Godwin Asediba who is an investigative journalist, producer and news anchor with TV3 and 3FM in Ghana, has received death threats for his work exposing injustice, corruption and criminality. His inspiration he says, comes from the ‘courage and strength’ of the people whose stories he tells. Godwin is one of three finalists in our competition to find the Young Journalist of the Year 2025.
Godwin’s desire to become a journalist was driven by seeing ordinary people’s struggles going unheard as he was growing up in Ghana.
“What inspired me to go into journalism was the desire to use storytelling as a tool for justice and change”, he says.
Hidden injustices
The 29-year-old journalist’s documentary Troubled Morgue was one of three stories he submitted to the competition. The undercover filming captures horrific images of rotting, unattended corpses at a hospital morgue. The story prompted a public outcry, attention in parliament and funds reportedly being set aside for refurbishment.
“My work shines a light on dark realities that affect ordinary lives”, says Godwin whose investigations range from health to education, social protection, labour rights and drug use - stories he says that ‘reveal hidden injustices and challenge power’.
Journalism can still save lives.
Death threats
Godwin says the challenges journalists face in his region range from difficulty accessing credible data, to corruption which can make sources fearful of speaking out and threats to personal safety which he claims to have experienced ‘multiple times’.
He was forced into hiding when he received death threats after his documentary Trapped in War was aired. In it he travelled to Ukraine to speak to young Ghanaian men who said they’d been promised jobs in Russia but instead were being made to fight in the war.
“Being shortlisted for the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award 2025 tells me these risks were not in vain,” says Godwin. “It means the voices I fight to amplify are being heard and that journalism can still save lives.”
Young Journalist of the Year Competition
The Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award is run in partnership with the UK’s Foreign Press Association (FPA). The competition is open to journalists aged 30 and under, from countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of less than less than USD 20,000. This year’s winner will be announced at the FPA’s Media Awards on November 24th in London.
