Donald Wright, who was seconded by the Reuters News Agency set up the Ghana News Agency and in 1961 President Nkrumah appointed Dr. Goodwin T. Anim as the GNA's first General Manager.

[1] Some viewed the organizatioin as part of a "network of coercive and partisan institutions," in a concerted effort to present a more favorable view of the country to the outside world and to control the flow of information nationally.

[3] Until the rise of the Pan African News Agency, the GNA was considered one of the most efficient news agencies in Africa, spreading what Nkrumah called the "clear ideology of the African Revolution"[4] and contributing to "African and Ghanaian emancipation.

"[5] Initially operating as a government department, the agency became a state corporation on the day Ghana was declared a republic, in 1960.

[5] While in general the Ghanaian media are hailed as relatively free, in 2001 still the GNA was claimed to be firmly pro-government.