enviable record of a brand that is both credible and authoritative. She holds a Masters from the Cardiff University in Wales, and is an alumni of the US State Department-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), as well as a Fellow of the Radio Netherlands Training Centre (RNTC). She holds certificates from two of Ghana’s prestigious journalism institutions, the Ghana Institute of Journalism and the African University College of Communications. Juliet is currently Group Head of Sports at Media General, one of Ghana’s biggest media groups with more than eight properties across radio, television and digital.

At TV3, she also hosts flagship shows, staying consistent with other major duties including covering major live sport events. She lives a brand that keeps winning, putting out ground-breaking stories including that of football as a tool for reform in Ghana's prisons, which caught the attention of Ajax goalkeeper, André Onana, who donated a set of jerseys and gloves to one of the inmates highlighted in the story. Over the years she’s also worked with other reputable Ghanaian media brands including CITI FM, ETV, and Metro TV. Bawuah is a former employee of the Euronews-run Pan African news channel, Africanews. Based in Pointe Noire, Congo, she was a founding employee, helping to launch the station to critical acclaim within the sub-region and beyond. At Africanews, she helped consolidate the gains of the sports department, interviewing big names and covering the continent’s biggest tournaments in a manner that brought the station to the heart of the sporting conversation.

In recent years she has also worked for the respected global football website GOAL and the website of the Confederation of African Football. Bawuah has been a go-to resource and correspondent on sport within the continent for some of the world’s leading brands, including the BBC, TRT World, Premier League TV, LaLiga TV and the German broadcaster, DW. Over the years, she’s sat on judging panels for CAF (African Footballer of the Year), and the Ballon d’Or, where she helps to choose the winner in the women’s category. A name known by leading global figures in sport, she is the only Ghanaian sports journalist to have interviewed two sitting Fifa heads, the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and secretary general, Fatma Samoura. Other notable figures she has interviewed are three-time African Footballer of the Year, Abedi Pele, and 1998 World Cup-winner, Marcel Desailly. Her top-tier interview roster also includes more than 200 African sports personalities and stakeholders spanning more than a decade’s career.

Juliet is a 2020 finalist and winner in two categories (Video Short Feature Shortlist – Football Behind bars (fifth in Africa) and Video Athlete Profile (first in Africa, fifth in the world) –Pursuit in passion in kids' gloves: Prince 'The Buzz' Larbie takes early steps to greatness) at the International Sport Press Association (AIPS) Awards for 2020. Previously, in the same scheme in 2019, she was top ranked entrant (No 1 work in Africa, seventh in the World – Video Short Feature category).

Her other awards include finalist, Sports Journalist of the Year, National Communications Awards, Ghana – 2020, Winner, Sports Journalist of the Year, National Communications Awards, Ghana – 2019, Winner, Ghana Outstanding Women Awards (GOWA), Sports Journalist, Ghana – 2019 and Finalist – Sports Media Pearl Awards, Dubai – 2015. Her other professional affiliations cover Ballon d’Or (Women’s Category) – Member, Voting Jury, CAF African Footballer of the Year – Member, Voting Jury, FourFourTwo Awards – Member, Voting Jury, CAF Media Expert – Member, Panel, International Sports Journalists Association (AIPS) – Member, Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) – Member and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) – Member.

She is also CEO of Sportted Ghana Limited, a boutique sports agency and until recently the brand and strategy relations manager at Berekum Chelsea Football Club, a club in Ghana’s top tier.

Hers is an extraordinary journey that shows no sign of abating with awards and challenges being lapped up by the month.

Looking back, she had no particular role models growing up, but took interest in many people who crossed her path.

“I looked up to all the amazing people who constantly blazed life’s many trails and opened doors that made it possible for us to walk and take steps that would today become motivational tabs for those coming after us.”

Unsurprisingly, she admires other women in her industry, chiefly those who have had to face similar challenges to her own.

“I have come to appreciate everyone in this field and have huge respect for every single woman out there on this road. It can be lonely and sometimes you ask yourself many questions, but the rewards continue to be enormous. My admiration goes out to every single person out there established or finding their feet, young or old, who is still holding the torch.”

She says the hurdles she faced were significant, although she managed to clear these with uncommon enthusiasm. “The most known ones were those that really made me decide to give it my all. It must be constant pedestrian talk and people doubting if you could ever do it before giving you a look-in. We are here. We did it.”

Her resolve Is reflected in lessons she has learned, such as taking your place. “Show up and run your race with all the power in you.”

An admirer of SuperSport’s female-driven campaign, she has clear view on what constitutes greatness, particularly among women.

“Being great means getting to fully embrace the potential you wield and putting it to good use in a way that positively impacts lives.”

It’s a maxim she lives by daily, a champion within and to the wider world.