2016 (Volume 3, Number 1)

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    The Print Media Coverage of Ghana’s Legislature
    (Journal of Communications, Media & Society, 2016) Dzisah, Wilberforce Sefakor
    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.
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    Innovation in Media/Journalism Education and Research in Ghana
    (Journal of Communications, Media & Society, 2016) Gyambrah, Martin; Hanson, Priscilla
    Rapid changes in the world today places a demand on journalism practice to take a new outlook that is underpinned by an innovative approach in its education and research. This study examined innovation in journalism education and research in Ghana. Qualitative approach to data collection and research was employed. Sample was selected using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Sample consisted of journalism scholars and practitioners in tertiary educational institutions in Greater Accra region, Ghana. Data collected from the interview was analysed using thematic analysis. Key findings point to a disagreement in views regarding the gap between what is taught in the classroom and what is practised on the field. Journalism instructors were of the view that no such gap exists whereas the practitioners were of the opinion that a gap does exist. It is recommended that curriculum enrichment, teaching online journalism, organizing workshops and seminars for students, involving practitioners in curriculum development be promoted.
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    Coverage of Presidential Candidates and Press Bias in Ghana
    (Journal of Communications, Media & Society, 2016) Afful, Ebo
    The news media in democracies are seen as suppliers of political stories to citizens. And one of the methods by which this activity is performed is by the news gathering and dissemination role of the media. In a situation where selection and presentation of news is based on biased instead of the interest of citizens, the ethics of the profession is questioned. In effect, it is anti-democracy and development. Above all, with regard to Ghana, it amounts to a total disregard of the code of the Ghana Journalists Association. This study examines the extent to which the press was biased in its framing of the previous presidential elections. Using content analysis, the study, which is grounded in the theory of gatekeeping, found out that in 2008 and 2012 election campaigns in Ghana, the press was biased in favour of the NPP’s presidential candidate. This result also goes to dispute the trend of incumbency bonus or advantage in Ghanaian political communication.
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    African Conflicts: Memory, Trauma and Narrative (Dis)Play in Selected Memoirs
    (Journal of Communications, Media & Society, 2016) Traoré, Moussa; Segtub, Martin
    This study participates in the scholarly conversation on the issue of memory and trauma within the research space of the rhetoric of conflicts in Africa. Three memoirs— Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s Coming Back from the Brink in Sierra Leone (2010); Ismael Beah’s A Long Way Gone: The True Story of a Child Soldier (1998); and Véronique Tadjo’s The shadow of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda (2002)— serve as primary data for the paper. The theoretical framework guiding the work is Teun van Dijk’s approach to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), supported by Jonathan Charteris-Black’s theory of “Metaphor and political communication”. The study also employed an interpretive methodological approach that embedded the Aristotelian concepts of pathos, ethos and logos to understand the rhetorical tactics used in the memoirs to communicate various ideologies, representations and meanings of conflicts in Africa. The analysis shows that many of the problems that ignite conflicts in Africa are partly from the continent’s colonial antecedents, and partly from the African leaders themselves, who employ sophisticated narrative manoeuvres for their selfish interest or for the soul of the African rich minerals.