i UNIVERSITY OF GHANA COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES A CRITIQUE OF THE ROLES OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNICATIVE ACTS AND THE MODERN MASS MEDIA IN CONTEMPORARY GHANA BY FRANCIS GBORMITTAH (ID. NO. 10392083) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PHD) IN AFRICAN STUDIES DEGREE DECEMBER 2020 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii DEDICATION To my wife, Otuko, and to my children, Yayrator and Selasi. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the support and encouragement from myriad institutions and people. My greatest thanks go, first, to God for seeing me through this journey. I am grateful to the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, for graciously granting me study leave to pursue this programme, and to Prof. Kofi Agyekum, the Dean of the School of Performing Arts (SPA) and Africanus Aveh, the then Head of the Department of Theatre Arts. I am indebted to the Institute of African Studies (IAS), UG, and its director Prof. Dzodzi Tsikata, for making resources available to me to carry out this research. I would also like to acknowledge the faculty, staff and students of IAS for their immense support in many ways. My special thanks go to the National Media Commission (NMC), the Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) and National House of Chiefs (NHC) for opening their doors to me to collect data. I thank the Ebedi IWR, Iseyin, Nigeria, and its founder, Dr. Wale Okediran for generously awarding me a Fellowship. I am grateful to the Pan-African Doctoral Academy (PADA) for providing me with skills in research data analysis, et cetera, in my PhD journey. The idea that a PhD produces not only a thesis that represents a contribution to knowledge, but also develops transferable generic skills, is true with the working styles of my supervisors. I thank Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy, Prof. Daniel Avorgbedor and Dr. Samuel Ntewusu for their constructive feedback and fresh perspectives that guided me in shaping the thesis and my academic life. I am also thankful to the Graduate Studies Committee and Dr. Edward Nanbigne, the Graduate Studies Coordinator of the IAS for effectively managing the affairs of the programme. I wish to recognise the vast range of respondents: media experts and practitioners (journalists, editors, reporters, producers), traditional rulers, cultural experts, and academics, who have contributed to this research through various publications and interviews. I also wish to extend my appreciation to Gertrude Boadu, William Agbeti and Ismael Ofoli for helping me with data collection. Closer to home, I acknowledge my colleagues in SPA and IAS, whose brains I occasionally picked on various matters in informal conversations. Dr. Nii Dortey, especially, always lifted my spirit during the most difficult times. Thanks to Sela Adjei, who was my colleague in most parts of the course, for his solidarity. Finally, I thank my wife, Otuko, my children, Yayrator and Selasi, for their physical and spiritual support. Thank you for tolerating my hermit life, for enduring my erratic moods, and for waiving our social life for my studies. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v LIST OF TABLES Table I: Phases of development of mainstream media in Ghana. 72-73 Table II: Categories of Respondents for Interview. 148-149 Table III: Some features of indigenous media and contemporary mass media. 181-182 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ACR African Communication Research AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council AGJW Association of Ghanaian Journalists and Writers AIJC African Institute of Journalism and Communication AP Associated Press APA Africa Press Association AUCC African University College of Communication BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation BGL Bureau of Ghana Languages CIB Castle Information Bureau CISP Cultural Initiatives Support Programme CPP Convention People’s Party FEF Friedrich-Ebert Foundation GAR Greater-Accra Radio GBC Ghana Broadcasting Corporation GBS Gold Coast Broadcasting System GCF Ghana Culture Forum GCR Garden City Radio GFIC Ghana Film Industry Corporation GIBA Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association GIJ Ghana Institute of Journalism GJA Ghana Journalists Association GNA Ghana News Agency GNC Ghana National Commission GPC Ghana Press Club GTV Ghana Television IAMCR International Association of Mass Communication Research ICT Information Communication Technology IM Indigenous Media ISD Information Services Department LEKMA Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly MFWA Media Foundation for West Africa MMM Modern Mass Media MSM Mainstream Media NCC National Commission on Culture NDC National Democratic Congress NDPC National Development Planning Commission NFB National Folklore Board NHC National