Veteran broadcaster Tommy Annan Forson has opened up about the backlash he received when he established Rabodef Radio Academy, revealing that some critics questioned his credibility as a trainer because he did not attend university.

According to him, some of the criticism even played out publicly in the media, including an article in the Ghanaian Times that questioned how he could train people for broadcasting without formal academic qualifications.

He made this revelation while speaking of The Career Trail programme on Joy Learning TV and Joy News.

“I was criticised for setting up a radio school without a university degree. Ghanaian Times took me on. So if I’ve never been to university or sixth form, how am I teaching people?” he recalled.

According to him, the criticism did not stop him from pursuing his vision of building practical broadcasting skills in others.

“People have been asking me or telling me, 'I want to be like you.' I want to grow to be like you, so I saw the need to set up a school to train them. Therefore, the criticisms did not stop me, and even people defended me too,” he said.

“People came to my defence saying that radio is different,” he added.

He maintained that radio, unlike traditional academic fields, is rooted in hands-on experience, discipline and continuous learning on the job.

“For me, radio is not purely academic. It is practical. You learn it by doing it, by understanding people, timing, content and delivery,” he explained.

Tommy Annan Forson noted that his focus was never to replace university education but to complement it by offering real-world training for people who wanted to enter broadcasting.

With the help of the German Development Service, he established Rabodef Radio Academy in 2004.

“I set up a radio school, and the German Development Service supported it. I started it in 2004,” he noted.

The school quickly grew and attracted many young people who were eager to learn the craft beyond theory.

“It became so huge and I trained so many people. Many of the broadcasters you see today,” he stated.

Tommy Annan Forson also revealed that the growth of the academy was significantly strengthened by the involvement of his wife, Nana Yaa.

He described her as a key pillar in both the administrative and academic development of the school.

“I cannot talk about this story without mentioning Nana Yaa, who is my wife, who came in to help me and that even boosted the radio school more. She was a lecturer teaching journalism, production and news, and she’s a prolific teacher.

Over the years, Rabodef became a training ground for several broadcasters, including Doreen Andoh, Kwame Sefa Kayi, Kofi Kum Bilson, and Mark Okraku Mantey, who have gone on to build strong careers in the media space.

For him, the real impact of the school is seen in the voices it has produced and the standards they carry into the industry.

“It has been such an experience,” he reflected.

The academy later came to an end after about 15 years of operation, with Tommy Annan Forson explaining that the COVID period played a major role in its closure.

“We ran it for 15 years until COVID came, and unfortunately we had to part ways in terms of Rabodef and teaching people,” he revealed.

Reflecting on whether there were plans to bring it back, he said, “Let’s see.”

For him, the value of Rabodef is not in whether it still runs today, but in the people it helped shape.

“It has been such an experience,” he happily expressed.