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L” A / I; (/0 I 1 MS U is an Ajfirmatiw Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0-12771 l LIBRARY Mlchigan State University l___ PLACE IN RETURN BOX to rem are this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE TR 2 61994 if MSU Is An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution empmS-pd EDITORIAL PATTERNS OF GHANAIAN DAILY NEWSPAPERS: A STUDY OF PRESS PERFORMANCE UNDER CIVILIAN AND MILITARY REGIMES IN GHANA By Kwadwo Anokwa A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Communication Arts and Sciences Mass Media 1991 ABSTRACT EDITORIAL PATTERNS OF GHANAIAN DAILY NEWSPAPERS: A STUDY OF PRESS PERFORMANCE UNDER CIVILIAN AND MILITARY REGIMES IN GHANA By Kwadwo Anokwa Since the former Gold Coast achieved independence from Britain in 1957, Ghana’s press has functioned under eight distinct regimes, five of them military and three civilian. Control of the two state-owned press has changed hands from civilian regimes, which came to power through constitutional channels and democratic elections, to military regimes, which circumvented constitutional channels and took over power through coup d'etats or force of arms. This investigation sought to determine whether differences in regime types and styles of press control influence the editorial content and direction of the state-owned press. This is important because regime differences may have far-reaching implications for the development of the press in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. Editorials appearing in Ghana’s two mass circulating daily newspapers, the Daily Graphic or the People’s Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times were content-analyzed from 1980 to 1983. The period includes two successive regimes: the civilian regime of Dr. Hilla Limann and the ruling military regime of Flt Lt. Jerry Rawlings. The content analysis results and chi square tests showed that editorials of Ghana’s state-owned newspapers varied significantly with each regime type. The data showed that the more Ghana’s developmental press system was subject to libertarian-tending methods of press control (as exemplified by the style of press control of the Limann civilian regime) the more the editorials emphasized domestic politics, national and "people-oriented" issues, government sources, informative subjects, and criticism of government. In contrast, the more Ghana’s developmental press system was subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control (as exemplified by the style of press control under the ruling military regime of Rawlings), the more the state-owned press editorials emphasized economics, international and "institution-oriented," issues non-government sources, argumentative subjects, and praise of government. The most frequent editorials published under both civilian and military regimes were domestic politics and economics. This may be attributed to the increasing dissatisfaction of Ghanaians with the unsettling political upheavals and the chaotic economic situation in Ghana. Copyright by KWADWO AN OKW A 1991 All Rights Reserved DEDICATION to Kofi Anokwa and Abena Nketiaa my late parents to Charlotte Ama Kyerewaa, my wife and our children, Afua Nketiaa, Yaw Yeboah, and Kofi Kissi Anokwa ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of this dissertation would not have been pos- sible without the generous assistance of numerous persons and institutions. I wish to acknowledge the vital role that they played and to express my most sincere gratitude to them. My greatest debts are to the members of my guid- ance committee, Drs. Thomas Baldwin, Robert Hudson, Joseph Straubhaar and David Wiley, without whose scholarly assistance and guidance this dis- sertation would not have been completed. I owe a great deal to Dr. Baldwin, the chairperson of my guidance committee and Dr. Straubhaar, my disserta- tion director for their ungrudging help throughout my doctoral program, particularly during the writing of this dissertation. Special thanks to Drs. George Laryea, George Acquaah and Joshua Bagakas for readily helping with data collection, coding and data analysis. I am deeply grateful to Professor Emeritus Pauline Coggs and Dr. Lionel Barrow In, for their support and encouragement throughout this project. To all my friends and colleagues who have shared in this experience, I offer my sincere thanks. I would be failing in my duty if I do not thank Michigan State University and Sage Foundation for providing me with grants towards the completion of this project. I am most grateful to them. Finally, I record my deep appre- ciation to my wife, children and the entire Anokwa family in Ghana, whose love, support, patience and understanding made this undertaking exciting and rewarding. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES. ..................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Purpose and Significance of Study ............................................................. 3 II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................. 7 Four Theories of the Press ........................................................................... 7 Revisions of the Four Theories .................................................................. 9 Applicability of Press Theories to Ghana ................................................ 12 III. GHANA: A GENERAL BACKGROUND ............................................... 15 Geographical Background .......................................................................... 15 Social Background ....................................................................................... 16 Economic Background ................................................................................ 16 Political Background ................................................................................... 19 IV. GOVERNMENT-PRESS RELATIONSHIPS IN GHANA ................... 31 Government-Press Relationship Before Independence ...................... 31 Government-Press Relationship After Independence ........................ 32 V. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 43 Previous Research ....................................................................................... 43 Present Outlook ............................................................................................ 53 VI. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES .................................... 57 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 57 Research Hypotheses ................................................................................... 58 iv VII. VIII. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 66 Design of Study ............................................................................................. 66 Sampling Procedure .................................................................................... 68 Unit of Analysis ........................................................................................... 69 Category Construction ................................................................................ 70 Coding Procedures ....................................................................................... 77 Intercoder Reliability ................................................................................... 78 Data Analysis Procedure ............................................................................. 82 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................. 84 Content Patterns of the Graphic and Times Editorials ........................ 84 Differences Between Regime Type and Editorial Content .................. 85 Differences Between Newspaper Type and Editorial Content ........... 99 Differences Between Editor Type and Editorial Content ................... 101 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ....................................................... 109 Summary ..................................................................................................... 109 Conclusions ................................................................................................. 115 APPENDIX A: Coding Instructions ........................................................ 119 APPENDIX B: Code Sheet ........................................................................ 126 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 129 \OQVGUIQOJNH NHHHt—IHI—lt—tt—It—Io—I O\O®VO\U‘I:§WNHO LIST OF TABLES Page Civilian and Military Regimes in Ghana;1957-1990 ................................. 23 Editorial Sample by Newspaper Type and Regime Period ...................... 68 Editorial Sample by Regime Type ................................................................. 69 Frequency and Percent of Editorials Coded ................................................. 78 Coder Item Agreement for Graphic and Times Editorials ...................... 81 Percentage of Coder Item Agreement for Coder Pairs .............................. 82 Regime Type by Editorial Function .............................................................. 86 Regime Type by Editorial Focus .................................................................... 87 Regime Type by Editorial Purpose ................................................................ 89 Regime Type by Editorial Tone ..................................................................... 90 Regime Type by Editorial Sources ................................................................. 91 Regime Type by Editorial Context ................................................................. 92 Regime Type by Editorial Direction .............................................................. 93 Chi Square Test Values for Regime Type by Editorial Content .............. 94 Civilian Regime Type by Judgment of Editorial Sources ........................ 95 Military Regime Type by Judgment of Editorial Sources ......................... 96 Civilian Regime Type by Judgment of Editorial Focus ............................ 96 Military Regime Type by Judgment of Editorial Focus ............................ 97 Regime Type by Judgment of Graphic and Times Editorial .................... 98 Chi Square Test Values for Newspaper Type by Editorial Content ....... 99 vi Newspaper Type by Editorial Tone ............................................................. 100 Newspaper Type by Editorial Origin .......................................................... 101 Newspaper Type by Editorial Judgment .................................................... 101 Chi Square Test Values for Editor Type and Editorial Content ............ 102 Editor Type by Editorial Function ............................................................... 103 Editor Type by Editorial Focus ..................................................................... 104 Editor Type by Editorial Direction ............................................................... 105 Editor Type by Editorial Context .................................................................. 106 Editor Type by Editorial Origin .................................................................... 107 Editor Type by Editorial Judgment .............................................................. 108 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A recurrent theme in past and present studies of the role or performance of the press in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa suggests that due to direct government controls, strict official restrictions and censorship, the press has become an instrument of propaganda and an ideological mouthpiece of civilian as well as military regimes. Academicians and politicians have raised serious questions about the capacity of the state-owned press to serve as a watchdog of societal dangers, especially dangers from overweening and oppressive civilian and military governments. For instance, Hachten has described the press in Ghana as being authoritarian. The Ghana press, he contends, functions as a legitimizer of illegal governments and an advocate of consensus and unity.1 Twumasi also claims that the newspaper press in Ghana is largely a reservoir of pontification, has a generally abusive and irresponsible tone, and is rather ignorant of economic programs. According to the author, the state-owned press in Ghana is used by the well-educated to underwrite the privileged status of urban-based groups as well as political, administrative, military and professional elites.2 Wilcox has also noted that the majority of African countries, including Ghana, subscribe to an authoritarian press concept that is 1 William A. Hachten, "Ghana's Press Under the NRC: an Authoritarian Model for Africa, 193mm Vol. 52, No. 3, 1975, pp. 458-538. 2 Yaw Twumasi, "The Newspaper Press and Political Leadership in Developing Nations: The Case of Ghana 1964 to 1979, " Gazette 26 (1980): 1-16. 1 2 manifested in a number of controls to prevent any criticism or public debate of a nation's policies or leaders.3 Boafo supports the view that the Ghanaian press subscribes to an authoritarian press model. He maintains that the practice of authoritarian methods of press control by the present military regime in Ghana has turned the Ghanaian press into "an insipid and spineless newssheet proclaiming the virtues of the Rawlings government."4 Academicians are not alone in suggesting that the Ghanaian press has failed to perform its societal functions. Ghana's Third Republican Head of State, Dr. Hilla Limann, observed during his first year in office that the history of the press in Ghana since independence had not been endearing because press men and women had found it difficult to perform as real watchdogs of the freedom of expression, which also protects interests of the people of the country.5 Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings, Limann's successor and Chairman of the ruling Provisional National Defence Council military regime in Ghana, has also noted that the Ghanaian press is sowing seeds of despair and pessimism that make Ghanaians refuse to be the masters of their own destiny. The Ghanaian press, he asserts, would be doing a great disser- vice to the nation if it chose to please men in authority instead of serving the interest of the underprivileged and the defenseless. Rawlings claims that the press has allowed the over-enthusiasm and over-simplified ideological ideas of a minority of its personnel to create a misleading image of the (December 31, 1981) revolution at home and abroad. 3 Dennis L. Wilcox, Mass Media in Black Africa: Philosophy and Contrgl (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975). 4 S.T.K. Boafo, "Ghana's Press Under the PNDC: Performance Under Confinement,” Gazette, 35:73-82, 1985 5 Daily Graphic, Saturday, July 26, 1930, pp. 1-5. E l 5' if [SI I It must be noted that those who condemn the Ghanaian press and those who defend it do not have empirical evidence or systematic studies to sup- port their statements or propositions. Most of the critical opinions on press performance in Ghana have been expressed extempore. The few research studies on the performance of the Ghanaian press are not only dated and fragmentary but also the findings of these studies are not based on systematic analysis of the content of the Ghanaian press. Previous research studies provide little basis for generalizing about the factors that determine the content patterns and direction of the press in Ghana.7 It is worthy to note that since the former Gold Coast achieved politi- cal independence from Britain over three decades ago, Ghana's press has functioned under eight distinct regimes, five of them military and three civil- ian. Control of the state-owned press has changed hands from civilian regimes, which came to power through constitutional channels and demo- cratic elections, to military regimes, which circumvented constitutional channels and took over power through coup d'etats or force of arms.8 Since Ghana's independence on March 6, 1957, the stateowned press has functioned under military regimes for about 20 years, a period which sur- passes the functioning of the press under civilian administrations. The state- owned press has functioned under civilian regimes for about 13 years. Little research attention has been devoted to the influence of civilian and military 7 The studies by Twumasi, op. cit., Boafo, op. cit., and Hachten, op. cit., were not based on content analysis of the press in Ghana. 8 See Simon Baynham, ”Divide et Impera: Civilian Control of the Military in Ghana’s Second and Third Republics, " The lourn_al of Modern African Studies, 23, 4 (1985), pp. 623-642. 4 regimes on the performance of the state-owned press. Little is known about how differences in regime types and styles of press control influence the content patterns and direction of the state-owned press in Ghana. The present investigation sought to alleviate these shortcomings through a comparative "content analysis" of editorials of Ghana's two national daily newspapers, the Daily Graphic or the People's Daily Graphic (hereafter called Graphie) and the Ghanaian Times (hereafter called Times) during each period of civilian and military rule. Content analysis denotes an "objective, systematic and quantitative method for the analysis of communication content, and concise description of what the communication says in terms appropriate to the purpose of the problem at issue."9 It is a "multipurpose research method developed specifically for investigating any problem in which the content of communication serves as the basis of inference. "1 0 In the past, content analysis has been used to analyze the content patterns and direction of daily newspapers and the ways in which national and international issues have been reported by the press. Pool et al.,11 for instance, content-analyzed prestige newspapers in the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Russia from 1890 through 1949 to determine political symbols in the prestige papers. The categories used in the analysis included amount of editorial judgment, uniformity of judgment and amount of editorial change. Deutschmann content-analyzed twelve metropolitan newspapers using eleven categories: politics and government; war, rebellion 9 See lthiel de Sola Pool, Harold D. Lasswell, Daniel Lerner, et al., The Prestige Papere: A Survey ef their Editoriele (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1952), p. 2. 10 See Ole R. Holsti, n An 1 i r r h ial ° n n m n' ' (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Company, 1969), pp. 2-5. 11 Pool et al., op. cit. 5 and defense; economic activity; transportation and travel; crime; public and moral problems; public health and welfare, accidents and disasters; science and invention; classic arts, education and popular amusements; and human interest.12 Stempe113 used Deutschmann's content categories to identify differences between the four largest and four smallest daily newspapers in Michigan. John W. Windhauser et a1.14 analyzed the content patterns of editorials of the Tribune under three editors, using the following content categories: geographical emphasis, purpose, subject, focus, and period. Nwankwol5 analyzed editorials of the West Africen PiloL a nationalist newspaper of Nigeria, using the following content categories: contextual orientation of editorials, societal orientation of editorials and evaluative orientation of editorials. In this study, the content of the state-owned daily newspapers were analyzed using a reformulated and expanded versions of some of the categories specified above. The main objectives of the present study are: (1) to describe the content, and direction or evaluational orientation of the edito- rials appearing in the state-owned Graphic and Times and (2) to determine whether differences in civilian and military regime types influence the edito- rial content and direction of the two state-owned newspapers. The state owned Graphic and Times editorials were analyzed for a four-year period, from 1980 through 1983. The period includes two successive regimes: the last 12 Paul Deutschmann, News a r ontent of Twelv Metr litan Daili (Cincinnati, Ohio: Scripps Howard Research, 1959) 13 Guido H. Stempel 111, ”Content Patterns of Small and Metropolitan Dailies,” leurneliem M39z88-90 (Winter 1962). 14 John W. Windhauser, Will Norton, Jr., and Sonny Rhodes, ”Editorial Patterns of Tribune Under Three Editors," leumeliem marterly, Autumn 1983, pp. 524-528. 15 Robert L. Nwankwo, "Utopia and Reality in African Mass Media: A Case Study,“ Gazette, Vol. XIX, No. 3, 1973, pp. 171-182. 6 two years of Limann's PNP civilian regime from January 1980 until the second Rawlings' coup d'etat of December 31, 1981; and the first two years of Rawlings' PNDC military regime from January 1982 to December 31, 1983. The period was selected for this study because it reflects not only differences in regime types, ideology and political leadership but also differences in styles of press control. The period offers a unique opportunity to examine the above objectives and related research questions and hypotheses of the present investigation. The foregoing, then, constitutes the main preoccupation and justifica- tion of the present investigation. In the next chapter, political concepts of the press originally espoused by Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm,16 and reformu- lated by Hachten,17 Altschull,18 and other analysts will be examined to help put the present investigation into proper theoretical perspective. 16 Fred S. Siebert, Theodore Peterson and Wilbur Schramm, Four Theeriee ef the Preee, (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1963). 17 William A. Hachten, Werld News Pg’em: Changing Media, ghapgipg ldeetegiee (Ames: The Iowa University Press, 1981). 18 Herbert Altschull, Agents of Power (New York: Longman, 1983), pp. 279-298. CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Eonrlhemiemflhekress Siebert et al. have suggested that a nation's political system has a direct influence upon the press system and press freedom and ultimately press content. According to the authors, there are four theories of the press to society or to government: authoritarian, libertarian, Soviet-communist and social responsibility. The authoritarian theory, the oldest of the four theories, was developed in 16th and 17th century England and grew out of the philoso- phy of absolute power of the monarch. The principle underlying government-press relations and press functions in the authoritarian model is that the press exists to support, advance and implement government policies. The authoritarian theory sanctions close supervision and tight control on the press, which may be either state- or privately-owned. In order to advance the policies of the government and to bar criticism of the ruling regime, controls over the press are enforced through such mechanisms as press licensing, special press laws or discriminatory legislation, censorship and official restrictions. Although the authoritarian approach to the press waned in many Western countries by the second half of the 18th century, versions of it still exists in many African countries, including Ghana.19 ‘9 Siebert et al,. op. cit., pp. 9-146 passim. 7 8 The libertarian theory is a direct alternative to the authoritarian theory. Unlike the authoritarian theory, which provides no direct or realistic mecha- nism for the press to determine its own editorial policies, the libertarian model of the press sanctions press freedom and non-interference in press editorial policies. The theory grew out of the writings of Milton, Locke, Mill and the general philosophy of nationalism and natural rights. The principle underlying this theory is that the press exists to inform, entertain, sell as well as to help discover truth and to serve as a "watchdog" of government. Under this theory of the press, decisions concerning press content is the domain of a privately owned press. The control of the press under this model is by self-righting process of truth in free market place of ideas and in courts.20 The Soviet-communist or totalitarian theory was inspired by Marxist- Leninist-Stalinist thought with a mixture of Hegel and 19th Century Russian thinking. This theory, a modern offshoot of the authoritarian model, posits centralized government control and ownership of the press to serve the greater good of the government, the party and the state. The principle underlying this theory is that the press exists to contribute to the success and continuance of the Soviet socialist system, and especially to the dictatorship of the party. Criticism of the state and party is forbidden. The press is controlled and regulated to transmit official views and policies, to mobilize support for the government, and to help the government rule.21 The social responsibility theory was developed in the United States in the 20th century out of recognition of the weaknesses and inconsistencies in 20 lbid. 21 Ibid. 9 libertarianism-mainly that it had failed to supply rigorous standards for the successful functioning of the press in society. The theory grew out of the writings of W.E. Hocking, and the code of social responsibility for the press by the Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the Press. The principle underlying this theory is that the press exists to inform, entertain, and sell as well as raise conflict to the plane of discussion. The press is expected to assume obligation of social responsibility and if it fails to do so, the government or the community it serves must ensure that it performs this societal function.22 Hachten23 has recast the original four theories of the press into five political concepts of the press: authoritarian, Western, (libertarian and social responsibility), communist, revolutionary, and developmental. The first three concepts remain essentially the same as the theories proposed by Siebert et a1. Hachten's Western model is a combination of what was originally liber- tarian and social responsibility theories of the press. He defines the revolutionary concept as the press of a people who believe strongly that the government they live under does not serve their interests and should be overthrown. According to the author, the revolu- tionary concept has a trait in common with the Western concept--they both try to Operate outside of government controls. The principle underlying this concept is that the press exists to pursue a theme of agitation, arousal of public opinion, and ultimately the overthrow of alien regimes. The history of the anti-colonialist movement in Ghana and 22 Ibid. 23 William A. Hachten, World News Prism: Changing Media, Changing ldeolegjes (Ames: The Iowa University Press, 1981), pp. 60-70 passim. 1O elsewhere in Africa is rife with examples of the revolutionary concept of the press.24 According to Hachten, the developmental or Third World concept draws from the communist as well as the Western concept (libertarian and social responsibility). The developmental concept holds individual rights subservient to the needs of the central government-a government in need of press support for nation building.25 The principle underlying the concept is that the state or party press exists to fight illiteracy, ignorance and poverty; to foster citizen participation and local self-reliance; to circulate knowledge that will inform people of significant events, opportunities, dangers, and changes in the community, country and the world; to provide a forum where issues affecting the national or community life may be aired; to teach those skills and attitudes that pe0ple need to achieve a better life; to create and sustain a base of social consensus; and to assist in social, political, and economic development and national integration.26 One of the most significant revisions of the original four theories of the press was offered by Altschull.27 He argues that terms such as authoritarian or libertarian or communist hinder understanding. He recast the original four theories of the press into three concepts on the basis of geopolitics and 24 Ibid. 25 lbid., pp. 72-76 passim. 26 See also C.V. Rajasundaram, Manual f D v 1 men mmuni ' (Singapore: Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development, 1981), pp. 16-19 passim. 