House of Chiefs NLC National Liberation Council NMC National Media Commission NPP New Patriotic Party NRC National Redemption Council PNDC Provisional National Defense Council PNP People’s National Party PRAAD Public Records and Archives Administration Department University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vii RSF Reporters Sans Frontières SM Social Media SMC Supreme Military Council SNS Social Networking Sites UGCC United Gold Coast Convention UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation UTV United Television VHF-FM Ver High Frequency-Frequency Modulation WPE World Press Encyclopedia University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ii Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables v List of Acronyms and Abbreviations vi Table of Contents viii Abstract x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.0 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 1 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT 5 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 15 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 16 1.4 OVERVIEW OF THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES 17 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 20 1.6 MOTIVATIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 20 1.7 CLARIFICATION OF KEY CONCEPTS 22 1.7.1 Indigenous Media (IM) 23 1.7.2 Modern Mass Media (MMM) 26 1.7.3 New Media or Mixed Media 27 1.7.4 News 28 1.7.5 Globalisation versus Glocalisation 30 1.7.6 Culture and Tradition 31 1.7.7 Text 36 1.8 SUMMARY 39 1.9 OUTLINE OF REMAINDER OF THE THESIS 39 CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL & PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXTS OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA IN GHANA 41 2.0 INTRODUCTION 41 2.1 PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD: Before 1874 41 2.2 COLONIAL PERIOD: 1874-1956 51 2.3 INDEPENDENCE AND POST-COLONIAL PERIOD: 1957-1991 56 2.4 CONTEMPORARY PERIOD: After 1992 63 2.5 SOME CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON THE MEDIA 73 2.5.1 Media Law and Ethics 74 2.5.2 National Media Commission (NMC) & National Communications Authority (NCA)78 2.6 GHANA JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION (GJA) AND GHANA INDEPENDENT BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION (GIBA) 80 2.7 TRAINING IN THE MEDIA 82 2.8 SUMMARY 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ix CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW 87 3.0 INTRODUCTION 87 3.1 VALUES 88 3.2 CONTEMPORARY GHANAIAN CULTURAL BELIEFS AND VALUES 91 3.3 MEDIA AND CULTURAL BELIEFS AND VALUES 98 3.4 INDIGENOUS COMMUNICATIVE ACTS 102 3.4.1 African Traditional Values and the Right to Communicate 102 3.4.2 News-Sharing as a Power Transaction 113 3.5 CONTEMPORARY MASS MEDIA CHANNELS 117 3.5.1 New Communication Technologies, Applications and Platforms 120 3.6 MEDIA CONVERGENCE AND INTERACTIVITY 122 3.6.1 Convergence and Democracy 129 3.6.2 Convergence of Media Ownership 131 3.7 GLOBALISATION, GLOCALISATION AND COMMUNICATION 132 3.8 SUMMARY 139 CHAPTER FOUR: THEORETICAL & METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 140 4.0 INTRODUCTION 140 4.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 140 4.2 METHODOLOGY 144 4.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 146 4.4 THE STUDY SAMPLES AND SAMPLING PROCEDURES 148 4.5 DATA ANALYSIS 150 4.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 150 4.7 SUMMARY 151 CHAPTER FIVE: PRESENTATION OF CASES AND ANALYSIS 153 5.0 INTRODUCTION 153 5.1 PRESENTATION OF CASES 154 5.2 CASE 1: ON THE THEME OF SHARING OF NEWS ABOUT THE DEAD 154 5.3 CASE 2: ON THE THEME OF DIVULGING PRIVATE COMMUNICATION 158 5.4 CASE 3: ON THE THEME OF NEWS OF DELIBERATE FALSEHOOD 160 5.5 ANALYSIS OF CASES AND FINDINGS 162 5.5.1 Sharing of News about the Dead: News about the Passing of Paul Victor Obeng 167 5.5.2 Sharing News about a Private Conversation: Mr. Ebo Qaunsah and his Friend 176 5.5.3 Sharing of News of Deliberate Falsehood: Publications about Amissah-Arthur 179 5.6 SUMMARY 182 CHAPTER 6: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 184 6.0 INTRODUCTION 184 6.1 PROVISION OF ANSWERS TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS 184 6.1.1 Question 1 184 6.1.2 Question 2 186 6.1.3 Question 3 187 6.1.4 Question 4 188 6.