Journalism Aid: Country of Origin and Influences on Beneficiary Perceptions and Practices
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journalism Studies
Abstract
A sub-text in the discourse on international development assistance is the argument that aid
is not necessarily a beneficent, or sustainable, solution to the development needs of African
countries. This argument raises a conceptual conundrum with respect to the many training
programmes and fellowships designed to address the skills deficits of journalists and media
in Africa. While the necessity and value of such interventions may be taken for granted, a
counterintuitive question arises about the extent to which beneficiaries are able nonetheless
to act independently. This study sought to find out the extent to which capacity-building
assistance to journalists in Ghana may have fostered or inhibited their independent practice.
Individual interviews were conducted with 24 journalists to ascertain their experiences with
such programmes and their subsequent dispositions towards the host country or agency.
The findings showed that underlying the manifest objectives of building the capacities of
beneficiaries was the implicit intent of the aid country of origin to use the media as agents of
economic and cultural diplomacy. The consequent prospect of compromising the journalistic
autonomy of beneficiaries of training aid brings into question their capacity to contribute to
sustainable development in Ghana.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
journalism aid, training, dependency, watchdog, Sustainable development