27 Altschull, op. cit. 11 economics: market (Western model), Marxists (Soviet-communist model) and advancing (Third World model).28 According to the author, the principle underlying the three models is that the press exists to educate the people so that they can carry out their own roles in society. Altschull notes that under the market or capitalist model, the aim of education is to help the people vote wisely. He asserts that under the Marxist or planned model, the press functions as an instrument of propaganda. He maintains that of the three press concepts, the advancing or developmental model is the most open and direct about the press as an instrument of education.29 Altschull further asserts that under all the three press models, the press serves as an agent of those who exercise political and economic power. Thus state ownership does not necessarily taint and restrict press content, nor does private ownership guarantee its freedom. It is argued that the over-riding determinant of press content is the ideology of those who finance the press.30 Other significant revisions of the four theories of the press exist as well. Lowenstein has provided one of the most important revisions of the original four theories.31 He combined the authoritarian and communist theories into one authoritarian-tending theory called social-centrist--a model that sanctions direct government control and regulation of the press. He also combined the social responsibility and libertarian theories into a libertarian-tending system called social-libertarian, a model that allows for government regulation when 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 31 Ralph L. Lowenstein, "Press Freedom as a Parameter of Political Democracy," in Heinz- Dietrich Fischer and John C. Merrill (eds), International and lnterculturel Communicatiens, (New York: Hastings House, 1970), pp. 129-140 passim. 12 self-regulation fails. According to the author, ownership of the press may be distinguished as follows: private, multi-political parties or government. He suggested that various combinations of press philosophies or theories and ownership patterns are possible in each society.32 Picard33 has also re-examined the original four theories of the press and the variations provided by Hachten and Lowenstein. Picard in his analysis suggests that the revolutionary and developmental theories espoused by Hachten could be either authoritarian-tending or libertarian-tending, depend- ing upon the circumstances under which they are pursued. He also suggests the addition of a democratic socialist theory. This press model, according to Picard, emphasizes the preservation of diversity of ideas and permits the state to promote the successful functioning of the press in the democratic process.34 ! 1.1.1.] EB II ri IE] Whatever the variations in press theories or political concepts of the press, there is no disagreement with the tenet of Siebert et al. The authors note: The press always takes on the coloration of the social and political structures within which it oper- ates. Especially, it reflects the system of social con- trol whereby the relations of individuals and insti- tutions are adjusted."35 32 lbid. 33 Robert G. Picard, "Revisions of the 'Four Theories of the Press' Model," Mass Communicatien Review, Vol. 10, Nos. 1 8: 2, 1982-1983, pp. 25-28 passim. See also Carl P. Burrowes, ”Measuring Freedom of Expression Cross-culturally: Some Methodological and Conceptual Problems,” _M_ass Communicefion Review, Vol. 16, Nos. 1 8: 2, 1989, pp. 38-51 passim. 34 lbid. 35 Siebert, et al., op. cit., pp. 1-2. 13 However, there is disagreement concerning the applicability of press theories to national press systems. The disagreement has to do with the fact that the press theories or concepts are not mutually exclusive. Brownlee,36 for instance, notes that any press system is likely to contain elements of several of the theories or concepts. She reiterates that any system is likely to change over time, depending on both internal and external threats to the society, be they political, economic, or something else.37 Nevertheless, she contends that these press theories or concepts could be usefully applied to specific press systems to help "identify variables that do, in fact, contribute to the degree of freedom permitted by a government."38 According to Brownlee, such analysis may shed light on the New World Information Order debate about the lack of balance in the flow of information between the North and the South.39 It has also been noted that these press theories or concepts may be examined in transitional societies--societies experiencing unsettling political upheavals, intense economic and social changes-and whose press system is intertwined with the political system.40 Ghana, where civilian and military regimes have frequently alternated in ownership and control of the press, constitutes a unique setting from which to examine some of the preceding theories or concepts of the press. The body of literature to be examined in the next two chapters suggests that the Ghanaian press system may be conceptualized in the developmental 36 Bonnie J. Brownlee, "The Nicaraguan Press: Revolutionary, Developmental, or Socially Responsible?” 593.112. 33:155-172 (1984). 37 Ibid. 38 Brownlee, op. cit., p. 157. 39 Ibid. 40 lbid. 14 (authoritarian-tending) pattern as well as the developmental (libertarian- tending) pattern. The literature suggests that during the study period, the press in Ghana functioned under two divergent methods of press control, namely, the developmental (libertarian-tending) style of press control of the civilian regime of Limann and the (authoritarian-tending) style of the PNDC military regime of Rawlings. It is important to examine how the differences in regime types and styles of press control influenced the editorial content of the state- owned press. The next chapter presents a detailed discussion on the geographical, social, economic, and political background of Ghana. CHAPTER III GHANA: A GENERAL BACKGROUND WWW Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast, lies midway along the West African coast. It is bordered on the south by the Ivory Coast, north by Burkina Faso, and east by the Republic of Togo-all French-speaking African countries. The country has 355 miles of coastline and extends 522 miles in length. Ghana has a land area of about 92,000 square miles, and a p0pulation of about 12.6 million with an annual growth rate of about 3 percent. Forty-nine percent of the people is male and 51 percent is female. About 50 percent of the population is under 15 years and 3 percent is above 65 years. The total population is expected to reach 22 million by the year 2000. The country has 10 administrative regions. Accra, the capital city and the seat of government has a population of 859,640 people. The British imposed English as the official language during colonial rule and it was retained as the language of administration and education after independence. With a liter- acy rate of more than 30 percent, Ghana is in a much happier position than most African countries, where over 70 percent of the adults can neither read nor write.41 4‘ 12$ Pepulation Census of Ghana: Preliminary Remrt (Accra, Ghana: Central Bureau of Statistics, December 1984). See also Twumasi, op. cit., pp. 3-4. 15 1 6 WW Ethnically, Ghana is a diverse country. According to Ray, some one hundred ethnic groups contribute to Ghana's richness of cultural heritage in both historical and contemporary times. He notes that ethnicity has been an important political consideration that has cut across party lines and stunted the growth of class consciousness among workers, peasants and even the owners of plantations, factories, trading enterprises and other businesses. He asserts that the reality of misnamed "tribal wars" is a complex mixture of class and ethnic tensions that has its roots in the economy and in the structure of society.42 Twumasi notes that Ghanaians may be divided into five major groups by linguistic affiliations and common cultural attributes, and by common myths of origin. There are the Ga-Adangbe, the Ewe, the Guan, the Cur-speaking people, and the Akan—speaking people, who constitute well over 44 percent of the population.43 In terms of religious affiliation, Ghana is also a diverse society. Forty-three percent of Ghanaians are Christians; 12 per- cent are Moslems; 38 percent belong to Ghanaian traditional religions; and 7 percent have no religious affiliation.44 Emmeu’slaskgmund Almost 70 percent of Ghanaians live in the rural areas and are engaged in agricultural pursuits. Agriculture is the largest sector of the Ghanaian economy. Ninety-five percent of all farming is done by small-scale farmers using traditional techniques of cultivation. The average holding is about three hectares per farmer. The sector comprising crop production, livestock, 42 Donald Ray, Ghana: Politics. Economics and Sociegg (Boulder: Lyne Riener Publishers, Inc., 1986), pp. xiv-xvii. 4-3 Twumasi, op. cit. 44 Ray, op. cit. 17 fisheries and forestry contributed about 51 percent of Gross Domestic Product and provided nearly two-thirds of the total employment during the study period. Cocoa, the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy, covers about 50 per- cent of the land under cultivation and accounts for 60 percent of export earnings. Food crops and livestock contribute 52 percent of export earnings. Other important exports of Ghana include timber, gold, diamond, bauxite and manganese. The GNP per capita is estimated at $356. The story of Ghana's economy since the 19705 has been one of stagnation and deterioration, according to analysts.45 The performance of the economy has been characterized by declining output of key sectors, persistently high rate of inflation (116 percent during the study period), balance of payments difficulties, large government budgeting deficits and excess liquidity. The combined effects of these adverse developments and the rapidly growing population have resulted in sharp reduction in the standard of living of the average Ghanaian, rising cost of living and depreciation of the value of the Ghanaian currency. During the period of the study, the overall GDP declined at an average annual rate of 1.3 percent. There was also a sharp decline in per capita income-averaging 3.8 percent during the same period. External debt reached $2 billion and debt service ratio amounted to 35.9 percent in 1984. However, the net resource flows rose from -$90.5 million in 1980 to +$566.3 million in 1984.46 The poor performance of the Ghanaian economy was mainly due to poor economic management and lack of adequate incentives to promote production. These policy-related problems were further exacerbated 45 Beppblie 9! Ghana Eeenemie Reeevety lirogram 1284-1986, 29!, 1, (Accra, Ghana: Government of the Republic of Ghana, October 1983), pp. 1-6. 45 See Africa's ubmission to the S cial Session of the United Natiene General Assembly en Afrige'e Eeonomic and Socig Crisis (Addis Ababa: Organization of African Unity Secretariat, 1986), p.118. 18 by several adverse external factors. The most important of these external factors are: adverse weather (droughts), bushfires during 1978-1983, which seriously reduced agricultural output, creating major food shortages; the sharp increases in petroleum prices, followed by world recession and declining export price-creating a major deterioration in terms of trade; the expulsion of more than one million Ghanaians from Nigeria; and smuggling of agricultural products and minerals to neighboring countries to take advan- tage of higher prices.47 During the period of the study, a national economic recovery program was initiated to reverse the downward trend of the Ghanaian economy. The program focused on the restoration of crop services; provision of agricultural extension services and credit facilities as well as incentives to increase agricul- tural production to achieve self-sufficiency and to increase exports; the pur- suit of flexible exchange rate policy; monetary and financial discipline; and measures aimed at addressing some of the structural weaknesses of the economy. The Ghanaian cedi was progressively devalued from its level of (22.75 to the dollar in April 1983 to C300 in December 1989.48 Sixty percent of export earnings was devoted to payments of external debts. Since 1983, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have invested over $2 billion dollars in Ghana. Payments to the IMF alone rose from $19 million in 1986 to $207 million in 1988. It has been noted that "unless there is a massive expansion in exports--an unlikely proposition--economic develop- ment may be seriously retarded."49 47 Republic of Ghana Economic Recovery Program 1984-1986 Vol.1 op. cit. 48 Baffour Agyeman-Duah, "Ghana, 1982-6: the Politics of the PNDC," Lite [Qumgl gt Mmlem W5, 25, 4 (1987), pp. 613—642 passim. See also fle5t Affigg, 4- 10 December 1989, p. 2031. 49 Agyeman—Duah, op. cit. 1 9 W Ghana's contact with Western Europe goes as far back in time as the 15th century, when the Dutch and Portuguese went there in search of gold and later, slaves. In the latter part of the 19th century, the British colonized most of modern Ghana and named it the Gold Coast. The British colonialists set up a wide spectrum of organizational, infrastructural, and physical systems to govern the existing traditional systems of the Adansi, Denkyira, Akwamu, Akim, Asante, Ga and Fante.50 After years of political agitation by Western- educated Ghanaian elites, the first African government in the Gold Coast was formed in March 1951 by the Convention People's Party (CPP) with Dr. Kwarne Nkrumah, as the Leader of Government Business. On March 6, 1957, the Gold Coast and the British Trust Territory of Togoland, hitherto a United Nations Trust Territory, became an independent unitary state within the British Commonwealth under the name Ghana. The country derived its name from the ancient Ghana, one of the earliest of the great empires of the Western Sudan about 800-1076 A.D.51 In July 1960, under a new constitution, Ghana became a Republic with Nkrumah as its first Executive President. Nkrumah combined the roles of Head of State and Prime Minister. His first few years of rule in Ghana were tranquil politically. However, in 1961 there was a serious strike of railway workers, followed in 1962 by an unsuccessful attempt on his life. Nkrumah's CPP government began to tighten its grip on the nation with increasing use of the Preventive Detention Act, which allowed Nkrumah's administration to 50 Twumasi, op. cit. 51 Africa Year Book gnd Who's Who 1977 (London: Africa Limited), pp. 435-452 passim; also see Thomas A. Howell and Jeffrey P. Rajasooria, Ghana and Nkrumah (New York: Fact on File, Inc., 1972), pp. 145-157 passim. 20 jail political dissenters without trial. A further assassination attempt on Nkrumah in 1964 was used by the CPP government to justify a referendum that turned Ghana into a one-party socialist state. Nkrumah was subse- quently sworn in as life President of Ghana. Two years later, on February 24, 1966 the army and the police seized power in a relatively swift and bloodless coup d'etat, while Nkrumah was visiting the People's Republic of China.52 In explaining why they toppled Nkrumah‘s government, the principal architects of the coup "emphasized their resentment at Nkrumah's interfer- ence with the army, his mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy, his repressive politics and the widespread corruption, intrigue and sycophancy of CPP functionaries."53 General I.A. Ankrah, the Chairman of the National Liberation (NLC), a council of four soldiers and four policemen, formed to govern Ghana, said Nkrumah was removed by force in accordance with the oldest and most treasured Ghanaian tradition that a leader who loses the confidence and support of his peOple and resorts to arbitrary use of power should be deposed. Ankrah accused Nkrumah of bringing the country to the brink of economic disaster through mismanagement, waste, and unwise spending, and by the depletion of Ghana’s foreign reserves estimated at about $560 million during Ghana’s independence in 1957. Ankrah also claimed that the inability of Nkrumah to initiate sound economic policies resulted in Ghana's foreign debts, estimated at the time of the coup at about $784 million. He said 52 Ibid. 53 T. C. McCaskie, ”Ghana: Recent History,” in Africa South of the Sahara, Sixteenth Edition, (London: Europa Publications Limited, 1986), p. 480. 21 lack of sound economic policies brought about inflation, a high rate of unem- ployment, and near famine and starvation in Ghana.54 A careful appraisal of the writings of Colonel (later General) A. A. Afrifa and Major-General A.I<. Ocran, both members of the military junta, suggests that there were reasons internal to the armed forces which might have contributed to the overthrow of N krumah’s government. According to Afrifa, Nkrumah's interference with the authority of the military during the Congo crisis in 1960, coupled with the military’s desire to dispel the general conception that the Ghanaian soldier is an incorrigible element in society prompted him and his colleagues to plot the overthrow of the legally consti- tuted government of Nkrumah.55 Ocran observes that Nkrumah's attempt to reduce the regular army to the level of Home Guard as well as his overt attempt at politicizing the military provided the incentive for the simulta- neous collaboration of the Officer Corps in the overthrow of Nkrumah and his CPP comrades.S6 In discussing other reasons for the coup, McCaskie notes that ”Nkrumah’s drift towards the USSR and the Eastern bloc was clearly anathema to the Ghanaian army’ 5 cadre of mainly British-trained officers.”57 He asserts: Whether or not, as has been frequently alleged, the plotters were in contact with the CIA remains a moot point. Since the mid-19505 the world cocoa price had fallen by 75%, engendering increases in the cost of living and import shortages. There was, in fact, nothing Nkrumah could have done about this, but the promise of a new economic beginning, 54 Ghana Reborn (New York: Ghana Information Services, December 1966). 55 Colonel A. A. Afrifa, The Ghana Coup (London: Frank Cass and Co. Ltd., 1967), p. 69. 56 Major-General A.1<. Ocran, A Myth i5 Broken (Harlow, Essex: Longman’s Green 6: Co., 1969), pp. 15-16. 57 McCaskie, op. cit. 22 together with the end of repression and party privi- lege, ensured that the 1966 coup was greeted with very widespread approbation.58 Whatever the reasons forthe coup d'etat, it ended almost ten years of uninterrupted rule of Nkrumah and his CPP government. The coup also brought an end to the non-competitive one-party socialist political system of Ghana, and ushered in an era of military-cum-police rule in Ghana and of musical chairs between civilian and military regimes. (See Table I) The NLC under the leadership of Ankrah suspended Ghana's Republican Constitution of 1960, making the NLC the sole legislative power in Ghana. The NLC ruled by decrees and projected itself as a typical guardian regime. It adopted austerity economic measures, culminating in the halting of several projects began under the Nkrumah government, the retirement of a number of workers considered to be redundant or a threat to the smooth running of the military regime. In May 1967, the NLC regime suffered the only coup attempt mounted against it. The plotters of the abortive coup were swiftly arrested and publicly shot. In 1969, Ankrah gave way to General Afrifa, who presided over a general election in August of that year. The general election was the first competitive elections since 1956. A new civilian government headed by Dr. Kofi Busia, a leader of the Progress Party (PP) and one time rival of Nkrumah, was installed under a new constitution with Edward Akuffo Addo as the non-executive (ceremonial president), and Busia as the prime minister.59 53 Ibid. 59 Robert Pinkney, Ghana Under Military Rule 1966-69 (London: Methuen and Company Ltd., 1972). Also, see Ghana Reborn, op. cit. Regime Convention Peoples Party (CPP) 1957-1966 Dr. Kwame Nkrumah 23 I ll 1. (2' ill IM'lil B . . E] 12524220 123123 Leaders First Republic, 1960-66 (Civilian Regime) National Liberation Council (NLC) 1966-1969 Gen. J.A. Ankrah (Military Regime) Gen. A.A. Afrifa Progress Party (PP) 1969-1972 Dr. Kofi Busia Second Republic (Civilian Regime) National Redemption Council (NRC)/ Supreme Military Council I (SMC I) 1972-1978 Gen. Kutu Acheampong (Military Regime) Supreme Military Council 11 (SMC II) 1978-1979 Gen. Fred Akuffo (Military Regime) Armed Forces Revolutionary Council June 1979-Sept. 1979 Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings (AFRC) (Military Regime) People’s National Party (PNP) 1979-1981 Dr. Hilla Limann Third Republic (Civilian Regime) Provisional National Defense Council 1981 to Present Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings (PNDC) (Military Regime) The Second Republic was short-lived. On January 13, 1972, another mili- tary coup d'etat led by Colonel (later General) Kutu Acheampong brought the demise of the Busia government. The following poignant account on Busia’s short rule in Ghana illuminates some of the reasons underlying his over- throw by the military : Busia’s brief record of twenty-seven months in power was not a happy one: it largely confirmed the view that Kofi Busia was a cleverer academic than he was a politician. By a series of sweeping mea- sures he continually tried to clear his path of obsta- cles to the kind of liberal democracy he professed, only to find his difficulties increasing and having to fall back on some of the illiberal and undemocratic practice of which he accused ex-President Nkrumah. What made matters worse for Busia was that he presided over notoriously divided team 24 of well-educated Ministers and he was unable either to sack the critics within his Cabinet or to assert his effective authority.60 The overthrow of Busia's government meant the failure of an experi- ment in Parliamentary Democracy or "Westminsterism" in Ghana. Following the coup of January1972, the National Redemption Council (NRC) was established to rule Ghana. The Acheampong regime sought a policy of national self-reliance, and pressed for increased food and agricultural raw material production in the country. The regime refused to assume responsi- bility for a number of medium-term debts that had been contracted under the first republic. This Yentua (an Akan expression meaning "we shall not pay") policy was very popular, and students demonstrated in favor of this and the abolition of the university loans scheme. In 1974, Acheampong negotiated a 28-year repayment extension on Nkrumah's debts to foreign creditors-- reversing the policy of Yentua. In October 1975, a seven-man Supreme Military Council (SMC) was set up as the highest legislative and administra- tive organ of Ghana but still with General Acheampong as the Head of State. In 1977, after a strike by Ghana’s professional classes, aimed at ending military rule in Ghana, the SMC regime announced a two-year time-table for a return to civilian rule. Acheampong’s proposal for the institution of a non-party system of ”Union Government” met with widespread opposition from students, workers and professionals in Ghana. In 1978, Acheampong was forced to step down in a "palace coup" led by his army colleagues. The SMC was reconstituted under General Fred Akuffo, Acheampong's deputy. Under 60 Africa Contemporary Record (ACR) Vol. 4, 1971-72 (London: Africa Publishing Company), p. B552. 25 pressure from students of Ghana's three universities, workers and profes- sionals, Akuffo allowed political parties to be formed and an "American style" constitution was accepted.61 On June 4, 1979 (just before elections were to be held to restore demo- cratic rule in Ghana), a coup d'etat by junior officers of the Ghana Armed Forces, toppled Akuffo's regime. An Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was set up with the object of riding Ghana of corruption before handing over power to the civilian. Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings emerged as the leader of the AFRC military regime. The first Rawlings coup, McCaskie says, "is best understood as an outburst of popular morality."62 He notes that ”it was an attempt, derived from extreme popular frustration, to break out of the seemingly endless cycle of corruption, economic collapse and political inepti- tude."53 He further notes: Morality (and class revenge) featured prominently in the decrees and statements that were issued by the AFRC, presided by Rawlings. A nebulous leftist populism was allied to strictures about rooting out corruption and house cleaning. This new style, zealous and puritanical, was given immediate and drastic effectiveness.“ On June 16, 1979, General Acheampong of the NRC/SMC I, and General Utuka, a former head of the Border Guard, after a brief night trial by a hastily assembled revolutionary court, were taken to Teshie firing range, near Accra and publicly shot. On June 26, 1979, more military officers were condemned and immediately executed by firing squad. They were General Akuffo of the 61 See Naomi Chazan, An Anatomy of Ghanaian Politics: Managing Political Recession 1969- 1982 (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1983), pp. 217-280 passim. 62 McCaskie, op. cit., p. 484. 63 lbid. 64 lbid. 26 SMC II regime; General Afrifa of the NLC regime; Rear Admiral Joy Amedume, former navy commander; Air Vice-Marshal George Boakye, former Air Force Commander; Major-General Robert Kotei, former chief of defense staff; and Colonel Roger Felli, former commissioner for foreign affairs.55 The executions shocked many Ghanaians, but there was intense pressure from the lower ranks of the army for more executions. Leading AFRC members later said they were faced with the choice of agreeing to these executions or being executed themselves.66 Chazan has noted that "these public executions signalled not only the termination of the already fallacious myth of the nonviolence of Ghanaian politics, but, more to the point, the deadly serious determination of the AFRC regime to wipe the political slate clean."67 The handing down of "popular justice," according to McCaskie, was not confined to the generals. He notes: Self-constituted tribunals, composed of army NCOs and other ranks, apprehended those whom they suspected of hoarding, profiteering and corruption, and imposed arbitrary punishment in the form of confiscations, serious beatings and even death. In a number of cases, private dwellings were simply demolished, and the military purged the markets in Accra, and Kumasi by destroying stalls and prop- erty.68 The AFRC led by Rawlings ruled Ghana for about four months and handed over power to the People's National Party (PNP) civilian government of Dr. Hilla Limann, which secured 71 of the 140 seats of the unicameral 65 Chazan, op. cit., pp. 280-291. 56 Africa ngtgmpgragy Record, Vol. 24, 1981-1982 (London: Africana Publishing Company), p. B498. 67 Chazan, op. cit., 280-291. 63 McCaskie, op. cit., p.484. Kumasi is Ghana’s second largest city. 27 legislature.69 The transfer of power to the democratically elected PNP government of Limann allowed Ghana to return to constitutional rule for the third time in its first twenty-two years of political history. Limann, a career diplomat from Tumu in the Upper Region of Ghana, was sworn in as president and head of government by Rawlings on September 24, 1979. However, the Third Republic was short-lived. On December 31, 1981 Rawlings and the military seized power again through a coup d'etat. Rawlings cited corruption and economic maladministration as the reasons for his "second coming."70 The Third Republican Constitution was abol- ished, parliament dissolved, and the five political parties (the Action Congress Party of Col. Frank Bernasko, the United National Convention of Mr. William Ofori-Atta, the Popular Front Party of Mr. Victor Owusu, the Social Democratic Front of Alhaji Ibrahim Mahama, and the People's National Party of Dr. Hilla Limann), which contested (on June 18, 1979) the right to run the Third Republic, were proscribed.71 The Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) headed by Rawlings was established to run Ghana. According to McCaskie, the PNDC has faced very serious difficulties since it took over power on December 31, 1981. He notes that ”relations between the PNDC and the armed forces, the conclusive test for political stability in Ghana remain problematic."72 The ruling PNDC has survived six known counter-coups since it took over power in 1981.73 McCaskie also points out that "the quest for political stability is intimately 69 Ibid. 70 lbid., pp. 485-488 passim. 