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 189 6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 189 6.4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 189 BIBLIOGRAPHY 191 APPENDIXES 218 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh x ABSTRACT This study is located within the growing scholarship on news-sharing in contemporary mass media channels vis-à-vis indigenous communicative acts and protocols in the Global South, using Ghana as a specific geographical entry point. Evidence showed that news and information sharing, particularly on culturally sensitive matters, in the contemporary mass media channels have drawn a critical attention of some Ghanaians in recent times. The critics appear to have misgivings about the lack of concern for the values of communication and ethics of appropriateness of communication in the modern mass media channels. Consequently, this study critiqued the notions and processes involved in news and information sharing in indigenous communicative acts in relation to contemporary mass media channels, and the perceived tensions, focusing on three cases purposively selected to match three themes on, “news about the dead,” “news on divulging of private information and conversation,” and “news concerning deliberate falsehood.” In view of these themes, this study attempts at establishing whether some indigenous communicative acts and protocols of news-sharing could have served as a solution to the phenomenon, or they have outlived their practicality. Furthermore, it explores how the modern mass media could be socio- culturally positioned to adequately meet the needs of society. Regarding methods, multi- dimensional qualitative approaches of data gathering were employed. Primary and secondary sources of data which include in-depth semi-structured interviews and, media texts (audio-visuals, pictures, newspapers, and internet sources), and administrative texts (press releases, letters, and memos) respectively, were used. Textual, together with critical and interpretive analyses were used. The encoding/decoding model of communication was deployed as the central theoretical framework. This model is very significant in elucidating the comprehensibility of how people make meaning through news-sharing in ‘everyday natural settings.’ This study, therefore unearths a theoretical connection between socio-cultural index of encoding/decoding dualism and news- University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xi sharing for the purpose of examining new social media driving forces of convergence and interactivity, globalisation and glocalisation, and proliferation and mass media channels’ ownership vis-à-vis the cultural context. The revealing finding of this study is that participants, comprising cultural experts and media practitioners were influenced by diverse protocols such as intertextual cultural knowledge, personal experiences and dispositions, professional orientation, and biases as they decoded the cases/images. Also, very insightful finding is that the media practitioners often displayed their interest in cultural awareness issues and read the cases in the preferred and negotiated modes of the encoding/decoding model. And that they were not pleased with the originators of the publications and those who shared them. Further finding is that the cultural experts, mainly, used the preferred approach to read and were also irritated by the creators of the texts and those who published them. This study concludes that indigenous communicative acts still address the communication needs of people in rural communities. The contemporary mass media channels are considered as high-class in visuals, therefore are unable to address deep-rooted societal and culturally sensitive issues. Finally, it has also been disclosed that so far as the contemporary mass media channels reach huge audiences and can captivate, the useful values of both media should be integrated to provide effective communication to the people of Ghana. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The oral communication resource available in traditional society, directs its focus on the factor of “face.” The face factor […] naturally restrains or conditions the flow of speech in the face of authority. This becomes inevitable as society becomes more and more complex, and it becomes more and more impossible for elders to ask, “Whose son is he to be so unrefined in speech? (Yankah 1998, p. 40). 1.0 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY This thesis examines a topic that has, broadly speaking, been of concern in the field of media and communications studies, namely a critique of the processes involved in news and information sharing in indigenous communicative acts vis-à-vis contemporary mass media channels. The thesis contributes to these intellectual endeavours from a very specific geographical entry point, namely, that of Ghana. The thesis also investigates the questions about media ethics in the contemporary Ghanaian context, and how these ethics may exist in tension with indigenous traditions. The influence of the modern mass media in relation to indigenous communicative acts and protocols of news-sharing have drawn a critical attention of some Ghanaians in recent times. Scholars and commentators on ethnography of communication, media and the African context, and media and regulations, such as Yankah (1998), Hagan (2006), Gadzekpo (1999) and Karikari (2017) have expressed their disquiet about the