{"id":466607,"date":"2011-07-23T09:31:19","date_gmt":"2011-07-23T09:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/07\/23\/the-politics-of-ghanaian-news-media-2\/"},"modified":"2011-07-23T09:31:19","modified_gmt":"2011-07-23T09:31:19","slug":"the-politics-of-ghanaian-news-media-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/07\/23\/the-politics-of-ghanaian-news-media-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Politics Of Ghanaian News Media 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sulemana Braimah<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ghanaians wake up every morning to new information on politics, health, environment, sports, entertainment and general news, either from the radio, television or newspaper.<\/p>\n

However, political news takes the lead in most headlines and front pages. It is also among the top issues debated and talked about in offices and departments. Readers and listeners anticipate political news everyday.<\/p>\n

Political reporters therefore go the extra mile to bring readers and listeners information that will interest them. But many are prone to the influence of their media houses, media owners, politicians and their own ideologies.<\/p>\n

The Politics Of Political Writing<\/strong>
There\u2019s a general stance that political news is full of biases and sensationalism, even though it gives diverse views and sides to partisan issues, mainly from a partisan perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not wrong for our media to do political reporting, or even for any media house to say, \u2018We support this ideology\u2019,\u201d said Sulemana Braimah, deputy executive director of Media Foundation for West Africa. \u201cBut it\u2019s about detailed analysis and professionalism,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Braimah worked in print media for almost five years, before going back to school and taking a position with the foundation. He is involved in a number of media consultation projects, including training.<\/p>\n

\u201cIssues of objectivity, analysis, facts, professionalism and ethics is where for me journalism is lacking to a greater extent when it comes to political writing,\u201d said Braimah.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ajoa Yeboah-Afari<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, a veteran journalist with over 30 years\u2019 experience, is a coordinator with The Ghana Media Standards Improvement Project and chairperson of the Editor\u2019s Forum, Ghana. She also highlights lack of professionalism as the main reason for shabby political reporting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word I always cite is professionalism,\u201d said Yeboah-Afari. \u201cIf you are doing your work in a professional way, then the opinion of another person should not matter to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her view, a journalist must write his or her report as factually as possible. That means giving the right background so that all sides have equal say.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are respecting everybody\u2019s position or opinion,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Bright Blewu, General Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), said that papers tend to tell the truth piecemeal and are selective in the news they publish.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the objective ones in the middle who will say both sides of a story,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s real journalism, because the other side is propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bright Blewu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Blewu said political coverage is too charged. He wants reporters to be more reflective, to acknowledge politicians as human beings and bring a degree of analysis to the mistakes they make.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, this happens because we have too many media houses that are not in the middle,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are aligned with political parties; therefore, they flavour reports with too much of politics just to get the temperature heated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ownership And Accountability<\/strong>
As temperatures rise ahead of the 2012 elections, owners of media houses may influence journalists to report in favour of a particular party.<\/p>\n

\u201cJournalists alone do not determine the media culture of a country,\u201d said Blewu. \u201cOur owners must know they have a contribution to make. They can believe in social democratic ideals, or liberal democracy, but at the end of the day, they must let the journalists do their work.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, some journalists are beholden to their management. They are aware of their owner\u2019s political affiliation and tend to be cautious in their reportage.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are extra careful not to offend your media owner,\u201d Ms Yeboah-Afari elaborated. \u201cIt takes our colleagues with courage to express their opinion which is contrary to what the owner expects.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, said Braimah, ownership influence is reducing, as up-and-coming media owners are business people, not journalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe few political owners are also retiring into the background,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The editors of the 1960s, many of which were in charge of influential newspapers, have more recently allowed younger reporters and editors to take over.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

People scanning through the headlines of newspapers<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, there are still publishers who act as editors. To a large extent, they determine what comes out in the newspapers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think somehow our journalists have been influenced by the attitudes of their senior colleagues in the newsroom,\u201d said Braimah.<\/p>\n