71 Ibid. 72 McCaskie, op. cit., p. 486. 73 Baynham, op. cit., p. 624. 28 bound up with the state of the Ghanaian economy. As was the case with previous governments of Ghana, the economy was, and remains, the biggest single problem confronting the ruling PNDC regime."74 The American Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, has observed that sometime in the future democratization will become a Western political condition for granting further aid to Ghana.75 According to Cohen, ”Rawlings and his close associates are clearly allergic to multiparty democracy.”76 He claims that the reason Ghana is not attracting foreign investment is because of lack of political confidence. He says this would not be restored until investors ”feel that authoritarian government will not jeopardize their hard earned capital."77 Rawlings has noted that he is in no position to say no if Ghanaians want a multiparty democratic political system. He argues that instability and the ”elusiveness of freedom, justice and democracy” 78 are partly due to the unjust relations between the North and South. He says the West should return wealth siphoned out of Africa instead of demanding the ”empty reform of democracy."79 He asserts: We can give you a government, a Head of State, within 48 hours by organizing national elections, or introducing multipartyism, but this never gave democracy or freedom and justice. The PNDC’s no- party district elections have enabled good persons who previously did not enter politics because of the 74 McCaskie, op. cit., p. 486. 75 West Africa 25 June-1 July 1990, p. 1087. 76 Ibid. 77 Ibid. 73 Ibid. 79 Ibid. 29 vile language and fabrications which was part of the game, to enter politics.80 Rawlings maintains that the operation of a multiparty system is a foreign system introduced by colonial powers. He notes: Multiparty system has had the effect of causing deep divisions in our nation, even within families. Some of the negative effects are with us. It has tended to be a competition: on the one hand to stay in power, and on the other to oust the ruling party and get into power. So much time and money, not to mention acrimony, is spent on this instead of being channelled toward positive development. And the competition is not over matters of princi- ple in most cases.81 Rawlings adds: Traditionally, decision-making in Africa is done by consensus. The chiefs and elders create a forum, at which every member of the community can make his or her voice heard. As the discussion goes on and new points are made, a majority position emerges. When this becomes clear, it is accepted as binding decision by the collective, even those members who initially expressed contrary views. We are more comfortable with this process, which is part of our culture. Although it may involve long and meandering discussions, in the end everyone will stand on a collective decision.82 Rawlings notes that the PNDC will not hand over power to civilian government until it has ”created the conditions for the evolution of structures and attitudes which permit it to leave with a clear conscience, having done its duty."83 He further notes: 30 Ibid. 81 Africa News September 19, 1988, p. 9. 32 Ibid. 83 Ibid. 30 By Western definition, all the ingredients of democracy were present when the AFRC handed power to the government of the Third Republic in 1979, a constituent assembly had produced a constitution, which we had promulgated; the AFRC saw to it that the elections were fairly conducted. And then I handed power over to Limann and his democratically elected government. And the results was shambles--morally, economically, in every way. The same old structures, whether oper- ated by a military regime such as Acheampong’s (NRC/SMC II) or an elected civilian regime such as Limann’s (PNP), produced the same kind of results. So this time around, instead of trying to clean up existing structures, we must oversee a political structural adjustment, and ensure that all its components are functioning before we leave the scene.34 It must be noted that the abrupt changes in government, the political turmoil and the chaotic economic situation in Ghana have stifled the growth and development of not only the state-owned press but also the private or independent press. Due to the economic problems facing Ghana, military as well as civilian regimes have not been able to allocate sufficient funds for the successful operation of the state-owned press. For instance, the allocation of newsprints for the state-owned press has been reduced due to lack of foreign exchange. Consequently, editors have reduced the size and circulation of the state-owned daily newspapers and doubled the price for these papers. Poor transportation and infrastructure have limited the distribution of papers to major towns and cities in Ghana. Rural access and exposure to the papers have been characterized by delays and shortages. The implications of the foregoing overview for government-press relationships will be examined in detail in the next chapter. 34 lbid. CHAPTER 1V GOVERNMENT -PRESS RELATIONSHIPS IN GHANA G H! 311' 1.3: I! 1 The functioning of the Ghanaian press is intertwined with the social, economic and political conditions of the country. For instance, the state- owned Graphic and I_i_m_e§ were established for economic as well as political reasons. The Graphic, which is published in Accra, was established in 1950 by Cecil King, the British newspaper magnate of the London Daily Mirror Group. The paper was established to provide profituto earn foreign exchange for the British owners and to promote British colonial policy in Ghana. Shareholding in the Graphic Company was limited to British investors. Although the Graphic was editorially staffed by Ghanaians, a Sierra Leonean journalist, Bankole Timothy, was appointed the editor of the paper. The Graphic received massive financial support from British banks for its operations in Ghana. The paper also enjoyed the patronage of British colonial officials, including the Governor. Well endowed with money, plant, and machinery, the Graphic became the best produced daily newspaper in Ghana.85 The Graphic with its modern equipment and well-organized news coverage and circulation networks, more than supplemented the work and mission of Ghanaian-owned independent and revolutionary newspapers 85 For detailed discussion on the development of the Ghanaian press, see K.A.B. Jones-Quartey, A Summ_a_ry History of the Ghana Press (Accra, 1974). Also see William Hachten, Muffled Drum§ (Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State University Press, 1971), pp. 89-95. 31 32 such as Kwame Nkrumah’s Evening News , which, according to Agyemang, used mostly antiquated machines and could neither print enough copies nor circulate beyond their immediate communities.86 Agyemang further notes that whether by design or accident, the Graphig rather fanned political awakening among Ghanaians more than the Ghanaian-owned nationalist papers, because the paper reached the population in the remotest village with news and pictures of political happenings in the urban areas.37 However, the Graphic never won the confidence of Ghanaian nationalist leaders, whatever contribution it made towards the struggle for freedom in Ghana. The nationalist leaders, including Nkrumah, never ceased to look upon the paper as a relic of colonialism and a propaganda tool of the opposition leaders. The Graphic chose to practice adversary journalism--to scrutinize and criticize the activities of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) of Nkrumah--a decision which in the eyes of Nkrumah and other CPP politicians amounted to an attempt to undermine their authority and subvert or sabotage efforts being made to emancipate Ghana and other African countries. Nkrumah and the nationalist press launched a relentless campaign of mudslinging against the Graphic and its owners. v n-Pr R1 inhi AferInd n 11 After Ghana’s independence, Nkrumah endorsed a neo-communist or authoritarian concept of the press. He maintained that ”just as in capitalist countries the press represents and carries out the purpose of capitalism, so in revolutionary Africa, the press must present and carry forward our own 86 Eddie Agyemang, ”Freedom of Expression in a Government Newspaper in Ghana," in Olav Stokke, ed., figmrting Afrigg (Uppsala, The Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1971), pp. 49-168 passim. 37 Ibid. 33 purposes.”88 Acting on this ideological premise, and following increasing CPP government dissatisfaction with the adversary role being played by the Graphic and other independent or anti-socialist papers, Nkrumah introduced censorship in 1960. This measure was intended among other things to expurgate the Graphig. But the paper continued to be stridently critical of Nkrumah and his CPP administration. CPP politicians suggested that the paper should be banned by Nkrumah. But before such action could be taken, Nkrumah’s government took over the ownership of the Graphic, on July 2, 1962 at the request of the Daily Mirror Group. Two other reasons might have precipitated the decision of the British proprietors of the Graphic. First, the proprietors did not want to operate under Nkrumah’s authoritarian press system. Second, the law of Ghana forbade the wholesale repatriation of their profits. Under the law as it existed then, foreign investors in Ghana were obliged to reinvest 60 percent of profits in their own businesses. The remaining 40 percent was, of course, subject to stringent foreign exchange controls before its repatriation. The change in ownership marked the surrender of the independence of the Graphic and other independent newspapers. The '_I‘_i_rr;e_§, which is also published in Accra, was established in 1958 by Nkrumah to challenge the dominance of the British-owned Graphic and to serve as the ideological mouthpiece of the CPP government of Nkrumah. The government and the party-controlled Guinea Press Limited provided the necessary funds for setting up the paper. In its first editorial, the Ii_rr;e_s stated its philosophy and function as follows: 88 Twumasi, op. cit., p. 7. 34 Our policy will be to support the government in power and wherever necessary we shall criticize it objectively. We believe unalterably that socialist policies of the CPP government are wisely and soundly conceived.89 Nkrumah appointed party functionaries as editors of the Eng; to promote his socialist ideology. Nkrumah's reign was characterized by an authoritarian approach to the press system. Completely rejecting private ownership of the press he argued that "if a newly independent nation is to consolidate its independence and develop in peace, it must of necessity resort to the use of methods of a totalitarian kind.”90 He passed a Newspaper Licensing Act in 1963 to ensure government con- trol of the Ghanaian press. This press law required newspaper publishers to obtain a license, renewable annually, from the ruling regime. Thus, by 1966, when Nkrumah’s CPP socialist government was overthrown by the military, the establishment of authoritarian press structures in Ghana was complete. The Graphig and Times were organized as government institutions and were placed under Board of Governors whose members were appointed by the government. This legacy has been passed on to successive Ghanaian regimes. Following Nkrumah’s overthrow in 1966, the NLC maintained the Graphic and Ii_m__e§ as state-owned press. It banned Nkrumah’s Evening NM but licensed the publication of a number of party newspapers includ- ing the Echo and the M for Busia’s Progress Party (PP) and the Evening Standard for K. A. Gbedemah’s National Alliance of Liberals (NAL). The regime promulgated a number of press laws to ensure control of the private and public press in Ghana. 89 Hachten, Mufflgj Drum5, op. cit., pp. 168-169. 90 See Twumasi, op. cit., p. 7. 35 For instance, under the ”Rumors Decree" of October 1966, the NLC circumscribed domestic news, even though it lifted censorship of news accounts sent to overseas from Ghana. Under the provisions of the decree, the military also chose to exercise control and protection of newspapers belonging to the State. The NLC in a subsequent decree of November 26, 1966, indicated that no one could sue the owners, publishers or editors of the government-owned newspapers for defamation without the authorization of the Attorney General, an appointee of the N LC government.91 The NLC’s policy in respect of the state-owned press followed a pattern created by Nkrumah’s administration. In other words, the press was to have no utility or purpose other than serving the needs and aspiration of the NLC government.“Z When the NLC left office in 1969, the military regime bequeathed the Busia administration with press institutions controlled by government. Busia made few changes in these institutions during his short rule in Ghana. Apart from making personal changes in the top management positions in the press institutions, the Busia administration did not interfere with the func- tioning of the press. The Busia administration was committed to liberalism as a political ideology and hence moved press policies in a libertarian direc- tion.93 Acheampong reestablished authoritarian press structures after he toppled Busia’s government. Acheampong had "the greatest admiration for 91 National Liberafion Council Decree (N.L.C.D 226) Accra: State Publishing Corporation, 1968. 92 Twumasi, ”Newspaper Press and Political Leadership, op. cit., pp. 7-8. 93 Yaw Twumasi, ”Media of Mass Communication and the Third Republican Constitution of Ghana,” African Affair5 80 (1981):18. 36 Nkrumah, his ideas, and policies and sought to model himself on him/'94 He relied heavily on some of Nkrumah’s lieutenants in his six-year control of the state-owned press. Acheampong’s authoritarian approach to the press in Ghana has been graphically described by Hachten: Soon after the NRC (Acheampong regime) assumed power in 1972, it issued a decree indemni- fying the government newspapers against libel suits which had been threatened by followers of Busia who felt they had been defamed by press attacks. Another NRC decree affecting the press was issued March 2, 1973, and involved licensing of news- papers. It empowered the Commissioner of Information to make regulations covering the issue, conditions and duration of newspaper licenses and prescribed the fees payable. Failure to comply meant suspension of the license and the publisher faced a fine and up to 12 months in jail. The chilling aspect is that NRC decrees are not sub- ject to judicial appeal. More ominous than the decrees are the arbitrary pressures against journal- ists: the informal warning, the interrogations, the detaining of journalists--these are usually enough to convince journalists to censor themselves.95 The overthrow of Acheampong’s regime in 1978 brought about a rela- tively liberal press system in Ghana. General Akuffo and his SMC 11 military regime consciously sought to reverse the authoritarian press policies of Acheampong. The Akuffo regime embarked on a policy of national reconcil- iation, a policy which involved the release of journalists and politicians detained by Acheampong during the campaign for ”Union Government," as well as the granting of amnesty to all Ghanaians who had gone into self- imposed exile. Akuffo’s approach to the press led to the resumption of 94 Twumasi, ”Newspaper Press and Political Leadership," 0p. cit., p. 8. 95 Hachten, Ghana’s Press Under the NRC,” op. cit., p. 461. 37 publication by independent papers such as The Believer The Star, The StatesmanI and The Legon Observer. It has been noted that the resumption of publication by these independent and stridently critical papers constituted a testimony to the fact that the tradition of a free press had a wide support in Ghana.96 When the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) led by Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings toppled Akuffo’s regime on June 4, 1979, one of the regime’s first acts was to repeal the press laws passed by the Acheampong regime. During the AFRC short rule the grip on the press was never let loose. For instance, the AFRC took steps to appoint Elizabeth Ohene as the new editor of the Graphic. The appointment was made immediately after Ohene, who was literary editor and columnist on the paper, had published a column strongly criticizing the executions carried out by the AFRC. Critics of the AFRC viewed the appointment as a mechanism by the regime to control the Graphic. In a reply to her appointment letter, Ohene said, ”she had long been opposed to arbitrary government interference of this sort in newspapers, and asked to be made acting editor only until things were more settled.”97 The Rawlings appointment of Ohene was also seen as an attempt to undermine the Third Republican Constitution. The new Constitution, pro- mulgated by the AFRC, insisted that a Press Commission should be respon- sible for choosing a governing body, which would in its turn be responsible for appointing an editor of the state-owned press. Thus, Rawlings and the AFRC regime had no authority to either appoint or dismiss the editors of the 96 Twumasi, ”Newspaper Press and Political Leadership,” 0p. cit., p. 11. 97 Wm Record (ACR). Volume 12, 1979-19780 (London: Africana Publishing Company), pp. B 502-503. 38 state-owned Graphic or M93 The AFRC revolt was not meant to restore constitutional government and free press. It was intended as a house cleaning operation that would erase all manifestation of corruption, profiteering, or malfeasance associated in any way with previous regimes. Thus, the AFRC regime took direct control of the press to help promote its objectives.99 When Hilla Limann assumed the mantle of office in September 1979, he took necessary measures to restore libertarian press structures in Ghana. He inaugurated the I2-member Press Commission on July 25, 1980, marking significant milestone in the history and development of the press in Ghana. Limann used the occasion to articulate his conception and belief in the liber- tarian ideas of the press in particular and free expression in general. He said: I shall, as the elected President of Ghana, be forever prepared to submit to the acid test of public judg- ment the claims of those who may think that they represent the public more than me or any other political leader. Bluff, snobbery and arrogance on all sides must now cease, so that the Press Commission can function in the way that it has been envisaged by those who have never had any personal axe to grind. I have long been one of the protagonists myself. Since the functions of the Press Commission have been clearly spelt out in the Constitution, I can do no more than reassure its members and our journalists that my government will respect, uphold and defend the Constitution and thus do everything in our power to help the Press Commission discharge its obligations, in the 98 lbid. 99 Chazan, op. cit. 100 Md thpa: Select Speeches of President HilliLimann (London: Rex Collings, 1983)] pp. 134-135. 39 overall interest of the public to which we are all to varying degrees accountable.100 The Commission consisted of one representative each of the Association of Recognized Professional Bodies, the Bar Association, the National Development Commission, the National Association of Teachers, the Universities of Ghana, the Ghana Association of Writers, the owners and proprietors of the private or independent press, the Christian Council and the National Catholic Secretariat, two representatives nominated by the Ghana Journalists’ Association, and two other members, including a woman.101 Limann enjoined the Commission to develop true independence by being financially independent. He said: In my view, no truly respected newspaper or jour- nal has ever subsisted on the taxpayer’s money. This is the deeper reason for my appeal through Parliament in my last Sessional Address, for ways and means to be found for ensuring a really free press in every sense of the term. Now that the Press Commission has been set up, I hope that its members will seriously and quickly direct their attention to this most vital point in the fulfillment of their role and functions. As you are all very well aware, the willful suppression of nationally impor- tant information in favor of distortions, can be harmful to a free press, particularly at the period of its early development when the reach of news- papers is still rather limited.102 During his tenure of office, Limann repeatedly committed himself to accepting the rule of law and the verdict of democracy in his approach to the press. The military seizure of power constituted a rejection of Limann's more liberal and democratic approach to the press, among other things. When ‘01 WW 19794980: 0P- C“- 102 Democragy and Ghana, op. cit. 4O Rawlings deposed Limann's democratically elected government, he not only abolished the 1979 Third Republican Constitution (and the Press Commission) but also urged the press to serve as the vanguard of the ”Holy War" and help direct the course of the December 31, 1981 revolution.103 Ghana’s press has struggled against adversity under the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) led by Rawlings. In 1982, the Rawlings regime dismissed the editor of the Graphic, George Aidoo; and the editor of the Mirror Addo Twum. Three other senior journalists were sent on indefi- nite leave; they included Elizabeth Ohene, who turned down Rawlings’ offer of appointment as editor of the Graphic in 1979, when Rawlings served as head of the AFRC military regime.104 The PNDC regime appointed Kojo Yankah, a graduate of the School of Journalism (now School of Communication Studies), University of Ghana, Legon, as the editor of the Graphic. The paper was renamed the People’s Daily Graphic ostensibly to remind the personnel and readers of this national daily newspaper that the Graphic belongs to the ”people” (the masses in Ghana) and must therefore be used to promote their interests and aspirations. It will be useful to find out the extent to which the change in name and editorship has influenced the editorial coverage of the Gm. It is important to note that the PNDC regime funded the Giggle and Times to the tune of $7.3 million during the 1983 and 1984 fiscal year. However, the state-owned and private press continued to function under economic as well as political constraints. Speaking late in 1983, the PNDC Secretary for Information, Joyce Aryee said: 103 See W January 5, 1982, p. 1. 104 Afri a ontem ra Record ACR Volume 14, 1981-1982 (London: Africana Publishing Company), p. B 422. 41 I don’t see the press as lying outside the political institutions that we have. This is where I feel that people ought to realize that the press differs from country to country. In a situation like ours, where we need to conscientize people, and where we have an illiteracy problem, you use institutions like the press to do the conscientization.105 Following a coup attempt in June 1983, the PN DC regime detained the owner, editor and a reporter of the Free Press which represented the sole voice of dissent in Ghana’s print media. Commenting on the detentions, the Information Secretary, Joyce Aryee said, they had nothing to do directly with what they wrote but that it was part of a larger issue of systematic destabilization program that seemed to be around. She said it may have been reflected in what they wrote, but she would rather see this as a coincidence. Workers supporting the PN DC regime occupied the premises of Tommark Advertising, publishers of the Free Press and called for the independent paper to be turned into ”a people’s press to print people’s news."106 Kojo Yankah, the PNDC-appointed editor of the Graphic was suspended later in 1983 following publication of a front page story describing a con- versation between a member of the PNDC, Amartey Kwei, and Chairman of the PNDC, Flt. Lt. Rawlings, minutes before Kwei was executed for his part in the murder of three Ghanaian Judges. The £11135 supported the govern- ment’s suspension of Kojo Yankah. Commenting on the publication, the Times noted that the ”Graphic’s insensitive front page scoop had made the Head of State’s talk look like a A R Volume 16, 1983-1984, (London: Africana Publishing Company), pp. B 436-437. The owner of the Free Press Tommy Thompson, was released after suffering a stroke requiring hospitalization. The editor, John Kugblenu, and a reporter Mike Adjei were not released until June 1984. Kugblenu died soon after his release from prison. 42 device to vindicate the regime, when Rawlings’ real concern was that even if his comrade had lied in his attempt to save himself, he would at least die with the truth on his lips.”107 Since the PNDC took over power in Ghana in 1981, it has employed several economic and legal means to impose authoritarian methods of press control in Ghana. As a result of the authoritarian methods of control, the state-owned newspapers play the role of a handmaiden for the government. It is important to note that the circulation of the Graphic has decreased whereas that of the I_i_r_r_i_e_s_has increased. In 1975, the circulation of the Graphic was 180,000. The ling had a circulation of about 100,000. The current circulation of the Graphic is estimated at 105,000, and that of the Times is estimated at 140,000.108 The difference in circulation figures may be attributed to government policies in the allocation of newsprints to these competing state-owned mass circulation daily newspaper. The foregoing discussion shows that the press in Ghana is circumscribed and limited by the social, political, and economic conditions of the country. It also shows that past and present civilian and military regimes in Ghana differ in terms of political ideology and in their methods of press control. The next chapter reviews the literature. The review is limited to past and present studies that are related to the main objectives of the present investigation. 107 See fri n m rar R or A R Volume 16, 1983-1984, (London: Africana Publishing Company), pp. B 436-B 437. 108 Twumasi, "Newspapers and Political Leadership," op. cit., pp.12-13. CHAPTER V LITERATURE REVIEW W A review of the research literature on the performance of the state- owned press in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa failed to reveal a single study strictly comparable to the present investigation. The author was unable to find any content-analytic studies on how differences in civilian and military regime types and styles of press control influence the editorial coverage of Ghana's state-owned press. However, several non content-analytic studies describing press-government relations in Ghana and the functioning of the press under civilian and military regimes (past and present) point to authoritarian methods of press control under the rule of the one-party socialist civilian government of Nkrumah and under the military rule of Acheampong and Rawlings. The functioning of the Ghanaian press under the civilian administrations of Busia and Limann is conceptualized in terms of libertarian methods of press control.109 For instance, Twumasi's study of the relationship between the press and political leadership in Ghana from 1964 to 1978 contends that "the authoritar- ian model of press control has remained relatively intact despite two brief interludes in 1966-69 and 1969-72."110 He observes that the practice of author- itarian methods of press control was introduced by Nkrumah, Ghana's first Head of State. Twumasi notes: 109 See Twumasi, ”Newspapers and Political Leadership,” 0p. cit., pp. 6-14 passim. 