Amid growing fake news dissemination and intentional misinformation around the world, a majority of Ghanaians say they trust information from state media (60%), government sources (58%), and private media (57%) “Somewhat” or “a lot”. Far fewer trust information from social media (43%). Around one in three Ghanaians say they trust information from each of these sources “just a little” or “not at all.”
According to the survey by afrobarometer, members of the media fare considerably better than the police, judges, elected leaders, and traditional leaders when it comes to Ghanaians’ perceptions of corruption. One in six citizens say “most” or “all” media personnel are corrupt, compared to 59% who say the same about the police, 38% about judges, 28% about the Presidency, and 27% about traditional leaders.
Still, three-fourths of Ghanaians see at least “some” media personnel as corrupt; only one in 10 think that “none” of them are involved in corruption. State and private media score almost identically in citizens’ perceptions of corruption.
The perception of increasing media freedom, on one hand, and growing calls for government control over the media, on the other, presents a puzzle. If the call for government control reflects popular concerns about unethical conduct on the part of some media personnel, this is an issue of concern for media-freedom advocates, as state authorities could, under the pretext of ensuring public tranquility, stifle media independence.
The social-responsibility theory of media freedom places a premium on media accountability and the obligation to serve the public good that comes with press freedom; it demands that these obligations be ensured through professional self-regulation, by other agencies, and/or by the public (Ravi, 2012). Advocates of media freedom would thus face a double challenge: To work with the National Media Commission to ensure professionalism in the media, and to educate citizens about the benefits of a free media.
Ghana | Atinkaoanline.com
