The Use of Media Advocacy by Civil Society Organizations (CSOS) in Pushing Development Agenda in Ghana

Abstract

The study examined media advocacy as practiced by Civil Society organizations in pushing for development agenda in Ghana. The study employed an exploratory research design and a sample size of three(3) CSOs namely Ghana Integrity Initiative, Media Foundation for West Africa and the Centre for Democratic Development using the purposive sampling technique. Underpinned by the Agenda Setting and the Two-step flow theory, interviews were conducted for data collection. Interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis approach. The findings revealed that, CSOs use various strategies accompanied with different media forms depending on their target audience and the specific issue at hand. It also found that media advocacy plays a significant role in their work towards development as it reaches a wider audience in the shortest possible time. The outcome of their media advocacy, either results in a policy or behavioral change, contributing to the development agenda in Ghana. It also found that the use of social media for media advocacy cannot be overlooked in this era of smart phone usage especially in serving as a tool and a platform for building relationship with media practitioners. The study recommended that further studies can be done on the external communication relationship between CSOs and media institutions taking special focus on the costs and benefits in their media advocacy roles.