110 Ibid. 43 44 Nkrumah had a grand design to construct Ghanaian society on the basis of a socialist ideology. The imposition of an authoritarian press system was logically required by this grand ideological vision. Under the totalitarian rule of Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah and the military dicta- torship of Kutu Acheampong, Ghana had an authoritarian press system. But during colonial rule and under the democratic rule of Kofi Busia and, even under the paternalism of the NLC military regime of Akwasi Afrifa, and the SMC 11 military regime of Fred Akuffo, Ghana had a relatively free press.111 Twumasi maintains that while "civilian control of the press is ideologi- cal, the control of the press by the military is a practical one. The military regime has to rely on the press to reach the people since a military ruler lacks effective political organization for communicating with the masses."112 He maintains that the establishment of authoritarian press systems ”is justified by Ghanaian and African political leaders and their academic and liberal apologists on the grounds that such press systems are needed to tackle the urgent tasks of development."113 The author asserts that "no serious attempts have been made by Ghanaian governments to use the press to bring the mass of the people within the mainstream of economic activity."114 He observes that "in countries such as Ghana where overwhelming importance is attached to politics, power and authority, little attention is given to economic (developmental) journalism."115 Twumasi asserts: The Ghanaian press is urban-based press-~with structural limitations--whatever information per- colates into the rural area via the press is for the 111 lbid. 112 lbid. "3 lbid. "4 lbid. “5 lbid. 45 most part urban-oriented and is filtered through interpreters in the rural areas. Thus, the rural dweller in Ghana receives incomplete and often outdated and garbled press information from out- side whose relevance moreover is not readily perceived, since it is not reported within rural dwellers' frame of reference and scale of values.116 Twumasi contends that ”scant attention is given to the subjective role of political leadership in the evolution of free press systems.”117 He submits that "the social pre-conditions for a free press and for economic journalism may not exist in Ghana, but the role that human and political agencies play in the evolution of press systems needs to be stressed."118 He notes that demo- graphic factors such as ”income, occupation, education and urbanization may constitute structural constraints on the press in Ghana, but within these con- straints, political leaders have options as well as enough elbow room in facili- tating or hindering the evolution of free press.”119 Hachten’s study of the role of the Ghana's state-owned Graphic and limp under the NRC military regime of Acheampong between 1972 and 1973, postulates that "there is a basic authoritarian model of mass communi- cation in Africa, and that this pattern of press control is exemplified by the role of the press in Ghana under the NRC regime of Acheampong."120 Hachten maintains: Mass communication in Ghana, as in much of black Africa, shows striking similarities with Communist media systems even though there are no out-and-out Communist governments in Africa. It's more a matter of a neo-communist pat- tern of controls without Communist ideology. "6 Ibid. "7 Ibid. "3 Ibid. 119 Ibid. ‘20 Hachten, "Ghana's Press Under the NRC," op. cit., p. 459-464 passim. 46 Moreover, African governments are too fragile, inefficient and ineffective to be really totalitarian. But the authoritarian pattern is unmistakable.121 Hachten argues that the authoritarian pattern cannot be mistaken because "there is near complete government control of all instruments of mass communication and lack of independence and direct criticism of the leadership."122 He notes that "in addition to being conceptualized in an authoritarian pattern with some residual liberal elements, the press of Ghana may be looked at in terms of functional analysis."123 In discussing the mani- fest functions or the intended consequences of the state-owned press in Ghana. Hachten notes: The state-owned newspapers do provide a daily outlet for government policies and personalities. Readers know who is in charge and what he is saying, and this is not unimportant. The main problem, as in any controlled press, is that Acheampong and the NRC suffer from what seems to some as an overexposure and this induces boredom, avoidance and even ridicule among more sophisticated readers. To the extent that this occurs, this spokesman role is a latent dysfunc- tion.124 Hachten notes that in addition to serving as a spokesman for the NRC military regime, the state-owned press serves as "a publicizer of great cam- paigns and an advocate of consensus and unity."125 The author points out that the state-owned press in Ghana performs a number of latent or unin- tended functions, namely, "reading matter for new literates; limited forum for discussion of public affairs; agenda-making function; bulletin board for the 121 lbid. 122 Ibid. 123 Ibid. 124 Ibid. 125 Ibid. 47 modern sector and exposer of the hypocrisies and inconsistences in Ghanaian public life."126 It is worthy of note that the studies by Twumasi and Hachten do not con- tent-analyze the state-owned press to determine what the press does or fails to do during a period of civilian or military rule. Twumasi admits that his study and ”the few detailed studies of the content of the newspaper press in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa are general/427 Hachten also notes that his study is based on a ”year's close attention to the Ghanaian media.”128 No attempt is made by Hachten and Twumasi to systematically test the validity of the assumptions underlying their studies. However, Hachten contends that the "Ghanaian press as an African communication prototype, may be ana- lyzed in terms of the following theoretical framework: "1) Basic authoritarian pattern of mass communication; 2) Manifest or intended functions of the press; 3) Latent or unintended functions of the press; 4) What the press fails to do; and 5) What the press could do."129 Smith has examined the role of the press under the rule of the civilian regimes of Nkrumah and Busia and the military regime of Afrifa. He content-analyzed editorials of the Times from 1962 to 1970. This period covers the last four years of Nkrumah from January 1962 until the military coup of February 1966; the NLC military regime of Afrifa from February 1966 until the elections of August 1969; and the first five months of the democrati- cally elected government of Busia from August 1969 to December 1970. Smith conceptualized the press systems under these three successive regimes as follows-the "strict authoritarianism of Nkrumah, the paternalistic 126 Ibid. 127 lbid. 123 Hachten, ”Ghana’s Press Under the NRC," op. cit. 129 lbid. 48 authoritarianism of the NLC, and the more libertarian approach of Busia's administration."130 Based on this theoretical framework, the author "hypothesized that these different theories of press control will result in emphasis on power by each administration, and that these differential concerns for power can be found in the editorial content of the government press."131 The results of the study confirmed this hypothesis. The content analysis of the Type; editorials reflected significant differences in the concern for power and press control among the three regimes. Smith found that the one-party socialist regime of Nkrumah was more concerned with general power considerations and control of the press than the military government of Afrifa."132 Press control increased with the Afrifa military regime and then declined with Busia's multi-party civilian regime of Busia."133 Smith found that the one-party socialist regime of Nkrumah and the military regime of Afrifa did not differ significantly in their emphasis on power and control of the press. He found that the legally constituted government of Busia was least concerned with power and control of the press. He notes that the military regime of Afrifa "represented a transitional period in Ghana from the authoritarianism of Nkrumah to the libertarianism of Busia's civilian government."134 Smith notes that during this period, the NLC continued to emphasize power, but the shift in emphasis was from conflict to a concern for participa- tion in the political process of Ghana. Smith further explains that "the transi- tion in value emphases made it possible for an elected administration such as 130 Smith op. cit., pp.679-683 passim. 131 Ibid. 132 lbid. 133 Ibid 134 lbid. 49 Busia's government to de-emphasize constraints on the press, and to promote libertarian principles for the functioning of the press in Ghana."135 Based on these findings, Smith concludes that "in Ghana, the values and ideologies of the governing elite are communicated through the government-controlled press and that content analysis of the press can provide insights into the values emphasized by the elites."136 Dumor has also examined the role of the state-owned press under the rule of Nkrumah, Afrifa and Busia. The study which sought to evaluate the articulated agricultural and industrial policies of the three regimes was limited to a content analysis of a small sample of twenty-one Graphig and Ii_rr_le5 editorials covering the period of 1966 to 1972. A panel was used to determine whether the selected editorials were for or against the stated government policy in agricultural and industrial development. Dumor hypothesized that "government control of the press in Ghana is not directly related to the degree of freedom of the press in Ghana; and that the explicative function of the editorials is directly related to the role that the government expected the press to play in providing explanation of govern- ment."137 The data confirmed the hypothesis. The study showed that on the average, 70 percent of the Graphic and Time; editorials were "somewhat critical, that is, the editorials stated government policy disagreed with parts of it and provided alternative policies and implementation strategies; 20 percent of the Graphic and Ii_m_e_5 editorials were supportive, that is, the editorials stated government policy and fully 135 lbid. Smith defines power in terms of authoritative participation--the individual and collective actors in the power process who can enforce authoritative decisions. Conflict—refers to the pursuit of power through the use of violence. (see page 683). 136 Ibid. 137 Cecilia J. Dumor, "Editorial Comment and Economic Development in Ghana, 1960-1972." (M.A. Thesis, Michigan State Univeristy, East Lansing, 1979), pp. 1-23 passim. 50 supported it; and 10 percent of the Graphic and Times editorials were critical, that is, the editorials stated government policy and were openly in disagreement without providing an alternative measure."138 Based on this limited evidence, Dumor concluded that the Graphic and limes; editorials "exercised their functions of constructive criticism-a form of criticism which is a reflection of the basic values of Ghanaian society—that is, the linguist who had a role analogous to that of the modern press was con- trolled by the traditional chief as head of the community and though the linguist criticized the chief, he was expected to do this within the bounds of decorum."139 Dumor suggests that "there is a need to study press institutions in their own right rather than apply theories of freedom of the press that are grounded in societies that have entirely different values, different historical experiences and development problems."140 Zeff has also examined the role of the state-owned press under the successive governments of Nkrumah, Afrifa and Busia. The author analyzed editorials appearing in the state-owned Ggphic for a 12-year period from 1964 to 1976 to determine among other things whether "Ghanaian government policy statements of intentions and goals as they are articulated in press edito- rials can indicate differences between military and civilian regime types and between pre-coup and post coup regimes."141 133 lbid. 139 Ibid. 140 lbid. “1 Eleanor E. Zeff, "The Ghanaian Press as a Translator of Public Policy," mm Mg, Vol. 10, No. 2, Summer 1982, pp. 50-65 passim. 51 Zeff notes that "the articulated policy goals and intentions are the first step in the process of policy formation, and that they are also useful indicators of the direction which a regime would like to go if it were at all possible."142 She argues that "contrary to past opinion, a government's declaration of policy goals is an important source of information about that government, and given favorable conditions in a country, one can predict possible policy orientations and government actions based on the original articulated goals. In the short run and because most African governments do not last long, and do not have many favorable conditions, one can still differentiate between various regimes in terms of what policies are articulated by the different and also in the way in which these policies are communicated to the masses."143 Zeff further maintains that "government-controlled newspapers (such as the Graphig and my, and in particular newspaper editorials, are valid sources and interpreters of government policies, because they act as middle-men or mediators, interpreting and translating the actual statements of government policies so that they are most understandable for the masses."144 On the basis of these assumptions, Zeff hypothesized that "in the same country, there will be differences between the articulated policies of a civilian government and the articulated policies of a military government; and that the articulated policies of a civilian government which has not had a military coup will differ from the articulated policies of both civilian and military post-coup governments."145 The findings substantiated the differences that Zeff had expected to see between military and civilian regimes and between pre-coup and post-coup governments in Ghana. She found that these 142 lbid. 143 Ibid. 144 lbid. 145 lbid. 52 differences were articulated in the Graphic editorials examined in the study. The editorials, according to Zeff, revealed that "military regimes were more interested than civilian regimes in a highly structured orientation which emphasizes individual participation and in specific economic programs involving the promotion of agriculture and the balancing of the national debt."145 She observed that "individual citizen rights and specific economic goals were stressed by the military regimes of Afrifa and Acheampong to counter opposition and to gain legitimacy."147 Zeff reported that "civilian regimes placed greater emphasis on social development issues of health care and communication (between themselves and the people) than the military governments."148 He states: The newspaper (Graphic) editorials reveal the civil- ian regimes to be more interested in their place in the world vis-a-vis other countries, and to exhibit loftier and less concrete goals than their military counterparts. The military regimes, on the other hand, appeared less visionary and more concerned with practical projects as economic recovery.149 The study also showed that "precoup governments were less concerned with military matters and more with regional political affairs (Pan-African affairs) than are post-coup governments."150 Zeff points out that "after a coup, a regime feels the need to turn inward and to pay careful attention to its military establishment."151 She notes that the "the military regimes stressed 146 lbid. 147 Ibid. 143 Ibid. 149 Ibid. 150 Ibid. 151 lbid. 53 military matters the most, but even the post-coup civilian governments stressed military matters more than did pre-coup civilian regimes."152 The studies by Smith, Dumor and Zeff constitute relevant context to the main concerns of the present study. The studies have demonstrated that some of the issues as well as the theoretical and methodological areas to be examined in the present investigation are familiar to mass communication research in Ghana. The studies have also shown that techniques of content analysis can be employed to examine some of the issues underlying this investigation. However, the present investigation is different from the above studies because it examines regimes, newspapers and several content categories which the studies by Smith et al. failed to explore. W Boafo's 1985 study of Ghana's press under the ruling Provisional National Defense Council military regime of Rawlings also examined press- government relations and press function in Ghana in terms of the authoritar- ian theory or concept of the pressls3 . Boafo contends that the authoritarian press model or its present-day developmental variation forms the basis of press systems in Ghana and most African societies. He submits: In the name of harnessing the press for national development, authoritarian structures have been imposed in most black African countries. Authoritarian restraints underlie the PNDC regime's relations with the Ghanaian press. The press in Ghana has been bedeviled by political instability. The press has undergone the strict authoritarianism of Nkrumah and Acheampong, the paternalistic authoritarianism of Afrifa, and the more libertarian style of Busia and and particularly Limann. What is most noticeable about 152 Ibid. 153 Boafo, op. cit. 54 government-press relations in post-independence Ghana is the consistency of efforts by most of the governments to subject the press under their control.156 He maintains that ”the authoritarian press structures that Ghana witnessed during the Nkrumah era and under Acheampong have been effec- tively restored under the ruling PNDC military regime of Rawlings because of the introduction of different forms of overt, covert and crude press control mechanisms to emasculate the Ghanaian press. These methods of press control include government appointment to and instant dismissal from the editorial chain and top management of the state-owned press, physical harassment and intimidation of journalists and censorship.”157 Boafo argues that the Ghanaian press lacks the capacity to provide coverage of events and opinions which are not favorable or supportive of government. He notes: After experiencing considerable latitude of freedom under the constitutional democratically-elected government of Limann which sought to shift press policies in a libertarian direction, the continued functioning of Ghana's press has come more and more to depend on its co-operation and partnership with the Rawlings regime whose press policies are rooted in the authoritarian concept.158 He adds: The news columns of the newspaper press are filled with reports of government programs, policies, promises and speeches of government officials. Also given prominent coverage are rhetorical mes- sages from revolutionary leaders and information about the activities of various organs established by the government. Very little critical analysis and investigative reports are given of how government 155 Boafo, Op. cit., p. 76. 157 lbid., pp. 76-79 passim. 158 lbid. 55 performance measures up with government promises.159 According to Boafo, "adverse comments on government policies and programs are avoided and the press responds sharply to individuals and groups who voice different and critical opinions with such invectives as reactionaries, forces of oppression and exploitation, and self-seeking privileged classes. The author also claims that the press functions as the ideological mouthpiece of (the PNDC government."160 He notes: In the first year of the (Rawlings) Revolution, the press carried out editorial campaigns against transnational corporations and their local cohorts who were accused of responsibility for the ills in Ghana. These campaigns which reflected the ideological stance of the military leaders were sustained until early 1983 when the worsening economic crisis in the country coupled with unful- filled hopes of assistance from the Soviet block compelled the government to turn to the International Monetary Fund and Western donor countries. When the government accepted IMF terms and imposed austere economic recovery pro- gram on the country, the editorial campaigns against the West suddenly disappeared as the press attempted to justify the government turn- around.161 Boafo observes that "the press in Ghana appears to be in the full grip of the Rawlings military government which may decide to either squeeze tighter or ease the pressure and that the direction the grip may go depends on how the present leadership regards monolithic conformity and uniformity of thinking as the path to national development and political stability in Ghana."162 He notes that "the direction depends on how long the ruling 159 Ibid. 160 Ibid. 161 lbid. 162 lbid. 56 PNDC military regime of Rawlings regards consensus and standardization as the only politically and socially desirable goals for the Ghanaian press."163 The Boafo study constitutes close precedent to the present investigation. The study demonstrates the applicability of the libertarian and authoritarian theories of the press to Ghana. It provides an instructive description of the performance of the press under the ruling PNDC regime of Rawlings, a regime which the study assumes subscribes to an authoritarian press concept. However, the study is different from the present investigation because performance of the press is not based on a content analysis of the state-owned press. The study does not systematically analyse the content of the state- owned press under the civilian rule of Limann, a regime which the study assumes sanctions a libertarian press concept. No attempt is made to deter- mine how the content of state-owned press editorials published under the civilian regime of Limann compares with the content of state-owned press editorials published under the military regime of Rawlings. The present study sought to alleviate these shortcomings. The next chapter provides the specific research questions and hypotheses of the study. 163 lbid., pp. 79-80. CHAPTER VI RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES Reseamhfluestinns Based on the assumptions and findings of previous studies examined above, the study sought to examine how the content of editorials of the Graphic and Lim_e5 published during the civilian rule of Limann compare with the content of editorials of the Graphic and lime; published under the military regime of Rawlings. Even though this investigation may not provide definitive answers to the questions underlying this study, it is hoped that it will be a noteworthy contribution to the rather inadequate empirical research studies on the editorial content of the state-owned press in Ghana. The evidence in the present investigation may provide considerable insight into regime differences--differences between military and civilian regime types and their methods of press control. This is important because regime differences and differences in methods of press control may have far- reaching implications for the growth and development of press systems in Ghana and Africa. In addition, the findings of the study may lead to a more adequate understanding and knowledge of the content of the state-owned press. It is hoped that the evidence in this study may serve as a yardstick for editors and critics of the state-owned newspapers in assessing how well Graphic and 11m editorials cover societal problems and progress. 57 58 The specific research questions are: 1. What topics do the state-owned Graphic and Limgg present to their readers through their editorials? 2. How does the content of editorials of the state-owned press published under the civilian regime of Limann compare with the content of editorials of the state-owned press published under the military regime of Rawlings? 3. Is there a statistically significant difference between the content of editorials of the state-owned press published under the civilian regime of Limann and the content of editorials of the state-owned press published under the military regime of Rawlings? The content categories to be examined in the present study include the independent variables: regime types, editor types and newspaper types and the following dependent variables: topics, function, focus, tone, sources, context, origin, purpose, direction and judgment. These categories were included in the present investigation not only to allow the researcher to compare findings in previous studies but also to answer the above questions, test the hypotheses underlying the study and determine what the state-owned press does or fails to do during a period of civilian and millitary rule. This is perhaps the first time that these categories have been systematically examined in the Ghanaian context. This is important to build press theory and develop appropriate content analysis techniques for research in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. W Four closely related assumptions seem to be well-established in the press theories, and the literature examined in this study. First, that the state-owned press in Ghana has functioned under two divergent press models: a) the 59 developmental (libertarian-tending) model of Limann's civilian regime; and b) the developmental (authoritarian-tending) model of the military regime of Rawlings.164 Second, that Limann and Rawlings differ in terms of political ideology and leadership.165 Third, that state ownership of the press restricts press content and freedom.165 Fourth, that the state-owned Graphic and 113155 do not differ in terms of content since both daily newspapers are owned and operated by the government.167 The theoretical hypothesis of the present investigation was formulated on the basis of the above assumptions. It was theoretically hypothesized that the different theories of the press sanctioned by each regime and the different political ideologies that each regime professes would result in significant differences in the content categories of editorials of the Graphic and m published under the civilian regime of Limann and those published under the military regime of Rawlings. 164 See Picard, op. cit. Scholars such as Hachten, Dumor, and Zeff agree that Ghanaian civilian and military regimes alike recognize the power of the press in society and have tried in various ways to assign to the press a developmental function. 165 See discussion on the political background of Ghana. Also, see John Kraus, ”Rawlings’ Second Coming,” Afrigg Rgppgt, March-April 1982, pp. 63-64. Kraus notes: ”Limann lacked a clearly articulated political ideology. He lacked charisma or the ability to hold and electrify an audience. He had limited political experience. He was orderly, methodological, slow, and apparently undynamic in trying to rebuild the capabilities of Ghana’s public institutions, whose qualities of debility, incompetence, lethargy, and resource scarcity were apparent to all Ghanaians.” Rawlings, in contrast, was ”charismatic, exhortative, impatient with insti- tutional incompetence, and antagonistic to Ghana’s lawyers, professionals, managers, and merchants who profited while others suffered. He possesses an apparently genuine populist faith in ability of Ghana’s classes to overcome Ghana's degeneration and make the economy work. He speaks regularly of the need of Ghana’s youth, skilled students, workers, police, and soldiers to mobilize themselves for the December 1981 revolution, although he continues to identify overwhelmingly with the military.” 166 Press freedom is indicated by criticism or public debate of Ghana’s policies or leaders—a condition fostered by the absence of governmental restraints and private ownership. 167 See Dumor, op. cit. Scholars often limit their analysis to one of the two state-owned newspapers because of this assumption. Also, scholars make this assumption without a comparative content analysis of the two state-owned daily newspapers. 