operations of the modern mass media in Ghana, particularly, in news and information sharing on culturally sensitive matters. These scholars appear to have misgivings about the lack of concern for the values of communication or ethics of appropriateness of communication in the modern mass media of a country such as Ghana where both indigenous and colonial influences manifest in their contemporary lives. They observe that the modern mass media have come to control and define not only the space-time boundaries of public discourse, decision-making, citizen engagement and response time to events, but that they have also changed University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 the language and nature of public discourse (Hagan 2006; Karikari 2000). It can be deduced from the above that indigenous communicative acts appear to address basic issues that mass communication raises in all manner of contexts. For instance, Hagan notes that in the indigenous communicative acts and media, questions are specifically asked about: Between who and whom does the communication occur? What is the purpose of the communication? What is the content of the communication? What is the context of the communication? What are the reactions, responses, and the consequences of the specific means of communication? (Hagan 2006). These questions are not different from those asked in conventional journalism. However, it seems a certain obligatory significance can be derived from these questions regarding news-sharing from the indigenous media (IM) standpoint of news. For example, in most Ghanaian communities, an unfavorable news from the war front, the death of a traditional leader or a chief, et cetera, are shielded and carefully disseminated to palace authorities, close family members, the community, before the public. Even the news of the death of an ordinary citizen goes through the protocol of the closest family members (spouse, children, siblings) knowing first, following which the head of the family will cause announcement to be made to the public. Thus, the study critically examines, explains, and interprets perceived tensions and notions pertaining to news and information sharing in the context of indigenous media and the modern mass media in Ghana. The study is to establish whether some indigenous communicative acts and protocols of news-sharing have outlived their practicality, and how the modern mass media could be socio-culturally positioned to adequately meet the needs of society. It is important to indicate that it is not the purpose of this thesis to categorically uphold, justify or exalt ethical practices of any society nor, indeed, to denounce or abhor them. In other words, the interest of this study is not to moralise over African value systems as against Euro-American value systems, regarding University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 communication; rather, this study is an attempt to find some of the intersections at which both systems can work in the communication dynamics of the Ghanaian society. As Rao and Wasserman rightly observe, it is not the case that […] values articulated by Western theories (such as truth and non-violence) cannot transcend the cultural, geographic, or religious experiences in which they are situated and from which they emerge. Nor do we wish to construct a romantic view of precolonial cultures based on erroneous and static notions of culture that ignore syncreticism with the West. […] cultures are dynamic, that societies undergo hybridization and that their members display agency in appropriating Western ideas and values suited to their contexts (Rao and Wasserman 2007, p. 30). Rao and Wasserman emphasise the point that societies evolve based on social influences and each generation holds beliefs, values, and ideas within societies; behaviours and characters get moulded according to these values and beliefs, which become acceptable norms of society. In most societies of the World and, indeed, in many African societies, culture and tradition is not homogenous. Each ethnic group in Ghana has a unique historical tradition of group identity and cultural composition. Ethnic groups such as Akan, Ewe, Mole-Dagbane, Guan, Ga-Adangbe, et cetera,1 have peculiar culture and traditions associated with them (Anyidoho & Dakubu 2008; Bodomo, Anderson & Dzahene-Quarshie 2010; Dakubu 1996; Sadat & Kuwornu 2017). Despite the cultural differences among Ghana’s various peoples, there are some common acceptable standards. For instance, in relation to speech-making, Yankah (1991a) notes that the Akim, Bono, Wassa, Agona, Denkyira, Assin, et cetera, speak distinct dialects and have slight differences in cultural practices, but they all assign the same thoughts to speech-making, and respect the application of appropriate language as essential in the performance of some important tasks within the socio-political sphere. 