Bridget Otoo - Helping To Bridge Gap Between You And Police

As a broadcaster who sometimes goes on late night assignments, her personal security and that of others around her is a matter of great concern. This may explain why Miss Bridget Otoo presents the prime television show, �You and the police�, on TV3 with so much sprightly passion. �I am passionate about the show because it offers the public useful information about crime trends and tips that help the citizens to protect themselves from criminals. I also learn a lot from it,� Bridget told The Mirror in a chat. She noted that criminals �live with us and we can only save ourselves and our property from them when we are conscious about our security�. �Even though I present You and The Police, I recently fell prey to a criminal who stole my money, so, indeed, the issue of personal security should not be taken for granted at all,� Bridget stressed. In her bid to help the police protect the citizenry through enhanced police-public relations, Bridget has literally opened herself up to some very dangerous situations in which some criminals who were exposed on her show have called to threaten her. �I have been stalked; some wanted persons whose photographs appeared on the show have brazenly confronted me and claimed they were innocent but I have always told them to report to the police if they were guiltless,� she recounted. In all these, it is the great feedback the team receives from the public and the open commendation that is poured on her that drives her to do better on the show, she says. Many people who knew Bridget from infancy saw a medical doctor in the making as she always played that role. Even in nursery school plays, she was always the doctor, but she said she fell in love with the media when she developed a good habit of reading the Daily Graphic whenever she was in the washroom. Later, I saw broadcaster Gifty Dansoa Anti, formerly of GTV, on the station�s Breakfast Show and my interest in television also started. Again, when I watched Oprah Winfrey on international television networks I said, �Yes, this is it, I will be a successful broadcaster too!� Besides presenting �You and The Police�, Bridget is also, undoubtedly, one of the outstanding female news anchors on TV 3, where she presents the prime time news on Saturdays and Sundays between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. She has accumulated a vast media experience in the past decade which has put her in good stead to become the media mogul that she aspires to be in the near future. In 2003, Bridget worked as a voice over artist and recorded commercials for TiGO, Barclays, Unilever, Ecobank and others. While a national service person at the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority in Takoradi where she performed public relations duties, she was also engaged by Film Africa Production as an actress. After her national service in 2008, she combined radio and TV broadcasting and worked with Good News FM and Sky Television as a broadcast journalist. During this period, Bridget did voice overs for Good News FM, hosted Miss T Poly and co-hosted �Wings of Love�, which was a Valentine�s Day programme. With Sky TV, she undertook the multitasks of assignment editing, news announcing and programme co-ordination. In all these, Bridget has kept her eyes on the educational road, making sure she acquires the needed academic backbone to propel her career in the media. Born on New Year�s eve (December 31), �1980-something�, Bridget started school at Grace Nursery, Baka Ekyir, Sekondi, and continued to the Aggrey Memorial Basic School, Sekondi where she obtained a certificate in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and proceeded to the Bompeh Secondary Technical School for her senior secondary education. She later enrolled at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) to study for a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication Studies. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree programme at the University of Ghana plus a course in Screen-Writing at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI). The pretty broadcaster also has professional training in camera/ video editing, reporting human right issues, leadership and corporate governance. Bridget describes herself as an organiser who wants to get things done and she encourages all young women to dream big and not allow �their minds to be their limitation�. She expressed her gratitude to her father, Mr Francis Otoo, a banker, and mother, Ms Agnes Arthur, trader, as well as her six siblings, for their love and support. �To broadcaster Mr Osei Boakye and media giant Mr Yoofi Brew, saying thank you will be an understatement. They have been a combined source of great encouragement,� she said. Bridget is a lover of great music and Efya, Becca, Sarkodie and Kwabena Kwabena are her favourites. Anytime during the day, put a plate of rice plus any source in front of Bridget and you will see how much she loves the popular cereal. When she is less busy, she swims, watches football and relaxes at home over a glass of vintage wine. Bridget is single but for now she is just enjoying work and playing football and netball with the men. �At the appropriate time, I will settle down with a man and give him my all,� she stated with a loud laughter.