60 It must be emphasized that the present study was guided more by the preceding study objectives and research questions than by specific research hypotheses, which normally must be grounded firmly in theory derived from previous studies. However, the theoretical perspectives and the assumptions underlying previous studies of press-government relationships in Ghana suggested the following specific hypotheses, each of which was tested in the present investigation. These specific hypotheses and their rationale were formulated as follows: Hmtlmiali Editorials of the M and 11% published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more often on economic topics than editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the civilian regime of Limann. This hypotheses assumes that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more the state-owned press will emphasize economic over political and cultural topics. This hypothesis is based on evidence in previous studies that suggests that under military rule, the state-owned press tends to stress economic topics over political and other topics to counter opposition groups and to legitimize the ruling military regime.168 This hypothesis also seeks to verify the validity of the assumption in previous studies that the state-owned press fails to provide adequate economic information to readers of the state-owned press.169 168 See Zeff, op. cit. 169 See Hachten, ”Ghana's Press Under the NRC," 0p. cit., and Twumasi, ”The Newspaper Press and Political Leadership,” op. cit. 61 W11: Editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the military regime of Rawlings will focus more often on issues than editorials of the Graphic and Iime5 published under the civilian rule of Limann. This hypotheses assumes that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more the state-owned press editorials will emphasize "issue-oriented" over ”people-oriented" editorials. It is argued that military regimes expect the press to publish ”issue-oriented” editorials because it is through this type of editorials that military regimes are able to promote their political ideology and establish their legitimacy in the Ghanaian society. The hypothesis is also intended to test the validity of Twumasi’s assertion that the state-owned press in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa is consciously used by political leaders and groups for building personality cults and for underwriting the privileged status of urban-based groups, including military elites.170 This hypothesis is also intended to determine whether Graphic emphasizes ”people-oriented” over ”issue-oriented” editorials as a result of the change of name from My M to ”Peoples" Daily Graphic. WILL: Editorials of the Graphic and 11mg published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more often on argumentative or persuasive con- tent than editorials of the Graphic and m published under the civilian regime of Limann. This hypothesis assumes that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more 170 Twumasi, ”The Newspaper Press and Political Leadership,” 0p. cit. 62 the state-owned Graphic and Times will emphasize argumentative or persua- sive editorials over informative editorials in their coverage. The hypothesis seeks to test the validity of the assumption in previous studies that under military rule Ghana’s press functions as an instrument of exhortation or persuasion."1 For instance, several researchers have asserted that the state- owned press constantly exhorts the Ghanaian people to support ruling military regimes and revolutions, including the Rawlings ”Revolution” in Ghana."2 This hypothesis is also predicated upon the assumption that the state-owned press in Ghana is an indispensable political institution, and, therefore, has powerful vested interest in maintaining political stability. This study contends that under a militiary rule, it is through argumentative or persuasive editorials that the state-owned newspapers can achieve political stability. W Editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the military regime of Rawlings will be more sychophantic in tone than editorials of the Graphic and 11.9.9.5. published under the civilian regime of Limann. This hypothesis assumes that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more the state-owned press will emphasize sychophantic over non-sychophantic editorial content. The hypothesis is intendend to test the validity of the proposition in previous studies that under military rule, the state-owned press in Ghana tends to be abusive, irresponsible and sychophantic in tone.173 For instance, Boafo claims that under the military regime of 171 See Hachten, ”Ghana' 5 Press Under the NRC, ” op. cit. See also Boafo, op. cit, and Shaw and Bishop, op. cit. 172 See Hachten, ”Ghana' 5 Press Under the NRC,” op. cit, and Boafo, 0? Cit 173 See Twumasi, "The Newspaper Press and Political Leadership,” op. cit 63 Rawlings the state-owned press in Ghana has become ”insipid and spineless newsheets proclaiming the virtues of the PNDC military government.”174 Rawlings has also observed that ”some Ghanaian journalists still produce the sort of bland, non-controversial, sychophantic material that was formerly the order of the day. Their aim seems to be to please authority, or, at least, not to offend it. In the process, they neither interest nor educate their readers/’175 If the above notion concerning the tone of the state-owned press is valid, it is expected that under the military regime of Rawlings, there will be increasing attention to sychophantic editorials. ‘ 11mm Editorials of the Graphic and 1m published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more on government sources than editorials of the Graphic and m published under the civilian regime of Limann. This hypothesis assumes that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more the state-owned press will emphasize government sources over non- government sources. This hypothesis seeks to determine the validity of the assumption in previous studies that under military rule and authoritarian- tending press structures, government sources are more accessible to the government-appointed editors. The Rawlings regime expects editors to use government sources to provide the type of information and points of view most attractive to the ruling PN DC military government. It is through the use of government sources that the editors can help propagate the aims of the December 31 Revolution.”6 Shoemaker has also noted that the more the ‘74 Boafo, op. cit. 175 See Africa News, September 19, 1988, p. 7. 176 See Boafo, op. cit., Hachten, ”Ghana’s Press Under the NRC,” op. cit.. 64 press is financed by official sources, the more its content will reflect govern- ment and institutional sources. She contends that fewer ”special interest groups” or non-government sources will be cited.177 If the above assertions are valid, it is expected that under the military regime of Rawlings, Ghanaian press editorials will rely more on government sources than non-government sources. WM: Editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more often on local and national issues and events than editorials of the Graphic and _Ti_me_s_ published under the civilian regime of Limann. This hypothesis assumes that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more the state-owned Graphic and T_ir_n_e§ will emphasize editorials dealing with issues and events at home over editorials involving issues and events over- seas. Findings in previous studies lend support to this proposition. Shaw and Bishop, for instance, found that the more a society is subject to political instability (military coup d’etat), the more press editorials emphasize national issues and events over international affairs.”8 The researchers maintain that for most societies, as in most families, the most pressing problems often start from the home society (local and national arena). If the above supposition is valid, it is expected that under the military regime of Rawlings, there will be found an increasing attention to issues and events involving Ghana. 177 Pamela J. Shoemaker, ”Building a Theory of'News Content: A Synthesis of Current Approaches,” lournalism Monographs, Number 103, June 1987, p. 24 178 Shaw and Bishop, op. cit. 65 W: Editorials of the M and m published under the military regime of Rawlings will focus more on praise (in terms of direction or judgment of issues and events) than editorials of the Graphic and M5 published under the civilian regime of Limann. This hypothesis assumes that the more Ghana's developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more the state-owned Graphic and Times will emphasize praise over criticism in their coverage. This hypothesis is intended to determine the validity of the notion in previous studies that under military rule, the state-owned press fails to print direct criticism of the ruling regime. It is argued that during military rule, the state-owned press fails to perform adversary functions—it serves the people not through criticism of the regime but by fostering positive or favorable opinion towards the activities of the regime in power. Several researchers have also claimed that editors (in the press system of the Rawlings military regime) have to conform to this type of press coverage for fear of instant dismissal. Rawlings has noted that editors fail to criticize because of fear of getting into trouble with the ruling regime.”9 If these assertions are valid, it is expected that under the military regime of Rawlings, there will be found increasing attention to editorials that are supportive of government in the Graphic and m. The next chapter describes the methodology used in collecting data to help answer the research questions as well test the hypotheses underlying the present investigation. 179 According to Rawlings, when he criticizes the press there are two types of reactions: ”One is nervousness that members of the press are going to get into trouble for doing something wrong; the other is indignation at being dictated to.” See Africa Ngw5, op. cit., p. 7. CHAPTER VII METHODOLOGY W3 Content analysis was employed in this investigation. The evidence in previous studies indicates that content analysis research design can help answer the questions posed by this study.180 A careful appraisal of the cur- rent literature on techniques of content analysis suggests that the major con- cern of content analysis is the drawing of inferences. Krippendorff, for instance, defines content analysis as ”a research technique for making repli- cate and valid inferences from data to their context.”181 He points out that ”like all research techniques the purpose of content analysis is to provide knowledge, new insights, a representation of facts, and a practical guide to action.”182 Weber also refers to content analysis as a ”research methodology that utilizes a set of procedures to make valid inferences from textuabout the sender(s) of message, the message itself, or the audience of the message message."183 180 See Smith, op. cit., also see Zeff, op. cit., Stempel, op. cit., Nwankwo, 0p. cit., Pool et al, op. cit., Windhauser et al, op. cit., and Deutschmann, op. cit. 181 Klaus Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology (Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publications Inc., 1980), pp. 21-24 passim. 182lbicl. 183 Robert Philip Weber, Basic Content Analysis (Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publi- cations, Inc., 1985), p. 9. 66 67 According to Krippendorff, the best content analytic studies utilize both the qualitative and quantitative techniques.184 He observes that manifest as well as latent contents are important features of content analysis. He notes that these requirements demand that coding of data in content analysis must be intersubjectively verifiable and reliable. He further points out that content analysis is a ”unique technique of social research because it is nonreactive or unobtrusive, that is, there is little danger that the act of measurement itself will act as a force for change that confounds the data/435 However, Cartwright notes that ”the value of a content analysis (as a research design) depends not only upon the quality of the apriori conceptualization, but also upon the adequacy with which this conceptualization gets translated into variables of the analysis outline.”186 The design of the present study was guided by content analysis tech- niques of the researchers cited in the preceding discussion. The study exam- ined the manifest content of the Graphic and Times editorials using the ”objective, systematic and quantitative approach.”187 Where necessary, the 184 lbid. Quantitative means the recording of numerical values or the frequencies with which the various types occur. Qualitative means recording content categories on the basis of nonfrequency techniques. For detailed discussion, see Alexander L. George, ”Quantitative and Qualitative Approach to Content Analysis," in lthiel de Sola Pool, ed. Trends in Contgnt Analy5is (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1959), pp. 7-32. 185 Krippendorff, op. cit., p. 29. Manifest content refers to the apparent content or surface meaning of the text. It suggests that content must be coded as it appears rather than as the content analyst feels it is intended. Latent content means the deeper layers of meaning embedded in the text. It involves reading between the lines. 186 Dorwin P. Cartwright, ”Analysis of Qualitative Material," in Leon Festinger and Daniel Katz, eds., Research Methods in Beh_avior Sciences (New York: The Dryden Press, 1953), p. 488. 187 Objectivity stipulates that each step in the research process must be carried out on the basis of explicitly formulated rules and procedures. This is achieved by having categories of analysis defined so precisely that different persons can apply the categories to the same content and get the same result. Systematic means that the inclusion and exclusion of content categories is done according to consistently applied rules. See Guido H. Stempel III, ”Content Analysis,” in Guido H. Stempel III and Bruce H. Westley, eds. Research Methods in Mass mmuni ati n (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981), pp.119-143 passim. Also see Ole R. Holsti, 0p. cit., pp. 4-5. 68 qualitative or nonfrequency techniques were employed to examine the latent content of editorials of the M and I‘M to put the study into proper perspective. W The sampling in this study was confined to editorials appearing in the Graphic and Times from 1980 to 1983 to help achieve the main objectives of this study. To ensure that the sample includes an adequate number of Graphic and Times editorials for each regime period or publication year, the study employed stratified random sampling technique in selecting the sample.188 In this case, the population of the Graphic and Times was strati- fied by each regime period or publication year. Random sampling was carried out in each subpopulation or stratum (using a table of random numbers) so that the resulting sample reflects a priori distinctions known to exist within the population.189 After drawing the sample, the units selected was put together to derive the sample size of 500 for the present investigation. See Table 2 below. Graphic Jan. 1, 1980 to Dec. 31, 1981 125 Times Jan. 1, 1980 to Dec. 31, 1981 125 Graphic Jan. 1, 1982 to Dec. 31, 1983 125 Times Jan. 1, 1982 to Dec. 31, 1983 125 TOTAL 500 188 See William G. Cochran, Sampling Techniques, Third Edition, (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1977), pp. 89-114. 189 See Krippendorff, op. cit., pp. 65-69; Budd et al., op. cit., pp. 21-23. 69 The above sampling scheme provided adequate cell sizes for each regime period or publication year to be examined. The number of editorials gener- ated by the scheme was large enough that some generalizations could be made for the entire study period, but small enough to be examined with limited resources. See Table 3 below. The sample size amounted to over 23 percent of the population. It is important to note that this researcher could nOt find hard copies of the Graphic and Times in Ghana, Britain or the United States of America. The editorials were obtained from microfilms obtained through the Library of Congress. All the editorials were photocopied from the microfilms by the researcher to facilitate sampling, coding and analysis. 1113,1511.” II B . I Regiment“ EegimeEerind. Total Civilian Regime of Limann Jan. 1, 1980 to Dec. 31, 1981 250 Military Regime of Rawlings Jan. 1, 1982 to Dec.. 31, 1983 250 TOTAL 500 Minimum Since the unit of analysis for this investigation is editorial, only edito- rials of the Graphic and Times were coded. In this study, an editorial is defined as an unsigned Opinion that reflects the view of the Graphic or Times on an issue or event at home and abroad. Graphic editorials appear under the heading, ”Graphic View ”or ”Comment” whereas those of the Times appear under the heading, ”Editorial.” Editorials of the Graphic and m constitute a major source of infor- mation for newspaper readers as well as radio listeners and televsision viewers in Ghana. In a news program entitled, ”From the Ghanaian Papers,” the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the sole radio and television 70 network in Ghana, broadcasts the editorials of the state-owned press several times a day to more than two million radio listeners and 62,000 television viewers. The Graphic and Times have a combined circulation of 245,000.190 According to Pool et al., press editorials generally reflect national perspectives. The authors note that in both totalitarian and libertarian states the leadership has found it desirable and obligatory to state its policy through editorials.191 Several studies192 of the Ghanaian press examined earlier in this investigation suggest that analysis of editorials of the state-owned press can provide insights into the functioning of the press under civilian and military regimes. It is important to study editorials of the state-owned Graphig and Times because both civilian and military regimes recognize their power and importance in the public communication process. Editorials were examined in this study for the above reasons and because of research convenience, time constraints and limited resources. 11 i n The study used category systems developed in previous studies in the category construction.193 Stempel notes that this is appropriate. He asserts: There are real advantages to using a category system that has been used in other studies. First, you will know that it is a workable system. By looking at the results of other studies that have used the system, 190 See Twumasi, ”The Newspaper Press and Political Leadership," op. cit., p. 12. 191 Pool et al., op. cit., p. 10. 192 See Smith, op. cit., Zeff, op. cit., pp. 50-51. According to Zeff, Ghanaian ”newspaper editorials are valid sources and interpreters of government policies, interpreting and translating the actual statements of government policies so that they are most understandable for the masses. Since the newspapers are government controlled they cannot deviate much from the actual government statements of policy, but at the same time they can offer an interpretation which attempts to bring government policy closer and make it more understandable to the people of the country." 193 See Pool, et al., op. cit., Deutschmann, op. cit., Windhauser et al., op. cit., Nwankwo, op. cit., Stempel, ”Content Patterns of Small and Metropolitan Dailies,” op. cit., Shaw and Bishop, op. cit., Smith, op. cit., and Zeff, op. cit. 71 you will get some notion of the kinds of results that are likely. Validity and reliability will be lesser concerns.194 According to Stempel, when a researcher sets out to create his or her own categories instead of using an existing set of categories, the categories created must be ”pertinent to the objectives of the study, functional and manageable.”195 He reiterates: ”The simple test of whether or not categories are pertinent is whether or not the information they yield will answer the research question of the study or permit the testing of the hypotheses of the study."196 The following definition and classification of the content cate- gories selected for examination in this study was guided by the above discus- sion. The first two categories to be defined and classified are independent variables and the rest are dependent variables. n en n ariabl The key independent variables include regime types, newspaper types and editor types. Rggime Typgs refers to the successive regimes of President Limann and Chairman Rawlings. The Limann People’s National Party (PNP) govern- ment, which was p0pularly elected through balloting, is classified as a civilian regime or constitutional government. The Limann era covers January 1980 through December 31, 1981. The Rawlings Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) government, which seized power through a military coup d’etat, will be classified as a military regime or non-constitutional govern- ment. The Rawlings era covers January 1982 through December 31, 1983. 194 Guido H. Stempel III, ”Content Analysis," in Guido H. Stempel III and Bruce Westley, ., in Mass mmuni a i (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981), pp. 122-123. 195 lbid. 196 lbid. 72 The Limann regime functioned under a constitution and a legally consti- tuted parliament (with an opposition party). According to Chazan, Limann, the PNP candidate, together with his vice-presidential candidate, Professor J.W. de Graft-Johnson, polled 53.51 percent presidential vote. Their opponents, Victor Owusu and Yacubu Tali of the Popular Front Party (PFP) polled 29.66 percent of the presidential vote. In a second round presidential balloting, held on July 4, 1979, Limann beat Owusu 61.98 to 38.02 percent. The parliamentary votes showed a clear majority for the PNP, which secured 71 of the 140 seats of the unicameral legislature.197 Chazan notes that the PNP was ”unabashedly constructed on the remnants of the old CPP organization, with the careful superimposition of a new guard of young men who tend to romanticize Nkrumah and uphold his principles rather than his later dictatorial practices.”198 The Rawlings regime seized power by force from the Limann adminis- tration and by breaching the existing constitutional order. Studies of the press and politics in Ghana examined earlier in this investigation indicate that the Limann and Rawlings regimes differ in terms of political ideology, leader- ship, and styles of control over the Ghanaian press.199 W refers to the two state-owned national daily news- papers, the Graphic and m. Although these two national daily news- papers are state-owned, the literature examined earlier in this study suggests that they differ in history, philosophy, size, and their relationship to govern- ment.200 197 Chazan, op. cit. 198 Ibid. 199 lbid. See also Agyeman-Duah, 0p. cit., Boafo, op. cit., and McCaskie, op. cit. 200 See Agyemang, op. cit., Jones-Quartey, op. cit., and Twumasi, ”The Newspaper Press and Political Leadership,” op. cit. 73 Editpr Types refers to the editors of the Graphic and Times for the study period of 1980 through 1983. Editor types was examined in terms of pre-coup, pre-coup and post-coup (hereafter called intermediate), and post-coup editors. Pre-coup editors are those who served as editors of the two state-owned newspapers under the civilian regime of Limann; intermediate editors, those who served as editors under both Limann and Rawlings; and post-coup edi- tors, those who served as editors under Rawlings. Dependent Variables The key dependent variables include topics, function, focus, purpose, tone, sources, context, origin, direction and judgment. Topics refers to the specific topics of the Graphic and Times editorials. The specific topics was based on a category system developed by Windhauser et al. and Deutschmann.201 Twenty-eight specific topics were examined in this study. Function is a reclassification of the specific topics. The study used a cate- gory system developed by Nwankwo to reclassify the specific tOpics as follows: a) Politicaluan editorial involving government activities, public policy issues, activities of quasi-political organizations, legal-administrative issues, elec- tions, inter-party interactions, intra-party affairs, defense and workers committees, government pronouncements, statements by political leaders and the head of state; b) Economic--an editorial involving finance and banking, exports and imports, taxation, business activities, central govern- ment budget allocations, foreign exchange allocations, economic develop- ment issues and events; and c) Cultural-—an editorial dealing with issues and events involving the way of life of Ghanaians, activities of traditional chiefs, 201 Windhauser, op. cit. Also see Deutschmann, op. cit. 74 transmission of traditional heritage through music and dance, questions involving arts and crafts, and cultural festivals.202 Egcus refers to the point of concentration or the center of attention of the Graphic and Times editorials. Focus was examined in terms of the following categories: a) Persons-editorials that focus on concrete persons and groups; b) Issues—editorials that focus on ideas or events that concern plans and propos- als for society at home or abroad, alternative solutions to problems, suggested goals and novel adaptation to new situations; and c) Institutions-editorials that concentrate on organizations at home and abroad. Windhauser et al. refer to the first editorial type as ”peOple-0riented” and the second as ”issue- oriented.”203 Purpose refers to the objective or intention Of the Graphic and Times editorials. Purpose was examined in terms of the following content categories suggested by Krieghbaum: a) Informative--an editorial presenting facts to help clarify an event or issue without demanding action; and b) Argumentative-- an editorial written to persuade the reader toward a particular point of view.204 Windhauser et al. refer to the informative type of editorial as ”interpretive” or ”explanatory" or ”expository.”205 Informative may be used as a descriptive term for Lasswell’s surveillance function, defined as ”disclosing threats and opportunities affecting the value position of the 202 Nwankwo, op. cit. An editorial not belonging tO any of the three categories was classified as ”other.” 203 Windhauser et al., Op. cit., p. 525. An editorial not belonging to one Of the three content categories was classified as ”other.” 204 lbid. An editorial not belonging to one of the two content categories was classsified as ”other." 205 Windhauser et al., op. cit., p. 525. 75 community and the components parts within it.”206 Schramm calls it the ”watchman function.”207 Wright defines it as ”the collection and distri- bution of information concerning events in the environment, both outside and within any particular society.”208 On the other hand, it may be used as a descriptive term for Lasswell’s correlation function, which Schramm refers to as a ”policy function.”209 Wright defines it as ”interpretation of information about the environment and prescriptions for conduct in reaction to these events."210 According to Shaw and Bishop, it is possible to operationally fit Lasswell’s surveillance and correlational functions by using editorials appearing in newspapers of societies representing different conditions Of political, social and economic stability.211 33 refers to the style, manner of expression or language of the Graphig and Times. Tone was examined in terms of the following content categories: a) Sychophantic--an editorial which is compliant, vituperative or abusive, and blatantly ideological; it uses propaganda devices such as slogans, name- calling and glittering generalities; and b) Non-sychophantic--the Opposite of sychophantic editorial. It is defined as an editorial which is not vituperative, fawning, and blatantly ideological; it does not employ propaganda devices to promote a particular cause or point of view.212 206 Harold D. Lasswell, ”The Structure and Function Of Communication in Society,” in Bernard Berelson and Morris Janowitz, eds., Reader in Public Opinion and Gpmmunigatipn, Second Edition, (New York: The Free Press, 1969), p. 189. 207 Wilbur Schramm, MaS5 Media and National Devglppmgnt (Stanford: Stanford University Press and UNESCO, 1964). 208 Charles R. Wright, ”Functional Analysis and Mass Communication,” Public Gpinipn anrterly Vol. )O(IV, No.4, Winter 1960, pp. 605-620 passim. 209 Schramm, Op. cit. 210 Wright, Op. cit. 2" Donald L. Shaw and Michael Bishop, ”Editorial Function and Societal Stress," Journalism Quartgrly, Autumn 1972, pp. 583-584. 212 An editorial not belonging to one of the two content categories was classified as ”other." 