The Accra Daily Mail, one of Ghana’s leading daily newspapers is back in business after a three-month, self-imposed suspension - with a different name, frequency and layout. Now called The Mail, the paper has become a bigger bi-weekly publication with help from the publishing house of the Ghanaian newspaper, The Daily Guide.

As the financial crisis struck Ghana, the managing editor of the paper, A. R. Harruna Attah, said the paper started to face “dwindling sales, a constricted distribution network and almost non-existent advertising revenue.” The only way to avoid bankruptcy was to suspend printing.

With a unique collaboration between the two publishing houses, which was formed at the beginning of April, the paper is using the printing and distribution services provided by The Daily Guide.

With a dependable printing schedule, there is a potential for new advertisers and more new readers. “More pages, therefore more stories, better design and printing, therefore more reader-friendly and visibility,” said Attah to RAP 21. He thinks the new format will be a welcomed alternative - more news, albeit over longer time intervals.

“The improved quality of printing, increased pagination, spruced up content should attract more readers,” he said. Ultimately, this could bring in more advertisers and if by December, profit rises, Attah plans to make the paper a daily again.

“Newspapers in Ghana are still struggling and it is hoped that this kind of “strategic alliance” would be adopted by others to maximize efficiency,” he said.