Career-minded journalists wind up catering to the culture of front page stories, which are predominantly political. This trend has cut across the Ghanaian media landscape with a few exceptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour first responsibility as a journalist is to the people, regardless of the political persuasion,\u201d said Blewu. \u201cThe journalist is like a referee in a football match. You might have sympathies toward one team, but it doesn\u2019t mean you favour one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of democracy, if the people can get all the sides of the story and then make informed judgment about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professional Intervention<\/strong>
The Ghana Journalists Association Code of Ethics is composed of 17 articles that set ethical and professional guidelines for journalists. They cover everything from dealing with grief-stricken sources to plagiarism. In particular, Article 17 warns against sensationalism, while Article 1, subsection 2, reinforces the public\u2019s right to unbiased information.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe as journalists must strain to get above this problem of getting tied up in politics when reporting political news because we sympathize with one political party,\u201d said Blewu. \u201cWe need to fly above it, not below the clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said people must get into journalism because they want to make society better.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get into it because you stand for the truth. You must not compromise on the truth. If you don\u2019t have a little bit of that passion, then I think journalism is not the place for you, as the profession is a dangerous weapon to those who mishandle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The notion of the media as a weapon is not lost on Braimah.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same media that we think helped us get out of dictatorship and brought us into our democracy can also serve as a powerful tool that can pull our democracy backwards in terms of what they do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Blewu advocates for a broadcasting law.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that, as a country, we must have policies, whether written or unwritten,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cFor instance, a broadcasting law. We need a broadcasting law.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged the positive effect of liberalized media, but warned that there must be a set of rules to manage the ethics of its production.<\/p>\n

He reminded news consumers of their power. They can determine which media houses survive based on what they choose to read, watch and listen to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Media Commission should also investigate thoroughly into media misconduct,\u201d he said. \u201cIf a media house does the wrong thing, look at the issue and say they have done the wrong thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further urged journalists to be cautious about sweeping statements which can be malicious. Statements in the media, he said, must be validated, lest they lead to unnecessary rancour.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur journalist training institutions are not doing the best in terms of training,\u201d said Braimah. \u201cIt\u2019s important for our institutions to be practically oriented. Before you come out, there\u2019s a project that says you are to produce a three- or four-part feature on an issue \u2013 and you\u2019re getting graded on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Braimah also called on news editors to resolve that not everything passes as news. Credible media is selective.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want editors who say, \u2018we are building a newspaper or radio station, and not everything will pass.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, he called on journalists to analyse and research a topic before writing the story.<\/p>\n

Sources often lack depth. Reporters regularly go for sources that are most accessible, leaving marginalized voices out of their coverage.<\/p>\n

The Ghana Media Standards Improvement Project runs a number of outreach programmes to improve on these faults, said Yeboah-Afari. They operate in 16 media houses across Ghana, six of which are newspapers, while the rest are radio stations.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all,\u201d she said, \u201cwhen they get there, they have an introduction and assess the challenges that a particular media house faces, and then they agree together with the editor or the station manager and the staff to agree on the way forward through training and seminars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with colleagues to make a more professional product.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does The Public<\/strong>
Trust The Media?<\/strong>
According to Blewu, Ghanaians remember the years leading up to the 1992 constitution. They prefer a free press.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extent to which it\u2019s free can be debated,\u201d he said, \u201cbut take the free media away and you scuffle people of the oxygen that they need to live\u201d.<\/p>\n

Braimah said there\u2019s no option for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to listen to the radio,\u201d he said, \u201cand radio is what we have. I believe right now in Ghana, the media is just giving people what they think they want \u2013 not what they need for development\u201d.<\/p>\n

For her part, Yeboah-Afari said the public is suspicious of news that challenges popular opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould the public be leading the media,\u201d she asked, \u201cor should the media be leading the public?\u201d<\/p>\n

Story By: Jamila Akweley Okertchiri<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Go here to read the rest:
\nThe Politics Of Ghanaian News Media 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sulemana Braimah Ghanaians wake up every morning to new information on politics, health, environment, sports, entertainment and general news, either from the radio, television or newspaper. 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