76 Spurgeg refers to the principal ”newsmaker” identified by name or title in the Graphic and Times editorials. Sources was examined in terms of the following content categories: a) Government--an editorial involving govern- ment officials, including the president; and b) Non-government—an editorial that does not involve government sources.213 Context refers to the geographical emphasis Of the Graphic and I_i_n_\_e_5 editorials. Context was examined in terms of the following content categories: a) Local--an editorial focussing on issues and events involving specific ethnic or local communities (rural and urban) in Ghana; b) N ational— an editorial involving issues and events that have Ghana-wide significance even if the actual context for such issues and events was local; c) Regionaluan editorial treating issues and events from the perspective of their importance for the entire African Continent even if the issues and events have a particular African region or country as arena; d) International—an editorial treating issues and events outside Ghana, although invariably it is written from the point of view of its implications for Ghana; and e) Foreign Relations--an editorial involving diplomatic relations between Ghana and other countries--relations between Ghana and international organizations (U.N., OAU, ECOWAS, ECA, UNESCO, UNDP, WHO, and the Non-Aligned Movement).214 Origin refers to the geopolitical setting of the editorial. Origin was examined in terms of the following content categories: a) Third World--an editorial dealing with Ghana and other advancing countries; and b) Non- Third World--an editorial not belonging to the first category. 213 An editorial not belonging to one Of the two categories was classified as ”other.” 214 An editorial not belonging to one of the five categories was classified as ”other.” Context was examined in terms Of a category system developed by Nwankwo, and reformulated and expanded by this researcher. See Nwankwo, op. cit. 77 Direction refers to the ”evaluative orientation” Of the Graphic and Times editorials. Direction was examined in terms of the following content categories: a) Praise-an editorial expressing approval or support for issues and events; and b) Criticism--an editorial expressing disapproval for issues and events.215 ludgment also refers to the evaluative orientation of the editorials. Judgment was examined as follows: a) Critical—an editorial that states an issue and openly disagrees with it without offering solutions to problems or alternative approaches; b) Constructive-~an editorial that states an issue, disagrees with parts of it, and provides solutions to problems or alternative approaches; and c) Supportive-~an editorial that states an issue and fully supports the issue. Cndinzlmcedures The coding protocol was based on the above definitions and category systems. The coding was completed by this researcher and two trained coders. The two coders are Akan-speaking University Of Ghana lecturers with Michigan State University Ph.Ds in Educational Technology and Plant Genetics respectively. The use of Ghanaians who are fluent in Akan (the predominant language in Ghana), facilitated the coding process. The researcher found that not all the state-owned press editorials were written in English, the official language and the language of the state-owned press. More than 3 percent of the Graphic and £1119; editorials featured Akan language expressions. The coders received a one-week training involving 215 An editorial not belonging to one of the two categories was classified ”neutral." Direction was examined on the basis Of a category system developed by Budd et al. The authors define direction as the attitude expressed toward any symbol by its user. See Richard W. Budd, Robert K. Thorp and Lewis Donohew, Gpntgnt Analysis pf Ggmmunicatipn (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967), pp. 50-53. 78 detailed explanation of the study, coding manuals and instructions and practical lessons in the coding of newspaper editorials. Several trial coding sessions were organized as part of the training before the actual coding was completed. A total of 500 Graphic and Meg editorials were coded. The editorials ranged from 139 words to 877 words in length. See Table 4 for the amount of coding completed by each of the three coders. The researcher coded 256 of 500 Graphic and Times editorials, or 51.2 percent. The other two coders coded the remaining 244 editorials, or 48.8 percent WWW Coder. Frequency Percent 1 256 51.2 2 119 23.8 3 125 25.0 TOTAL 500 100.0 11 r R li ili There is no acceptable definition of the concept of reliability in content analysis. A careful reading of the content analysis literature suggests that there are many and varied definitions of reliability. According to Stempel, reliability means ”consistency of classification.”216 It is noted that unless a content analyst can achieve some level of intercoder agreement, he or she cannot claim that an investigation is objective or systematic.217 According to Holsti, reliability means that ”repeated measures with the same instrument on a given sample of data should yield similar results.”218 Krippendorff defines reliability in the following terms: 216 Stempel, ”Content Analysis.” Op. cit., p. 127 217 lbid. 218 Holsti, op. cit., p. 135. 79 Reliability assesses the extent to which any design, any part thereof, and any data resulting from them represent variations in real phenomena rather than extraneous circumstances of measurement, the hidden idiosyncrasies of individual analysts, and biases of a procedure.219 Krippendorff notes that there are three types of reliability, namely, stability, reproducibility and accuracy. Stability is the degree to which a process is invariant or unchanging over time. Also called intra-observer reliability or consistency, it is determined by ”test-retest procedure," that is, asking the same coder to code a set of data twice, at different points in time.220 Reproducibility is the degree to which a process can be recreated under varying circumstances, at different locations, using different coders. Also known as intercoder reliability or intersubjective agreement, it is determined by having two or more coders code the same set of data by applying the same recording instructions independently.221 Accuracy is the degree to which a process functionally conforms to a known standard, or yields what is designed to yield. It is the strongest reliability test available, and it is determined under test-standard conditions- when the performance of one coder or measuring instrument, is compared with what is known to be correct performance or measure.222 Krippendorff points out that stability is the weakest form of reliability and should not be trusted as the sole indicator of the acceptability of content analysis data for inference and analysis.223 Since the reliability design of the present investigation involved three different coders under ”test-test” 219 Krippendorff, Op. cit., p. 129. 220 lbid., pp. 130131. 221 Ibid. 222 Ibid. 223 lbid., pp. 130-131. 80 conditions and given the fact that the investigation sought to determine intercoder agreement, reproducibility as defined by Krippendorff was selected as the appropriate reliability criterion for the study.224 After receiving detailed instructions on the coding process, each Of the three coders was asked to code randomly selected Graphic and m editorials. Coded items were checked and verified by the researcher. A second coding session involving randomly selected Graphic and Times editorials was conducted. A second check and verification of the coded items were effected. This approach to the data enabled the researcher to check the coding process at two different times. Several scholars have noted that in evaluating intercoder reliability, it is important to compare coder item agreement with the agreement that could have occurred by chance.225 Scott has developed an index of intercoder agreement or agreement coefficient (Pi), which represents the percentage of agreement above chance.226 The reliability test applied Scott’s formula. 224 Ibid. 225 lbid. See also Stempel, ”Content Analysis,” op. cit. 226 See W.A. Scott, ”Reliability of Content Analysis: The Case of Nominal Scale Coding," Publig Opinion Quartgrly, 19:321-25 (1955). The agreement coefficient is represented by the following equation: Po-Pe PO is the percentage of judgments on which two coders agree when coding the same data independently; Pe is the percentage of agreement to be expected by chance. Pi represents the ratio of the actual difference between Observed and expected agreement to the maximum difference between observed and expected agreement. The expected percentage Of agreement depends both on the number of categories in the dimension as well as the frequency with which each of them is used by coders. Minimum chance agreement occurs when all categories are used by both coders with equal frequency. The intercoder reliability test used the Scott's formula. See also Krippendorff, Op. cit., and Guido H. Stempel III, ”Increasing Reliability in Content Analysis,” Iournglism Quarterly, Volume 32, winter 1955, pp. 449-455. Categories Regime Type Newspaper Editor Type Topic Function Focus Purpose A sagreee D-disagree WW 1 8r 2 A D 160 0 160 0 160 0 140 20 154 6 160 0 156 4 159 1 160 0 154 6 158 2 160 0 1721 39 8 Coder Pairs 18:3 160 160 160 140 152 160 157 159 160 153 158 160 1719 1 41 2 8r 3 A D 160 0 160 0 160 0 146 14 158 2 160 0 159 1 160 0 160 0 159 1 160 0 160 O 1742 18 Coder Item Agreement A D 480 0 480 0 480 0 426 S4 464 16 480 0 472 8 478 2 480 0 466 14 476 4 480 0 5182 98 Percentage of Agreement 100.0 100.0 100.0 88.75 96.66 100.0 98.33 99.58 100.0 97.08 99.16 100.0 98.10 The above computation was based on the twelve categories examined in this study, and a sample size of 160, that is, 32 percent of the study sample of 500. As shown in Table 5, the agreement for coders in categorizing the Graphic and Times editorials ranges from 88.75 percent for the topics category to 100 percent for the regime type category. 82 Coder Pairs Items Percentage of Agreement for Coder Pairs Items Items Agree Disagree 1 8t 2 1,721 39 97.73 1 & 3 1,719 41 97.61 2 a 3 1,742 18 98.96 Intercoder Agreement 5,182 98 98.10 As Table 6 shows, the agreement among coder pairs for the content categories examined in the present investigation ranges from 97.73 percent to 98.1 percent. The intercoder agreement or reliability exceeds 98 percent. According to Krippendorff, ”an agreement of 80 percent or better is generally acceptable, except with exploratory studies when a lower level might be acceptable.”227 Wm In the present investigation, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to prepare the programs and input data. Subprogram crosstabs and chi square test programs were run to determine the marginal frequency distributions and percentages for all coded items, and to establish the level of statistical significance. The level set for statistical significance is 5 percent. This means that under the hypothesis of sampling error (null hypotheses), we would expect to find differences among sample means in 227 See Krippendorff, Op. cit., pp. 146-147. See also Stephen Lacy, ”The Effects of Ownership and Competition on Daily Newspaper Content," Doctoral Dissertation, The University Of Texas at Austin, May 1986, p. 152. 83 fewer than five out of 100 cases of random sampling.228 The chi square test is employed in the present study because it is an appropriate significance test for content analysis studies. The test has been used in several studies involving content analysis of press editorials.229 228According to Stempel, the chi square is an appropriate statistical test for content studies. The chi square is a test of distribution of frequencies. The formula for the chi square is: (observed frequency- expected frequency)2 expected frequency A chi square value at the .05 level for 1 degree of freedom is 3.84. Thus, a value larger than 3.84 suggests a real difference or statistically significant difference, not merely a chance difference. The chi square test allows the content analyst to draw a simple, clear-cut conclusions. In addition, it can be applied to any size table. However, chi square requires an expected frequency of at least 5 in each cell. See Stempel, Op. cit., pp.132-139. 229 See Nwankwo, Op. cit., and Windhauser, Op. cit. Chi Square a CHAPTER VIII RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This chapter tests the research hypotheses underlying this study on the basis of the content analysis results and within the context of the preceding statistical approach, and against the background of the theory and literature. The first part of the results examines the descriptive data with particular emphasis on topics that the state-owed press presents to their readers through their editorials; part two tests the underlying hypotheses of the study by examining the relationships between the key independent and dependent variables Of the study; part three examines ”non-hypothesis” issues that have some relevance to the main concerns of the investigation. C I IE" [I] G l' :1. £11.] In all, 500 Graphig and Times editorials were content-analyzed during the four-year study period, from 1980 to 1983. The total length of the Graphig and Times editorials (measured by word count) was 171,527 words. The editorials ranged from 139 words to 877 words in length. The most common (82.6%) placements for the state-owned press editorials were the inside sections (page two). Only (17.4%) of the editorials appeared on the front pages Of the newspapers. The majority (96.2%) of editorials were written in English (Ghana’s official language) without the use of local language (Akan) expressions. Editorials that featured Akan language expressions accounted for only (3.8%) of the coverage. The specific topics that the state-owned press presents to their readers through editorials are many and varied. The most 84 85 frequent topics are: domestic politics (19%); non-Ghanaian affairs (12.6%); economics (10.8%); food and agricultural production (9%); education and students (7%); transport and roads (4.2%); crime and justice (4.2%); telecommunication and mass media (4%); health, sanitation and medicine (3.6%); bribery and corruption (2.4%); labor and employment (2.2%); police and law enforcement (2.2%); immigration and refugees (2%); culture (1.8%); rural and urban development (1.6%); rebellions and coups (1.4%); military and defense (1.2%). The editorial coverage of the following topics is 1% or less: housing (1%); civil service (0.8%); environment and ecology (0.6%); social welfare (0.6%); sports (0.6%); family norms and values (0.6%); science and technology (0.4%); national unity and integration (0.2%); and Obituary (0.2%). n im T E i ' l The primary relationships that this study examines are between regime and newspaper types (independent variables) and function, focus, purpose, tone, sources, context and direction (dependent variables). The study used the chi square in testing the seven hypotheses. amnesia. The first hypothesis states that editorials of the Graphic and Map published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more often on economic subjects than editorials of the Graphic and fl_m_e_5 published under the civilian regime of Limann. The results in Table 7 did not support the hypothesis. The value of the chi square test for regime type and editorial functions was not significant at the .05 level set for statistical significance. This suggests that the difference between the state-owned press editorials published under the military rule of Rawlings was not significantly different from those published under the 86 civilian rule of Limann. The results show that editorials of the Limann era concentrated more on political subjects than those of the Rawlings era. The data negated the study assumption that the more Ghana’s developmental or advancing press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more the state-owned press will emphasize economic subjects over political and other subjects. The data also negated the assumption in previous studies that under military rule, the state-owned press tends to stress economic over political and other topics to counter opposition groups and to legitimize the ruling regime. However, the evidence shows that under both military and civilian rule the most frequent subject of editorial comment is politics and not economics or culture. 1112.3 . I l 51'! “E 11 Function Limann Rawlings Totals (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Graphic Times Graphic Times Political 78.4% 65.6% 66.4% 68.8% 69.8% (98) (82) (83) (86) (349) Economical 20.8% 29.6% 29.6% 24.0% 26.0% (26) (37) (37) (30) 130) Cultural 0.8% 4.8% 4.0% 7.2% 4.2% (1) (6) (5) (9) (21) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0% (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square = 10.842, df = 6, p = .09 Hmothesisll Editorials of the m and m published under the military regime of Rawlings will focus more often on issues than editorials of the M and Lmep published under the civilian regime of Limann. The data in Table 8 supports the hypothesis. The chi square test for regime type and editorial focus produced a probability value equal to the .05 level set for statistical significance. This suggests a statistically significant 87 difference between military and civilian era editorial focuses. The data also supports the assumption that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more the state-owned press editorials will emphasize issue-oriented over people- oriented editorials. The data negate the assertion in previous studies that the state-owned press is consciously used by persons and groups, including political and military elites for building personality cults and for underwriting their privileged positions. It is interesting to note that the Graphic did not emphasize people- oriented over issue-oriented editorials as a result of the change of name from Graphic to the ”People’s” Daily Graphic. The data indicate that the proportion of people-oriented editorials published by the Graphic under civilian rule decreased from (36%) to (18.4%) under military rule, when the Graphic changed its name. The results show that under both military and civilian rule, the state-owned press emphasized issue-oriented over people-oriented editorials. I]! 5.3 i I I fill 'IE Focus Limann Rawlings Total (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Graphic Times Graphic Times Persons 36.0% 26.4% 18.4% 24.8% 26.4% (45) (33) (23) (31) (132) Issues 44.8% 55.2% 63.2% 52.8% 54.0% (56) (69) (79) (66) (270) Institutions 19.2% 18.4% 18.4% 22.4% 19.6% (24) (23) (23) (28) (98) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0% (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square a 12.194, df = 6, p I: .05 88 11329012215111 Editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more often on argumentative or persuasive editorials than editorials of the Graphic and T_ir_n_e_§ published under the civilian regime of Limann. The data in Table 9 supports the hypothesis. The chi square test for regime type and editorial purpose produced a probability value of .006, less than the .05 level set for statistical significance. This suggests that the difference between military and civilian era editorial purposes is statistically significant. The data confirms the assumption that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more the state-owned press will emphasize argumentative or persuasive editorials over informative editorials. The proportion of argu- mentative editorials published under civilian rule increased from (52.8%) to (62.8%) under military rule. However, the proportion of informative editorials published under civilian rule decreased from (47.2%) to (37.2%) under military rule. The evidence also confirms the assumption that the state-owned press is an important political institution with vested interest in maintaining political stability, and that under military rule, it is through persuasive editorials that the state-owned press can achieve its purpose. However, under both civilian and military regimes, the state-owned press published more argumentative (57.8%) than informative (42.2%) editorials. The findings seem to support the assertion in previous studies that the more a society is subject to stress, the more press editorials will emphasize argumentative over informative function. 89 WW Purpose Limann Rawlings Total (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Graphic Times Graphic Times Informative 40.0% 54.4% 41.6% 32.8% 42.2% (50) (68) (52) (41) (211) Argumentative 60.0% 45.6% 58.4% 67.2% 57.8% (75) (57) (73) (84) (289) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0 (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square I 12.422, df = 3, p a .006 Will Editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the military regime of Rawlings will be more sychophantic in tone than editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the civilian regime of Limann. The data in Table 10 support the hypothesis. The chi square test for regime type and editorial tone produced a probability value of .000, less than the level set for statistical significance. This suggests that there is statistically significant difference between military and civilian era editorial tone. The data confirm the assumption that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian methods of control, the more the state- owned press will emphasize sychophantic over non-sychophantic editorial tone. The results Show that the proportion of sychophantic editorials of the civilian era increased from (40.8%) to (49.6%) under military rule. The evidence lends support to claims by academicians and politicians cited earlier in this study that under military rule, the state-owned press editorials tend to be sychophantic, irresponsible, bland, non-controversial, and vituperative. It is argued that the rationale behind sychophantic editorial coverage is not only fear of punishment by the ruling regime but also the desire on the part of editors to please authority or not to offend it. 90 The proportion of non-sychophantic editorials published under civilian rule decreased from (59.2%) to (50.4%) under military rule. However, under the two regimes, the state-owned press editorials emphasized non- sychophantic (54.8%) over sychophantic (45.2%) editorials. Thus, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the editorials of the state-owned press are less compliant, abusive and blatantly ideological. WWW Tme Limann Rawlings Total (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Graphic Times Graphic Times Sychophantic 32.8% 48.8% 40.0% 59.2% 45.2% (41) (61) (50) (74) (226) Non-Sychophantic 67.2% 51.2% 60.0% 40.8% 54.8% (84) (64) (75) (51) (274) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0% (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square - 19.669, df = 3, p a .000 Hypothesis! Editorials of the Graphic and 1m published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more on government sources than editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the civilian regime of Limann. The results in Table 11 do not support the hypothesis. The chi square test for regime type and editorial sources yielded a probability value far greater than the .05 level set for statistical significance. This suggests that the difference between military and civilian era editorial sources is not statistically significant. Thus, the results negate the assumption that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods Of press control, the more the state-owned press editorials will emphasize government sources over non-government sources. However, editorials published under civilian rule concentrated more on presidential 91 and governmental sources than those published under military rule. The results Show that under both regimes, the most frequent editorial sources of the state-owned press are government sources, including the president. This evidence supports Shoemaker’s proposition that the more the press is financed by official sources, the more its content will reflect government and institutional sources. Illfl'B i I l El'l '15 Sources Limann Rawlings Total (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Graphic Times Graphic Times President 16.8% 11.2% 13.6% 11.2% 13.2% (21) (14) (17) (14) (66) Government 67.2% 76.8% 61.6% 66.4% 68.0% (84) (96) (77) (83) (340) Non- Govemment 10.4% 10.4% 17.6% 16.8% 13.8% (13) (13) (22) (21) (69) Other 5.6% 1.6% 7.2% 5.6%. 5.0% (7) (2) (9) (7) (25) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0% (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square = 12.733, df = 9, p = .17 Hmothesisll Editorials of the Graphic and _T_‘i_r_n§ published under the military regime of Rawlings will concentrate more often on local and national issues and events than editorials of the Graphic and I_i__n_lg§ published under the civilian regime of Limann. The data in Table 12 partially support the hypothesis. The chi square test for regime type and editorial context produced a probability value equal to the .05 level set for statistical significance. This suggests that the difference between civilian and military era editorial context is statistically significant. However, contrary to what this researcher had expected, editorials published 92 under civilian rule focused more on local and national affairs than those published under military rule. The data show that the more the developmental press system of Ghana is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more the state-owned press editorials emphasize affairs outside of Ghana over those in Ghana. The results Show that Rawlings era editorials were more concerned with foreign relations, regional (Africa) and international affairs than Limann era editorials. Under both civilian and military rule, the state-owned press gave more coverage to local and national affairs (75.8%) than foreign relations, regional and international affairs (24.2%). W Context Limann Rawlings Total (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Graphic Times Graphic Times Local 17.6% 15.2% 10.4% 11.2% 13.6% (22) (19) (13) (14) (68) National 68.0% 60.0% 62.4% 58.4% 62.2% (85) (75) (78) (73) (311) Regional-Africa 3.2% 3.2% 1.6% 0.8% 2.2% (4) (4) (2) (1) (11) International 0.0% 6.4% 4.8% 6.4% 4.4% (0) (8) (6) (8) (22) Foreign Relations 11.2% 15.2% 20.8% 23.2% 17.6% (14) (19) (26) (29) (88) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0% (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square = 20.786, df = 12, p = .05 Hmothesislu Editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the military regime of Rawlings will focus more on praise (in terms of direction or judgment of issues and events) than editorials of the Graphic and Times published under the civilian regime of Limann. 93 The data in Table 13 support the hypothesis. The chi square test for regime type and editorial direction produced a probability value of .02, less than the level set for statistical significance. This suggests that the difference between civilian and military era editorial direction is statistically significant. The results show that the proportion of editorial praise published under civilian rule increased from (18.4%) to (29.2%) under military rule. The proportion of editorial criticism published under civilian rule decreased from (81.6%) to (79.8%) under military rule. The evidence confirms the assumption in previous studies that during military rule, the state-owned press serves the people not through criticism of the ruling regime but by fostering positive or favorable opinion towards the activities of the regime in power. It has been noted that the press conforms to this type of function because of official restrictions and self-censorship for fear of instant dismissal. 