GROUNDS FOR DISPARITIES IN LEVELS OF PRESS FREEDOM IN DEMOCRATIC GHANA AND NIGERIA

Abstract

Ghana and Nigeria, apart from sharing similar political and press histories, are both signatories to different international pacts that guarantee press freedom. Though studies have indicated disparities in press freedom levels in these countries, the reasons for the disparities have not been empirically established. Therefore, media environments in the two countries in relation to the indicators of press freedom (decriminalisation of defamation and freedom of information; freedom from commercial and political influence; absence of killing, harassment, confiscation of equipment and incarceration; broad scope of coverage and sustainability of business models) were examined with the view to establishing factors accountable for the disparities in the levels of press freedom. Guided by the Libertarian and Social Responsibility Theories of the Press, the study employed small-N comparative case study design with a mixed-method. Data were collected through a 63-item questionnaire administered to journalists (198 in each country) who were selected through stratified and systematic random sampling. A session each of In-depth Interviews was conducted with three editors, two media managers, a senior officer from the main journalist’s association and a communication and media studies lecturer in each country, all of whom were purposively selected. Constitutional provisions on press freedom in both countries, their media policies and recorded cases (26 in Ghana, 40 in Nigeria) of violations against journalists in 2014 and 2015 were content-analysed. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and paired sample t-test at 0.05 level of significance, while qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. The media environments in Ghana and Nigeria reflect different levels of compliance with the indicators of press freedom, with Ghana having better records of compliance (M=1.32168, SD=2.98258, t= 5.299). More than three-quarters of journalists from Ghana (82.5%) and almost three-quarters of those from Nigeria (61.6%) acknowledged that their constitutional provisions catered for press freedom. While more than two-thirds of journalists from Ghana (81.1%) claimed that these provisions were being properly enforced in their country, only about half from Nigeria (47.9%) made a similar claim. Whereas more than three-quarters of Ghanaian journalists (79.7%) claimed they had a friendly media environment, less than half of journalists (43.8%) from Nigeria made a similar claim. Journalists in both countries felt insecure in their profession (Ghana: 77.0%; Nigeria: 89.0%) and more than three-quarters from each country (Ghana: 89.5%; Nigeria: 91.1%) admitted their poor salaries made them susceptible to bribery. Attacks/threats were experienced by journalists in the two countries but with varied rates of recorded occurrences: Ghana (17) and Nigeria (29). There were affirmations of the influence of political interest (Ghana: 33.5%; Nigeria: 56.1%) and commercial interest (Ghana 51.8%; Nigeria: 56.1%) on media operations with public interest always being sacrificed if it clashed with political and commercial interests. The press in Ghana is freer than the one in Nigeria due to greater levels of enforcement and media friendliness, and a greater sense of financial and physical security in the former

Key words: Press freedom, Freedom of Information Act, Media environments in Ghana and Nigeria. Word Count: 479