The Print Media Coverage of Ghana’s Legislature

Wilberforce Sefakor Dzisah

doi:10.63772/jocmas.v3n1.1

Authors

Wilberforce Sefakor Dzisah Ghana Institute of Journalism, Accra - Ghana Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8888-3615

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63772/jocmas.v3n1.1

Keywords:

Ghana, Print Media Coverage, Parliament, Newspaper

Abstract

The paper researched print media coverage of Ghana’s Parliament using the content analytic category to determine whether the media serve as the tribunes of the larger society. Two Ghanaian newspapers, the state-owned Daily Graphic and the privately-owned Daily Guide were used for the study. A total of Seventy-Two (72) editions of both newspapers were selected, and the coding process produced Ninety (90) news items for analyses. While it has been established that the media as the ‘Fourth Power’ within the State are essential in performing its informational function, it also emerged that in their coverage of Parliament, the media, represented in this study by the two most circulated newspapers in Ghana were not too effective in their educational function. The media have fallen short of providing the required political and operational debates to engage the citizenry. In this paper, while the findings are significant in alerting the media to the malaise, it also emphasises the need to urge them to review their strategies in order to activate citizens to become aware of the wider and more inclusive debates. This can help engender critical public opinion formation and also promote active citizens to appreciate social, economic and political importance of Parliament and its role in the development of Ghana.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Usage Statistics

Abstract Views: 10
PDF Downloads: 3

References

Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1995). The crisis of public communication. London: Routledge.

Curran, J. (2000). Rethinking media and democracy. In J. Curran & M. Gurevitch (Eds.), Mass media and society (pp. 120–154). New York: Oxford University Press.

Dahlgren, P. (1995). Television and the public sphere: Democracy, citizenship and the media. London: Sage.

Djokotoe, E. (2001). Zambia: Ethics, journalism training and journalism practice. In C. Ukpabi (Ed.), Handbook of journalism ethics: African case studies. Windhoek: MISA.

Dzisah, W. S. (2008). Media and democracy in Ghana (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Communication and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster, London.

Fowler, R. (1991). Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press. London: Routledge.

Frears, J. (1990). The French parliament: Loyal workhorse, poor watchdog. West European Politics, 13(3), 32–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402389008424805

Glasser, T. L., & Craft, S. (1997). Public journalism and the search for new ideals. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, Department of Communication.

Hall, S., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T., Clarke, J., & Roberts, B. (1978). (Eds.). Policing the crisis: Mugging, the state and law and order. London: Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15881-2

Hasty, J. (2005). The press and political culture in Ghana. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2979/3421.0

Keane, J. (1994). Media and democracy. London: Polity Press.

Keefer, J. D. (1993). News media’s failure to facilitate citizen participation in congressional policymaking process. Journalism Quarterly, 70(2), 412–424. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909307000216

Krippendorff, K. (2004). Reliability in content analysis. Human Communication Research, 30(3), 411–433. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/30.3.411

Kuhn, R. (1998). The media and the public sphere in Fifth Republic France. In V. Randall (Ed.), Democratisation and the media. London: Frank Cass. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13510349808403557

Laudry, P. (1989). Parliaments in the modern world. London: Sage.

McNair, B. (1995). Introduction to political communication. London: Routledge.

McNair, B. (2007). Introduction to political communication (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

McNair, B. (1998). The sociology of journalism. London: Oxford University Press.

McQuail, D. (2005). McQuail’s mass communication theory (5th ed.). London: Sage.

McQuail, D. (1997). Mass communication theory: An introduction. London: Sage Publications.

Negrine, R. (1994). Politics and the mass media in Britain. London: Routledge.

Negrine, R. (1998). Parliament and the media: A study of Britain, Germany and France. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Negrine, R. (1999). Parliament and the media: A changing relationship? European Journal of Communication, 14(3), 325–352. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323199014003002

Nyamnjoh, F. B. (2005). Africa’s media, democracy and the politics of belonging. London: Zed Books.

Page, B. I. (1996). Who deliberates? Mass media and democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Ronning, H. (1994). Media and democracy: Theories and principles with reference to an African context. Harare: SAPES Books.

Sartori, G. (1995). How far can free government travel? Journal of Democracy, 6(3), 101–111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.1995.0055

Schudson, M. (1998). The public journalism movement and its problems. In D. Graber & D. McQuail (Eds.), The politics of news; the news of politics. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.

Schudson, M. (1989). The sociology of news production. Media, Culture & Society, 11, 263–282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/016344389011003002

Schudson, M. (2000). The sociology of news production revisited (again). In J. Curran & M. Gurevitch (Eds.), Mass media and society. London: Arnold.

Sussman, G. (1996). Predictors of state legislators’ attitudes towards public affairs television in the state capital. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 73(1), 77–89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909607300108

Tuchman, G. (1978). Making news: A study in the construction of reality. New York: The Free Press.

Tuchman, G. (1991). Qualitative methods in the study of news. In K. Jensen & N. Jankowski (Eds.), A handbook of qualitative methodologies for mass communication research (pp. 79–92). London: Routledge.

Jensen, K., & Watson, J. (1998). Media communication: An introduction to theory and process. London: Macmillan.

Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2011). Mass media research: An introduction (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.