1111313 . I I El'l 'lD' Ii Direction Limann Rawlings Total (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Graphic Times Graphic Times All Criticism 81.6% 81.6% 67.2% 74.4% 76.2% (102) (102) (84) (93) (381) All Praise 18.4% 18.4% 32.8% 25.6% 23.8% (23) (23) (41) (32) (119) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0% (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square=9.826,df=3,p=.02 In sum, the results of the content analysis of the state-owned press partially substantiated the theoretical as well as the specific research hypotheses underlying the present investigation. As Table 14 shows, five of the seven research hypotheses were confirmed by the data. The chi square test for regime type and editorial content produced statistically significant 94 probability values. Only two of the probability values were not significant at the .05 level set for statistical significance. WWW Categories Chi Square Test Values x2 at P Function 10.842 6 .09 n.s. Foals 12.194 6 .05 Purpose 12.422 2 .006 True 19.669 2 .000 Sources 12.733 9 .17 n.s. Context 20.786 12 .05 Direction 9.826 3 .02 Note: n.s. means not significant at the .05 level of significance The preceding results indicate that regime type constitutes a significant determinant of the content and direction of the state-owned press editorials published under civilian and military rule. The results also reveal several content patterns for the state-owned Graphic and m editorials. One pattern strongly indicates a lack of significant difference between civilian and military era editorial functions and sources. However, the judgment of function and sources, that is, the relationships between editorial judgment and the two content categories produced statistically significant differences. Judgment refers to the evaluational orientation of the Graphic and line; editorials. It was examined as follows: a) Critical--an editorial that states an issue and openly disagrees with it without offering solutions to problems or alternative approaches; b) Constructive--an editorial that states an issue, disagrees with parts of it and provides solutions to problems or alternative approaches; and c) Supportive-an editorial that states an issue and fully supports the issue. 95 The chi square test for judgment and function under the civilian regime of Limann produced a chi square value of 29.478, df = 3, with a probability value of .000, less than the .05 level set for statistical significance in this study. The data in Table 15 show that editorials published under the civilian regime of Limann were more supportive of government sources, including the president. Ill 15. C' 'i' B . I l I i IEEIII ilS Judgmentof Sources Limann (Civilian Regime) Total Critical Constructive Supportive President 48.57% 14.29% 37.14% 14.0% (17) (5) (13) (35) Government 19.44% 4.44% 76.11% 72.0% (35) (8) (137) (180) Non-Government 26.92% 0.0% 73.08% 10.4% (7) (0) (19) (26) Other 0.0% 22.22% 77.78% 3.6% (0) (2) (7) (9) TOTAL 23.6% 6.0% 70.4% 100.0% (59) (15) (176) (250) Chi Square=29.478,df-3,p-.000 The chi square test for judgment and function under the military regime of Rawlings produced a chi square value of 41.305, df = 3, with a probability value of .000, less than the level set for statistical significance. The data in Table 16 show that the editorials published under the military regime of Rawlings were more critical of government sources than those published under the civilian regime of Limann. 96 11115.11.“ E . I III ltEl'l .15 Judgment of Scum Rawlings Total (Military Regime) Critical Constructive Supportive President 80.65% 9.68% 9.68% 12.4% (25) (3) (3) (31) Government 38.13% 4.38% 57.5% 57.5% (61) (7) (92) (160) Non-Govemment 39.53% 6.98% 53.49% 17.2% (17) (3) (23) (43) Other 50.0% 31.25% 18.75% 6.4% (8) (5) (3) (16) TOTAL 44.4% 7.2% 48.4% 100.0% (111) (18) (121) (250) Chi Square a 41.305, df :- 3, p a .000 The chi square test for judgment and editorial focus under civilian rule produced a chi square value of 10.322, df = 2, with a probability value of .03, less than the .05 level set for statistical significance. The data in Table 17 show that editorial judgment of persons, issues, and institutions under civilian rule was more constructive than critical or supportive. The majority (72.8%) of the editorials were constructive in terms of judgment. This proportion decreased to (51.2%) under the military regime of Rawlings. The chi square test suggests a statistically significant difference. I]112°C"l'13° I II! ItEi'l llF. Judgment Limann Total ofFocus (Civilian Regime) Critical Constructive Supportive Persons 12.82% 67.95% 19.23% 31.2% (10) (53) (15) (78) Issues 15.2% 78.4% 6.4% 50.0% (19) (98) (8) (125) Institutions 23.4% 65.96% 10.64% 18.8% (11) (31) (5) (47) TOTAL 16.0% 72.8% 11.2% 100.0% (40) (182) (28) (250) Chi Square = 10. 322, df = 2, p = .03 97 The chi square test for judgment and editorial focus under Rawlings produced a chi square value of 12.067, df = 2, with a probability value of .01, less than the level set for statistical significance. The data in Table 18 Show that editorials published under the military rule of Rawlings were more supportive of persons, issues and institutions in their coverage than those published under the civilian regime of Limann. The Rawlings era editorials were also more critical of persons, issues and institutions than the Limann era editorials. The proportion of constructive editorial judgment (during military rule) was high for issues (57.93%) and institutions (50.98%) but low for persons (33.33%). The Limann era editorials were more constructive than the Rawlings era editorials. The proportion of constructive editorial judgment (during civilian rule) was high for issues (78.4%) and persons (67.95%) but low for institutions (65.96%). The chi square test suggests that the difference is statistically significant. 111“.“11 B . I l I 1 I EEI'I 11E JudgmentofFocus Rawlings (Military Regime) Total Critical Constructive Supportive Persons 22.22% 33.33% 44.44% 21.6% (12) (18) (24) (54) Issues 17.93% 57.93% 24.14% 58.0% (26) (84) (35) (145) Institutions 25.49% 50.98% 23.53% 20.4% (13) (26) (12) (51) TOTAL 20.4% 51.2% 28.4% 100.0% (51) (128) (71) (250) Chi Square = 12.067, df = 2, p = .01 The chi square test for regime type and overall editorial judgment yielded a chi square value of 37.071, df = 6, with a probability value of .000, less than the value set for statistical significance. The results in Table 19 show 98 that the civilian era editorials were more constructive than the military era editorials. The proportion of constructive editorials published under civilian rule decreased from (72.8%) to (51.2%) under military rule. However, the proportion of supportive editorials published under civilian rule increased from (11.2%) to (28.4%) under military rule. The military era editorials were more critical and supportive of issues than the civilian era editorials. The data also indicate that editorials of the Times tend to be more critical and supportive than those of the Graphic during civilian and military rule. The editorials of the Graphic tend to be more constructive than those of the Times during civilian and military rule. The chi square test suggests that these differences are statistically significant. Judgment Limann Rawlings (Civilian Regime) (Military Regime) Total Graphic Times Graphic Times Critical 12.8% 19.2% 15.2% 25.6% 18.2% (16) (24) (19) (32) (91) Constructive 77.6% 68.0% 56.8% 45.6% 62.0% (97) (85) (71) (57) (310) Supportive 9.6% 12.8% 28.0% 28.8% 19.8% (12) (16) (35) (36) (99) TOTAL 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 25.0% 100.0% (125) (125) (125) (125) (500) Chi Square=37.071, df=6,p=.000 The evidence suggests that the more Ghana’s developmental or advancing press system is subject to libertarian-tending methods of press control (as exemplified by the style of press control under the civilian regime of Limann), the more state-owned press will emphasize constructive over critical and supportive editorials in terms of judgment. 99 1211 BI 11 I 151'! .1: I I One of the salient findings of this investigation is the the lack of significant difference between the editorial patterns of the state-owned Graphic and 11%;. As shown in Table 20 the chi square test for newspaper type and editorial content yielded several non-significant probability values. Only the tests for newspaper type and editorial tone and judgment produced probability values less than the .05 level of statistical significance. The evidence suggests that newspaper type does not determine content patterns such as function, focus, purpose, sources, context and direction. In" 0.5 I I11] I 11 I l El'l “c I I Categories Chi Square Test Values x2 at P Function 4.464 2 .10 us Focus 0.284 2 .86 n.s. Purpose 9.482 1 .52 n.s. Tone 15.632 1 .00 Sources 4.443 3 .09 n.s. Context 6.146 4 .18 n.s. Origin 8.234 1 .004 Direction 0.893 1 .34 n.s. Judgment 7.279 2 .026 Note: n.s. means not significant at the .05 level Of significance The above results provide a strong warning against the uncritical acceptance of the assumption that newspaper type determines the content patterns of the state-owned press in Ghana. The chi square test for newspaper type and function, focus, purpose, sources, context, direction, and judgment produced non-Significant chi square values. Only the chi square test for 100 newspaper type and editorial tone, origin and judgment produced significant chi square values. As Table 21 shows, the chi square test for newspaper type and editorial tone produced a highly significant chi square value. The results indicate that the editorials published by the I_i_rn_es were more sychOphantic than those published by the Graphic. The chi square test indicates that the difference is statistically significant. The evidence suggests that the Times which was established as the ideological mouthpiece of Nkrumah’s one-party socialist government tends to be compliant, vituperative and blatantly ideological. WWW Newspaper Type Tme Graphic Times Total Sychophantic 36.4% 54.0% 45.2% (91) (135) (226) Non- Sychophantic 63.6% 46.0% 54.8% (159) (115) (274) TOTAL 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% (250) (250) (500) Chi Square=15.632,df=1,p=.000 As Table 22 shows, the chi square test for newspaper type and editorial origin produced a significant chi square value. Origin refers to the geopolitical sources of the editorials. The results Show that editorials in the Graphic focused more on Third World issues (involving Ghana and other advancing countries) than those in the lime; Third world issues dominated the editorial coverage of both papers. This suggests that geographic proximity plays an influential role in the state-owned press editorial process. 101 IIIZZ'II I l Ei'l 'lDI' Origin Newspaper Type Total Graphic Times Third World 92.0% 83.6% 87.8% (230) (209) (439) Non-Third World 8.0% 16.4% 12.2% (20) (41) (61) TOTAL 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% (250) (250) (500) ChiSquare=8.234,df-1,p-.004 The data in Table 23 show that editorials of the Graphic were more constructive than those of the m. The Ii_rr_i_e§ editorials emphasized critical and supportive editorials over constructive editorials. Both papers emphasized constructive editorials over the critical and supportive editorial types. The chi square test for newspaper type and editorial judgment yielded a chi square value of 7.279, df = 2, with a probability value of .026, less than the value set for statistical Significance in the present investigation. WWW Newspaper Type Judgment Graphic Times Total Critical 14.0% 22.4% 18.2% (35) (56) (91) Constructive 67.2% 56.8% 62% (168) (142) (310) Supportive 18.8% 20.8% 19.8% (47) (52) (99) TOTAL 50.0% 50.0% 100.0% (250) (250) (500) Chi Square = 7.279, df = 2, p = .026 Diffggencgs Bgtwegn Editor Type and Editorial Contgnt The results in Table 24 Show that the relationships between editor type and editorial purpose, tone and sources were not statistically significant. 102 W Categories Chi Square Test Values x2 df P Function 10.059 4 .03 Focus 10.565 4 .03 Purpose 424 2 .80 n.s. Time 1.499 2 .47 n.s. Scum 9.026 6 .17 11.5 Context 18.234 8 .02 Direction 8.840 2 .011 Judgment 13.154 4 .011 Note: n.s. means not significant at the.05 level of significance. The above results show that the chi square test for editor type and function, focus, context, direction and judgment yielded significant probability values. Editor type refers to the editors of the Graphic and Ii_r_n_g_s_ for the study period of 1980 through 1983. It is important to note that the editors of the state-owned press are government employees. The majority of these editors are trained by the government. Thus, they are expected to support government programs and activities as well as follow government guidelines in the management and operation of the state-owed press. Editors who fail to cooperate with government are subject to demotion or dismissal and (in some cases) to detention. Editor type was examined in terms of pre-coup, pre-coup and post-coup or intermediate and post-coup editors. Pre-coup editors are those who served as editors of the two state-owned newspapers under the civilian regime of Limann; intermediate editors, those who served as editors under both 103 Limann and Rawlings; and post-coup editors, those who served as editors under Rawlings. The chi square test for editor type and function produced a significant chi square value, with a probability value of .03. The results in Table 25 Show that pre-coup editors gave more editorial coverage to political issues than intermediate and post-coup editors. Post-coup editors focused more on economic issues than other editors. Intermediate editors were more concerned with cultural issues. The chi square test suggests a statistically significant difference. The results show that all editor types gave more coverage to political issues than economic and cultural issues. Ill 25. Ei'l I l Ei'l 'IE I' Function Editor Type Total Pre-coup Intermediate Post-coup Political 79.2% 67.89% 4.34% 69.8% (99) (167) (83) (349) Economical 20.06% 26.42% 31.01% 26.0% (25) (65) (40) (130) Cultural 0.8% 5.69% 4.65% 4.2% (1) (14) (6) (21) TOTAL 25.0% 49.2% 25.8% 100.0% (125) (246) (129) (500) Chi Square=10.059, df=4,p =.03 The chi square test for editor type and editorial focus produced significant chi square values, with a probability value of .03. The results in Table 26 show that editorial focus varied considerably with each editor type, and these variations were statistically significant. Editorials published under pre-coup editors focused on persons (63.57%) and institutions (20.16%). Intermediate editors emphasized editorials dealing with issues (52.03%) over those involving persons (28.46%) and institutions (19.51%). 104 W Focus Editor Type Total Pre-coup Intermediate Post-coup Persons 32.8% 28.46% 16.28% 26.4% (41) (70) (21) (132) Issues 48.0% 52.03% 63.57% 54.0% (60) (128) (82) (270) Institutions 19.2% 19.51% 20.16% 19.6% (24) (48) (26) (98) TOTAL 25.0% _ 49.2% 25.8% 100.0% (125) (246) (129) (500) ChiSquare-10.565,df-4,p-.03 The chi square test for editor type and editorial direction produced a significant chi square, with a probability value of .01. Table 27 shows that pre- coup editors were more critical in terms of direction than the other editor types. The proportion of editorial criticism published under pre-coup editors decreased from (84.8%) to (75.6%) under intermediate editors, to (68.99%) under post-coup editors. The proportion of editorial praise published under pre-coup editors increased from (15.2%) to (24.39%) under intermediate editors, to (31.01%) under post-coup editors. The evidence suggests that the more Ghana’s press system is subject to libertarian-tending methods of press control, the more editors will emphasize criticism over praise in their editorial coverage. The evidence also lends support to the supposition that the more the press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more editors will emphasize praise over criticism. The data indicate that all editor types focused more on criticism than praise. The findings seem to suggest that editors change their editorial stance with each change of regime. 105 I II 221“ I l Ei'l llDi Ii Direction Editor Type Total Pre-coup Intermediate Post-coup All Criticism 84.8% 75.6% 68.99% 76.2% (106) (186) (89) (381) All Praise 15.2% 24.39% 31.01% 23.8% (19) (60) (40) (119) TOTAL 25.0% 49.2% 25.8% 100.0% (125) (246) (129) (500) Chi Square - 8.840, df =- 2, p I .01 The chi square test for editor type and editorial context produced a chi square value of 18.234, df = 8, with a probability value of .02, less than the .05 level set for statistical significance in the present study. The results in Table 28 indicate that pre-coup editors gave more coverage to national and African affairs than intermediate and post-coup editors. Intermediate editors focused more on local and international affairs than their counterparts. Pre-coup editors concentrated more on foreign relations than other editors. All editor types concentrated more on national affairs than local, national, African affairs and foreign relations. The results show that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more editors emphasize national and regional (Africa) affairs over foreign relations, and local and international affairs. The results also indicate that the more the press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more editors emphasize foreign relations over other affairs. 106 Ill 28°Ei'l I iEi'l 'IC I l Context Editor Type Total Pre-coup Intermediate Post-coup Local 11.2% 16.67% 10.08% 13.6% (14) (41) (13) (68) National 72.8% 56.5% 62.79% 62.2% (91) (139) (81) (311) Regional-Africa 4.0% 1.63% 1.55% 2.2% (5) (4) (2) (11) International 0.8% 5.69% 5.43% 4.4% (1) (14) (7) (22) Foreign Relations 11.2% 19.51% 20.16% 17.6% (14) (48) (26) (88) TOTAL 25.0% 49.2% 25.8% 100.0% (125) (246) (129) (500) Chi Square=18.234,df=8,p=.02 The chi square test for editor type and editorial origin produced a chi square value of 6.526, df = 2, with a probability value of .03, less than the .05 level set for statistical significance. The results in Table 29 show that editorials published under pre-coup editors focused more on Third World issues than those published under intermediate and post-coup editors. Editorials published under intermediate editors concentrated more on Non- Third World issues than those published under pre-coup and post-coup editors. Editorials published under all the editor types emphasized Third World over Non-Third World issues. The evidence suggests that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to libertarian-tending methods of press control the more editors will emphasize Third World issues over Non-Third World issues. The evidence also suggests that the more the press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more editors will emphasize Non-Third World over Third World issues in their editorial coverage. 107 11122.2“ I I Ei'l ilQ'i Origin Editor Type Total Pre-coup Intermediate Post-coup Third World 92.8% 84.15% 89.92% 87.8% (116) (207) (116) (439) Non-Third World 7.2% 15.85% 10.98% 12.2% (9) (39) (13) (61) TOTAL 25.0% 25.8% 25.8% 100.0% (125) (246) (129) (500) Chi Square I 6.526, df I 2, p I .03 The chi square test for editor type and editorial judgment produced a significant chi square, with a probability value of .011. The results in Table 30 show that editorials published by pre-coup editors were more constructive in terms of judgment than those published by other editor types. Illatl-El‘l I lEi'I ill! I Judgment Editor Type Total Pre-coup Intermediate Post-coup Critical 15.2% 19.92% 17.83% 18.2% (19) (49) (23) (91) Constructive 73.6% 59.76% 55.04% 62.0% (92) (147) (71) (310) Supportive 11.2% 20.33% 27.13% 19.8% (14) (50) (35) (99) TOTAL 25.0% 49.2% 25.8% 100.0% (125) (246) (129) (500) Chi Square-=13.154,df=4,pI.011 The proportion of constructive editorials published under pre-coup editors decreased from (73.6%) to (59.76%) under intermediate editors, to (55.04%) under post-coup editors. The proportion of supportive editorials published under civilian rule increased from (25%) to (49.2%) under intermediate editors, to (27.13%) under post-coup editors. All editor types emphasized constructive editorials over critical and supportive editorials. The evidence suggests that the more the Ghanaian 108 press system is subject to libertarian-tending methods of press control, the more editors will emphasize constructive over critical and supportive editorials. The above findings reveal that the editorials of the Graphic and Times vary considerably with regime types but less so with newspaper and editor types. The findings also indicate that some of these variations are statistically significant. The next chapter will provide the summary and conclusions of the study. The chapter will include a discussion of the study limitations and recommendations for future research. CHAPTER IX SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Summary The primary purpose of this study was to examine the factors that determine the content of Ghana’s two national daily newspapers, the People's Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times. The study sought to determine whether differences in regime types and styles of press control influence the editorial content of the two state-owned daily newspapers. The specific objectives of the study were two-fold: first, to determine the content and direction or evaluational orientation of the editorials appearing in the two newspapers, and second, to determine whether differences in regime types- civilian and military--and styles of press control influence the editorial content and direction of the two state-owned newspapers. The state-owned Graphic and “Ti—meg editorials were content-analyzed for a four-year period, from 1980 to 1983. Editorial was defined as an unsigned opinion that reflects the view of the two newspapers on an issue or event in Ghana or abroad. The use of editorials in this study was based on the fact that editorials constitute a major source of information for newspaper readers as well as radio listeners in Ghana. The review of the literature suggested that state-owned press editorials are reflections of the ruling regime’s daily position and translations of its stated policies and goals. Thus editorials help to construct political reality for the ordinary people in Ghana. Editorials constitute important links between government policy statements and the 109 110 masses. Editorials were selected for study because both civilian and military regimes in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa recognize their power and importance in the public communication process. The period of the study includes two successive regimes: the last two years of Limann's PNP civilian regime and the first two years of Rawlings’ PNDC military regime. The study period offered an unusual opportunity to examine the research objectives and related questions and hypotheses. The period also offered a unique opportunity to determine whether press theories originally propounded by Siebert et al. and revised by Hachten and other scholars apply to Ghana, a country whose press system has functioned under authoritarian- tending as well as libertarian-tending styles of press control. Based on the theoretical literature, the study conceptualized the press system under the legally elected government of Dr. Hilla Limann in developmental but libertarian-tending pattern. On the other hand, the study conceptualized the press system under the military regime of Rawlings in developmental but authoritarian-tending model. The following are the three research questions which the study sought to answer: 1) What topics do the state-owned Glgplgq and Eng present to their readers through their editorials? 2) How does the content of editorials of the Graphic and 111an published under the civilian regime of Limann compare with the content of editorials of the two newspapers published under the military regime of Rawlings? 3) Is there a statistically significant difference between the content of the Graphic and 11355 published under civilian rule and the content of editorials of the two newspapers published under military rule. Seven hypotheses related to these questions and to the body of literature that gave rise to them were tested on the basis of the content analysis results 111 and the chi square test. The level set for statistical significance in the study was .05. The content analysis results support most of the research hypotheses underlying the investigation. The findings contribute not only to our understanding of the performance of the state-owned press in Ghana during civilian and military rule but also to the field of mass communication research Of the many statistically significant differences that did appear in the content analysis results and the chi square test, the most striking were in the relationships between regime types and the categories of focus, purpose, tone, context, sources, and direction. Regime types refers to the successive regimes of President Limann and Chairman Rawlings. Focus refers to the point of concentration of the press editorials. It was examined in terms of persons and groups, issues and ideas, and institutions. Purpose refers to the objective or intention of the press editorials. It was examined in terms of informative or explanatory and argumentative or persuasive purposes. Tone refers to the style or manner of expression or language of the press editorials. It was examined in terms of sychophantic and non-sychophantic tone. Context refers to the geographical emphasis of the press editorial. It was examined in terms of local, national, regional, international and foreign relations. Sources refers to the principal ”newsmaker" identified by name or title in the press editorial. It was examined in terms of government and non-government sources. Direction refers to the evaluative orientation of the press editorials. Direction was examined in terms of praise and criticism. All the five research hypotheses involving these relationships were confirmed by the data in the present investigation. The content analysis results and the chi square test for editor types and focus, context, direction and judgment also lend support to these hypotheses and related assumptions. 112 Editor types refers to the Graphic and _T_ir_n_ea editors for the study period of 1980 through 1983. It was examined in terms of pre-coup, intermediate and post-coup editors. Judgment also refers to the evaluational orientation of the press editorials. It was examined in terms of critical, constructive and supportive judgment. See Appendix A for detailed definition. The study hypothesized that editorials of the two state-owned newspapers published under the military regime of Rawlings will focus more often on issues than those published under the civilian regime of Limann. It was assumed that the more Ghana’s developmental press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control (exemplified by the functioning of the press under Rawlings), the more Ghanaian press editorials will emphasize issue-oriented over people-oriented editorials. The data confirmed the hypotheses. The study hypothesized that editorials of the two newspapers published under military rule will concentrate more often on argumentative or persuasive editorials than editorials published under military rule. It was assumed that the more Ghana’s press system is subject to authoritarian- tending methods of press control the more the press will emphasize argumentative or persuasive editorials over informative editorials. The data supported the hypothesis. The study hypothesized that editorials of the two newspapers published under military rule will be more sychophantic in tone than those published under civilian rule. It was assumed that the more Ghana’s press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control, the more the press will emphasize sychophantic over non-sychophantic editorials. The data supported the hypothesis. 