Lecturer
Mr. Henry Kojo Bonsu-Owu joined the Ghana Institute of Journalism as a Lecturer at the Faculty of PR, Advertising and Marketing in 2016. Before then, he had served as an Adjunct Lecturer with the Institute since 2002.
Henry is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Strategic Communication, Advertising and Public Relations at the School of Communications, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), where he is conducting an exploratory study on the effectiveness of counter-ads in raising awareness on the health implications of alcohol consumption and inducing behavioral change.
Henry holds an MPhil in Communication and Media Studies (Business Communication) from the University of Education, Winneba and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Business School, University of Ghana, Legon. He also holds a B.A Communication Design (First Class) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. He was adjudged the Best Student (Graphic Design) and Overall Best Student (College of Art, KNUST) in his graduating year.
Since joining GIJ in 2002, Henry has taught courses such as Graphics of Communication, Layout and Design, Information Technology and Communication Systems, Basic Computer Skills, Theories of Communication and Print News Writing. He currently teaches Web and Print Material Production, and Advertising and Society.
Henry has supervised students’ project work/dissertations at the diploma, degree and MA levels.
He served as an adjunct lecturer at the Islamic University College (2015 – 2018) where he taught Media Law, Media Planning, International Communication Systems and Visual Communication.
He also served as a Resource Person at the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana (2006-2009) teaching Desktop Publishing and Information Communication Technology.
In the 1998/1999 academic year Henry served as a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Communication Design, College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Henry is a member of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and Secretary (UTAG-GIJ Branch), the Communication Educators’ Association of Ghana (CEAG) and The Internet Society, Ghana Chapter (ISGC).
- 2017 – Date Head of Department of Print Journalism, Ghana Institute of Journalism
- 2019 – Date Ag. Head of Department of Broadcast Journalism, Ghana Institute of Journalism
- Henry serves or has served on the following committees/boards:
- 2018 – 2021 Appointments Committee, GIJ – Member
- 2018 Committee on Drafting of Policy Guidelines for Evening & Weekend Top-Up Undergraduate Programmes – Member
- 2018 Congregation Planning Committee, GIJ – Member
- 2017 – 2021 Faculty of Journalism Board, GIJ – Member
- 2017 – 2018 Conferences and Workshops Board, GIJ – Member
- 2016 – 2021 Academic Board, GIJ – Member
- 2017 – Date Faculty of Public Relations, Advertising and Integrated Marketing Board, GIJ – Member
2019 – A three step approach analysis of the portrayal of images of women in three Ghanaian newspapers: NewsOne, Ebony & The Mirror. Athens Journal of Mass Media & Communications – Vol. 5, Issue 2 – P131-156.
He has considerable research interest in Advertising and Society, Print and Digital Advertising, Political Advertising, Gender Advertising, Media Advocacy, Web Material Production and Print Material Production.
- 2019 – Date Common Ground Research Networks – Peer Reviewer
- 2018 – Date Journal of Communication, Media and Society, GIJ – Reviewer
- 2017 – Date Journal of Communication, Media and Society, GIJ – Editorial Board Member
Henry’s industry experience in advertising, multimedia journalism, web and print production spans over 20 years having worked with different media houses and advertising agencies such as Presbyterian Press Co. Ltd. / Christian Messenger newspaper (Production Manager), Media Lynks Advertising Agency (Production Manager), Hemmingway Press Ltd. (Head of Design Unit), AfricaXpress (Web Graphic Designer), PrintNet (Graphic Designer), Damana Graphics (Graphic Designer) and Conttacto Radio, Katanga, KNUST (Presenter).
- 2021 – Transformation to Dual-mode Delivery for Higher Education Institutions in Ghana, Commonwealth of Learning.
- 2020 – Teaching Journalism Under COVID (Webinar), Jamlab Africa, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS Journalism, Wednesday, 13 May 2020.
- 2019 – 17th Annual International Conference on Communication and Mass Media, Athens Institute for Education and Research, Athens, Greece.
- 2017 – UNECA Mainstreaming Climate Information Services, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- 2011 – Economic Development Services International, Global Advance, Executive Certificate, Strategic Management.
- Application Software: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, QuarkXpress, Microsoft Office Suite.
- System Software: Mac OS and Windows
Painting, Photography, Mentoring, Internet Research, Movies and Music.