113 The study hypothesized that editorials of the two newspapers published under military rule will concentrate more Often on local and national issues than editorials published under civilian rule. It was assumed that the more the press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more the press will emphasize Ghanaian affairs over those outside Ghana. The data confirmed the hypotheses and the related assumption but not in the direction anticipated. The results showed that the more Ghana’s developmental or advancing press system is subject to libertarian-tending methods of press control (as exemplified by the functioning of the press under the civilian regime of Limann), the more the state-owned press editorials emphasized national affairs over affairs outside of Ghana. The study hypothesized that editorials of the two newspapers published under military rule will focus more on praise (in terms of direction) than those published under civilian rule. It was assumed that the more the Ghanaian press system is subject to authoritarian-tending methods of press control the more the press editorials will emphasize praise over criticism. The data supported the hypothesis. The data failed to support the hypothesis that editorials of the Graphic and Times published under military rule will concentrate more often on economic topics than those published under civilian rule. The results showed that the more Ghana’s press system is subject to authoritarian- tending methods of press control the more state-owned press editorial emphasized economic over political and cultural subjects. The data supported a number of ”non-hypothesized” relationships involving newspaper type, editor type, judgment and editorial content of the Graphic and Ii_m_t§. The data showed that editorials of the Graphic and Times differ in terms of tone, origin and judgment. The data also showed 114 that editorials of the two state-owned newspapers varied significantly with each editor type. Editorials published under pre-coup editors (those who served as editors during the Limann civilian regime) focused on persons, issues, institutions, criticism, national and regional affairs, constructive judgment, and the Third World. Editorials published under intermediate editors (pre-coup and post coup editors or those who served as editors under both Limann and Rawlings) focused on local, international and cultural affairs. Editorials published under post-coup editors (those who served under the military regime of Rawlings) focused on economics, issues and institutions, praise and foreign relations. The most frequent editorials published under all three editor types focused on politics, issues, criticism, national affairs, the Third World, and constructive judgment. The data Showed that editorials of the two newspapers varied significantly with each regime type. Editorials published under the civilian regime of Limann and during a period of libertarian-tending methods of press control focused on politics, persons and groups, informative purpose, non-syschophantic tone, government sources, national and regional affairs, constructive criticism, and issues of Non-Third World origin. In contrast, editorials published under the military regime of Rawlings and during a period of authoritarian-tending methods of press control focused on economics, culture, issues and institutions, or argumentative or persuasive purpose, sychophantic tone, presidential and non-government sources, international affairs and foreign relations, issues of Third World origin, and supportive judgments. The most frequent editorials published under both civilian and military rule focused on domestic politics, issues, argumentative or persuasive purpose, non-sychophantic tone, government 115 sources, national affairs, issues of Third World origin, and constructive criticism. Conclusions The above findings strongly indicate that significant differences occurred in the editorial content of the Graphic and Times with a change of government from the civilian rule of Limann to the military rule of Rawlings~regardless of the type of newspaper or editor. This findings may be attributed to not only regime differences but also to the differences in methods of press control-~the libertarian-tending methods of the Limann civilian regime and the authoritarian-tending methods of the Rawlings military regime. The findings also lend support to the assertion by Altschull and other scholars that the over-riding determinant of press content is the political ideology of those who finance and control the press. The evidence suggests that under both civilian and military rule the editorials of the state-owned press emphasized domestic political content over other topics. Domestic politics and economics received high priority attention under all editor and regime types. This evidence points to an increasing Ghanaian dissatisfaction with the unsettling political and economic situation in Ghana. Contrary to popular opinion, the state-owned press editorials criticize government officials, including the president. The evidence suggests that editorial criticism under all editor and regime types was constructive. Constructive editorial refers to an editorial that states an issue, disagrees with parts of it and provides solutions to problems or alternative approaches. The societal functions of the state-owned press editorials were not limited to politics, economics and criticism. The editorials 116 published under civilian and military rule discussed national and Third World issues in a persuasive, constructive and non-abusive manner. Despite the existence in Ghana of many controls and restrictions on the state-owned press during the study period, Ghanaian editors managed to publish editorials which sought to monitor and evaluate events within and outside Ghana. It must be noted that under both civilian and military rule, editorial coverage of disasters, entertainment, housing and social welfare, the environment, science and technology, national unity and integration, family norms and values was limited. However, the findings of this investigation verified many of the differences the researcher had expected to see between regime type and the editorial content of the state-owned Graphic and Times. The results showed statistically significant differences between regime types and the editorial content of the two papers. A few more relationships were not statistically significant but showed noteworthy differences. As with all studies, there are limitations to this one. First, regime type is not the only determinant of press content in Ghana. The literature examined earlier in this study suggests that the Ghanaian press is limited and circumscribed by social, economic, political and structural constraints. However, the present investigation could not empirically determine the impact of these factors on the editorial content of the state-owned Ghanaian newspapers due to lack of data. Second, the present investigation did not include private newspapers. Thus, the results have no bearing on the influence of regime types on the private press in Ghana. Private newspapers were excluded because the researcher could not obtain an adequate sample to include in the present Study. The Library of Congress from which the researcher obtained microfilm 117 copies of the Graphic and Times did not have private Ghanaian newspapers on microfilm. Third, some of the cell values in the chi square tables are low. Stempel recommends an expected frequency of a least 5 in each cell. Thus the results in these chi square tables should be interpreted with circumspection. Notwithstanding the above shortcomings, this study provides some evidence that techniques of content analysis can be successfully employed to investigate the influence of civilian and military regime types on the editorial content of the state-owned press in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. The study also demonstrates that in addition to being conceptualized in developmental terms, the press system of Ghana may be examined in terms of authoritarian- tending and libertarian-tending methods of control. This investigation makes at least two contributions to mass communication research. It is the first known content analysis study to examine the influence of the civilian regime of Limann and the military regime of Rawlings on the content pattern and direction of editorials appearing in the Graphic and mi. Second, the study pulls together the disparate theories of the press and places into perspective the applicability of the libertarian-tending and authoritarian-tending methods of press control to the Limann civilian and Rawlings military regimes respectively. The study demonstrates that regime differences and methods of press control may help to explain the content patterns of the stated-owned press in Ghana, and other African countries whose press systems are constantly buffeted by abrupt changes in government from civilian to military or military to civilian. Although broad patterns are evident from the comparison between regime type and the editorial content of the state-owned press, additional research is needed to compare the relationships between 118 regime type and editorials appearing in state-owned newspapers and private or independent newspapers. A future research should be sensitive to the potential effect that differences in civilian and military regimes and their contrasting methods of press control as well as social, economic and political constraints may have on content patterns and direction of the Ghanaian press. It is important to recognize that this study examined questions concerning the performance of the state-owned press during the first two years of the Rawlings regime. This limitation of course makes it impossible to assess press performance under Rawlings after the study period. In the light of the recent ideological shift of the Rawlings regime, it will be useful for future research to compare the performance of the press under Rawlings, past and present, to determine whether the change in ideology has any influence on the performance of the public and private press in Ghana. Different type of results may be found when time and ideology are considered as variables in a future research. If all the present study does is to provide a set of relevant propositions and preliminary evidence in respect of the performance of the Ghana’s state-owned press during civilian and military rule, it will have served its objective. APPENDIX A CODING INSTRUCTIONS CODING INSTRUCTIONS This is a study of the editorial content of Ghana’ s state-owned mass circulating daily newspapers--the Daily Graphic or the People’ s Daily Graphic (hereafter called theG Graphic) and the Ghanaian Time_s_ (hereafter called the Tim In this study, the unit of analysis is editorial. An editorial is defined as the unsigned opinion which reflects the view of the Graphig and limp; on an issue or event at home (Ghana) or abroad. The two papers carry this type of comment. In the Graphic, editorials are defined as those articles appearing under the heading, ”GRAPHIC VIEW’ or ”COMMENT.” In the limg5, editorials are defined as those articles appearing under the heading, ”EDITORIAL.” The investigation involves a content analysis of a random sample of 500 editorials appearing in the Graphic and Times from 1980 to 1983. This period includes two successive regimes: the last two years of Dr. Hilla Limann’s People’s National Party (PNP) civilian government-from January 1, 1980 until the second Rawlings military coup d’etat (Revolution) of December 31, 1981; and the first two years of Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings’ ruling Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) military government-~from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1983. Techniques of content analysis will be employed to examine the content patterns and direction of the editorials of the Graphic and Times. Content analysis involves an objective, systematic and quantitative analysis of the manifest content of editorials appearing in the two papers. The design requires that the explicitly formulated research rules and procedures must be carried out by all coders. It is realized by defining the study categories so precisely that different coders can apply the categories to the same editorial content and achieve the same result. The coding is limited to the apparent content or surface meaning of the Graphig and Time§ editorial. This means that editorial content of the two papers must be coded as it appears rather than as the coder feels it is intended. Coders must avoid ”reading between the lines.” The research design demands that coding of the editorials must be intersubjectively verifiable and reliable. The following procedures and definitions will be used in coding the Graphig and Times editorials: 119 120 Coder refers to the name of the individual coding the editorial. Coding involves the use of the code sheet in recording the numerical values or the frequencies with which the various categories occur. Case Number refers to the identification of editorial sample to be coded. The number ranges from 001 to 500. Newspaper Type refers to the Graphic and Times. Placement refers to the page that the editorial begins. Name of Editor refers to the name of the Editor or Acting Editor of the Graphig and lime5. Editor Type refers to the editors of the two papers for the study period. Editor type must be coded as follows: a) Pre-coup editors-those who served as editors under the civilian regime of Limann; b) Intermediate or pre- and post- coup editors—those who served under both Limann and Rawlings; c) Post- coup editors--those who served as editors under the military regime of Rawlings. Length refers to the total number of words in the editorial. Length of editorial must be determined by word count. Date refers to the date of publication of the editorial. The date includes day, month and year of publication of the editorial. Regime Type refers to the successive regimes of President Hilla Limann and Chairman Jerry Rawlings. The Limann PNP government, which was popularly elected through balloting, is classified as a civilian regime or constitutional government. The Limann era covers January 1980 through December 31, 1981. The Rawlings PNDC government, which seized power through a military coup, will be classified as a military regime or non- constitutional government. The Rawlings era covers January 1982 through December 31, 1983. Focus refers to the point of concentration or the center of attention of the editorials. Focus must be coded in terms of the following categories: a) Persons--editoria1s that focus on concrete persons and groups; b) Issues-- editorials that focus on ideas or events that concern plans and proposals for society at home or abroad, alternative solutions to problems, suggested goals and novel adaptation to news Situations; c) Institutions--editorials that concentrate on organizations at home and abroad. An editorial not belonging to any of the three categories must be coded ”Other.” 121 Purpose refers to the objective or intention of the editorials. Purpose must be coded in terms of the following categories: a) Informative-an editorial presenting facts to help clarify an event or issue without demanding action; b) Argumentative--an editorial written to persuade the reader toward a particular point of view. An editorial not belonging to any of the two categories must coded ”Other." Sources refers to the principal ”newsmaker” identified by name or title in the editorials. Sources must be coded in terms of the following categories: a) Government-~an editorial involving government officials, including the president; b) Non-government--and editorial that does not involve government sources. An editorial not belonging to any of the two categories must coded ”Other.” Tone refers to the style, manner of expression or language of the editorials. Tone must be coded in terms of the following categories: a) Sychophantic-an editorial which is compliant, vituperative or abusive, and blatantly ideological; it uses propaganda devices such as slogans, name-calling and glittering generalities; b) Non-sychophantic—the opposite of sychophantic editorial--an editorial which is not abusive, compliant, and blatantly ideological; it does not employ propaganda devices to promote a particular cause or point of view. Function is a reclassification of the specific topics into political, economic and cultural functions. (See definitions below). Context refers to the geographical emphasis of the editorials. Content must be coded in terms Of the following categories: a) Local-an editorial focussing on issues and event involving specific ethnic or local communities (rural and urban) in Ghana; b) National-~an editorial involving issues and events that have Ghana-wide significance even if the actual context for such issues and events is local; c) Regional--an editorial treating issues and events from the perspective of their importance for the entire African Continent even if the issues and events have a particular African region or country as arena; d) International-~an editorial treating issues and events outside Ghana, although invariably it is written from the point of view of its implications for Ghana; e) Foreign Relations--an editorial involving diplomatic relations between Ghana and other countries--relations between Ghana and international organizations (U.N., OAU, ECOWAS, ECA, UNESCO, UNDP, WHO, and the Non-Aligned Movement). Origin refers to the geopolitical setting of the editorial. Origin must be coded in terms of the following content categories: a) Third World--an editorial dealing with Ghana and other advancing countries; b) Non-Third World-an editorial no belonging to the first category. 122 Direction refers to the evaluative orientation of the editorials. Direction must be coded in terms of the following categories: a) Praise-an editorial expressing approval or support for issues and events; b) Criticism--an editorial expressing disapproval for issues and events. An editorial not belonging to one of the two categories must coded ”Neutral.” Judgment also refers to the evaluative orientation of the editorials. Judgment must be coded as follows: a) Criticaluan editorial that states an issue and openly disagrees with it without offering solutions or alternative approaches; b) Constructive-an editorial that states an issue, disagrees with parts Of it, and provides solutions to problems or alternative approaches; c) Supportive—an editorial that states an issue and fully supports the issue. Topics refers to the specific topics of the Graphic and Times editorials. Topics must be coded in terms of the following categories: 1) Domestic politics-~an editorial involving government activities and, public policy issues, activities of quasi-political organizations, legal-administrative issues, elections, inter-party interactions, intra-party affairs, defense and workers committees, government pronouncements, statements by political leaders and the Head of State, People’s Defense Committees, Committees for the Defense of the December 31st Revolution, June 4th Movement, the activities of political parties such as the PNP, PFP, UNC, ACP, SDF, TFP, legislative affairs, activities of party functionaries and political rallies, government appointments and dismissals, government pronouncements or communiques, political activities of quasi-political organizations such as the Bar Association, cabinet reshuffle and parliamentary activities, radio and television political broadcasts by political leaders, and activities of PNDC secretaries. . 2) Non-Ghanaian affairs--editorials which do not involve Ghanaian issues. 3) Economics--an editorial involving finance and banking, exports and imports, taxation, business activities, central government budget allocation, foreign exchange allocations, economic development issues and events, government policies and guidelines for the distribution of essential commodities, World Bank/IMF activities and programs, payment of international debt, manufacturing and mining industry, timber industry and policies for economic recovery, and macro-economic activities. 4) Food and agricultural production-editorials dealing with the production of food crops-- maize, rice, millet, guinea corn, cassava, yam, cocoyam, sorghum, and cash cropS--cocoa, palm oil, coffee, kola, sheabutter. The category includes editorials involving livestock--goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, poultry farming, fishing, hunting, horticulture, seed production, improved methods of farming, irrigation and agricultural mechanization, use of insecticides, food 123 storage and preservation, nutrition, hunger and famine, problems of farmers, agricultural and land reforms. 5) Education and students-~editorials involving schools, colleges and universities, teachers and students, reforms in education systems, academic examinations, award of academic degrees and diplomas, school feeding, boarding house problems, fee-free education and student scholarships and stipends, national service, and activities of parent-teacher association. 6) Transport and roads-—editorials involving the Ghana Airways, the Black Star Shipping Line, the Railway System, private and public transportation, movement of goods and services, the Tema and Takoradi ports, civil aviation, toll collection, roads and bridges, drivers union, transport fares, transport owners association, lorry park overseers and bookmen. 7) Crime and justice—editorials involving violent and non-violent crimes, law and order (laws not political or economic in character), arrests, civil suits, criminal trials, acts of crime, punishment, jail, prison conditions, interpretations by courts, public tribunals, vetting committees, commissions of inquiry, and the judiciary. 8) Telecommunication and mass media--editorials involving post offices, telephone facilities, press, radio, television and film, press freedom, journalists, broadcasters, press councils and unions. 9) Health, sanitation and medicine-editorial involving diseases, epidemics, human waste and garbage disposal, drugs and cures, hospitals, clinics, nurses, doctors, traditional healers, herbalists, immunization and vaccination, health campaigns, family planning, medical research, alcoholism and substance abuse, shortage of medical personnel and materials. 10) Bribery and corruption--editorials involving the taking and giving of bribes. 11) Business activities-~editorials involving micro-economic activities-- buying and selling of goods and services, activities of local traders, merchants, GNTC, UAC, Lebanese traders and manufacturers, Makola women traders, Kwahu traders, tailors, seamstresses, foodsellers (kenkey, bread, gari etc). 12) Labor and employment--editorials involving the creation of jobs, lack of jobs, improvement of conditions of service, occupational safety, industrial strikes and protests, work stoppages, sit-downs, retrenchment and redirecting of workers, statements of labor union leaders, braindrain, salaries and wages, low productivity, lateness to work, achievement of workers, worker and management relations. 124 13) Police and law enforcement--editorials involving activities of police officers, keeping the peace, arresting and stopping crime, protecting life and property, traffic control, police pronouncement, police celebration, police training and recruitment, police relations with the public and police indiscipline. 14) Immigration and refugees-editorials involving legal and administrative problems of refugees, returnees, travel visas, naturalization of non- Ghanaians, settlement of returnees and refugees, and migrant workers, and migration. 15) Culture-editorials involving the way of life of Ghanaians, activities of traditional chiefs, transmission of traditional heritage through music and dance, questions involving arts and crafts, and cultural festivals. 16) Rural and urban development--editorials involving infrastructural development in urban and rural areas--self-help projects (involving the provision of drinking water, community or recreational centers, rural/ urban electrification), urban and rural planning and reconstruction. 17) Rebellions and coups—editorials involving armed revolt, resistance to traditional or governmental authority, ethnic conflicts, coup attempts, police or army mutiny, chieftancy strife, conflicts between military and civilian rulers, wars, battles, and violent overthrow of constitutionally elected government. 18) Religion--editorials involving the supernatural, faith, churches and religious sects, statements of religious leaders, promotions, transfers, awards, appointments, activities of religious groups, the Christian Council, the Muslim Association, religious celebrations, visits by world church leaders such as the Pope, national religious rituals such as praying and pouring libation for the nation. 19) Military and defense-editorials involving the activities of the armed forces--navy, airforce, army, border guards, the defense of Ghana from internal and external aggression, military exercises, training and recruiting, promotions, transfers, awards, leadership of the armed forces, indiscipline and relations with the public, purchase of military equipment, and military celebrations. 20) Housing--editorials involving plans for mass housing, low-income housing, shelter for poor, national housing needs and construction, landlords and tenants, rent control, shortage of building materials, private and government housing projects and real estate. 125 21) Civil Service-editorials involving the activities of the Ghana Civil Service Association, statements of the leadership of the Association. Civil Servants include all persons or groups identified (mentioned in the editorials) as civil servants. 22) Environment and ecology-editorials involving pollution of water and air, dissertification and deforestation, drought and climatic changes, forest reserves and bushfires, use of DDT, national tree planting activities, and preservation of wild animals. 23) Social welfare-editorials involving the physically handicapped, the blind, deaf and dumb, the homeless, lunatics, orphans, beggars, policies of the Social Welfare Department, programs involving child support, and juvenile delinquency problems. 24) Sports--editorials involving leisure entertainment or recreational activities, soccer, boxing, athletics, table tennis, sports contests, the activities of athletes and coaches, sports spectators, commentators, the National Sports Council, recruitment and training of athletes, and sports management. 25) Family norms and values--editorials dealing with the generational gaps, disrespect for the elderly, family life, prostitution, abortion, extra-marital affairs, infidelity, fornication, abuse of women and children, and rejection of Ghanaian traditions, norms and values. 26) Science and technology--editorials involving the natural sciences, inventions, technological innovations, scientific theories and statements of scientists, achievements of scientists, the National Academy of Science activities, and the activities of the Atomic Agency. 27) National unity and integration-editorials involving a call by national leaders for national unity or communal harmony, cohesiveness and positive orientation toward government and the country. 28) Obituary-editorials involving death and funeral celebrations. 29) Other-editorials which do not belong to any of the above categories. APPENDIX B CODE SHEET CODE SHEET 1)_ Coders (1) (2) (3) (24) Case Number (5) Newspaper Type (1) Daily Graphic or People's Daily Graphic (2) Ghanaian Times (6-12) Date (14-15)_ _ Editors (1) Addo-Twum (2) Aggrey (3) Aidoo (4) Charles (5) Clegg (6) Essuman (7) Nkrumah (8) Ofori-Atta (9) Ohene (10) Sarpong (11) Yankah (12) Other (16)_ Placement (1) Front Page (2) Inside Page (3) Other (17-21) Length (By Word Count) 126 127 (22)_ Regime Type (1) Dr.I-Iilla Limann Civilian Regime (January 1, 1980 through December 31, 1981) (2) Flt Lt. Jerry Rawlings Military Regime (January 1, 1981 through December 31, 1982) (23)__ Editor Type (1) Pre-coup editors (2) Intermediate editors (Pre-coup and Post-coup editors) (3) Post-coup editors (24)_ Focus (1) Persons (2) Issues (3) Institutions (4) Other (25)___ Purpose (1) Informative (2) Argumentative (Persuasive) (3) Other (26)___ Tone (1) Sychophantic (2) Non-sychophantic (3) Other (27)____ Sources (1) Government (2) Non-Government (3) Other (28)___ Context (1) Local (2) National (3) Regional (Africa) (4) International (5) Foreign Relations (29)_ Origin (1) Third World (2) Non-Third World (3) Other 128 (30)_ Function (1) Political (2) Economic (3) Cultural (4) Other (31)_ Direction (1) Praise (2) Criticism (3) Neutral (32)_ Judgment (1) Critical (2) Constructive (3) Supportive (33)_ Topics (1) Domestic politics (2) Non-Ghanaian affairs (3) Economics (4) Food and agricultural production (5) Education and students (6) Transport and roads (7) Crime and justice (8) Telecommunication and Mass Media (9) Health, sanitation and medicine (10) Bribery and corruption (11) Business activities (12) Labor and employment (13) Police and law enforcement (14) Immigration and refugees (15) Culture (16) Rural and urban development (17) Rebellions and coups (18) Religion (19) Military and defense (20) Housing (21) Civil service (22) Environment and ecology (23) Social welfare (24) Sports (25) Family norms and values (26) Science and technology (27) National unity and integration (28) Obituary (29) Other BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Africa Contemporary Record (ACR), Volume 4, 1971-72, London: Africana Publishing Company. 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