1 Akan comprise Asante, Fante, Akwapim, Akyem, Akwamu, Ahanta, Bono, Nzema, Kwahu, and Safwi; Ewe constitute Anlo, Some, Tongu, Avenor, Agave, Peki, Kpando, Ho, Danyi, Agu, Fodome, etc.; Mole-Dagbane cover Mamrupsi, Dagomba, Gambaga; Guan represent Gonja, Anum, Larteh, Nawuri and Ntsumburu, Akpafu, Lolobi, Buem, Nkonya, Likpe, Logba, Avatime, etc. and Ga-Adangbe comprise Ga, Adangbe, Ada, and Krobo or Kloli. There are groups such as Efutu, Awutu, Senya, etc. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efutu_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efutu_people 4 From the above, it may be argued that cultural differences are bound to have impact on newssharing in the media. However, there are time-honoured traditions that serve as benchmarks for social coexistence and characterise ethical prudence, which communicative acts and the media are expected to uphold. Crisp observes that “ethics [are] a uniquely human concept and an explicitly social one, tied to systems of value and custom shared within and among groups of people” (1998, p. 132). This implies that moral obligations imposed on societies are to define or distinguish a particular society from the other. An enquiry around general questions such as the following becomes imperative to this study: Are the notions of media freedom and free speech enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana attuned to indigenous social constructions and communicative protocols? 2 What about the seemingly unbridled and unencumbered communicative practices as a result of the advent of new communication technologies? A critique of the roles of the indigenous media and the modern mass media in the contemporary era is required in order to deal with the challenges inferred in the above questions. This is because both the indigenous media and the modern mass media have each had to suffer from the dominance of theoretical frameworks derived from the Global North, whereby the indigenous media is somewhat displaced by the modern mass media. Interrogating the structures that had to be transformed as Africa transitioned from traditional to modern nationhood, Yankah believes that “One area that underwent modernization was communication: an attempt to supplant or pluralize the legacy of indigenous language and face-to-face communication highly cherished in Africa” (1998, p. 1). This is not to say that freedom of speech is not guaranteed in the traditional setting and in indigenous communication. Yankah again refers to a counselling session for a newly installed traditional ruler in the Kwawu area in Ghana, to demonstrate the adherence to the tenets 2 The freedom and independence of the media as guaranteed under Article 162(1) of the Constitution, encompasses all forms of media for mass communication operated by both the state-owned and the private media. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 of free speech in the traditional setting. He indicates that the ruler was admonished to permit free expression in affairs with of his subjects; “Let him not pronounce guilt on the speechless, if the speechless person is pronounced guilty, it’s a vain verdict” (Yankah 1998, p. 14). Rao and Wasserman argue that there is the need to incorporate culturally relevant communicative acts in modern mass media practice, noting: […] the modern media are Western in origin and ethical theories one suggests for the media are bound to be those that emerge from the West. However, satellite news channels such as Al Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, and Zee News have proven that the traditionally cherished Western values of journalism are no longer viable in global journalism. […] The complicated social and cultural composition of globalization makes it difficult to sustain a simple equation between capitalist modernity, Eurocentric cultural values […] (Rao and Wasserman 2007, p. 33). Rao and Wasserman’s position is very forceful to this thesis in examining the questions of ethical decisions of the contemporary Ghanaian media based on indigenous values. The challenges Yankah (1998) and, Rao and Wasserman (2007) underscore, demand that issues of indigenous and contemporary encounters and their impact on society and cultural constructs are confronted on both vertical and horizontal levels. Whereas the vertical tendency deals with bureaucratic systems (the-powers-that-be), the horizontal tendency handles society and cultural issues across board on an everyday basis. 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT The mass communication domain in Ghana has experienced radical changes over the last two decades in terms of media practice, private ownership of media organisations and policies about the media (Bokor 2014). The explanations for these changes may be numerous and mixed, but two reasons are instructive: the guarantee clauses of freedom and independence of the media provided in the 1992 Constitution and technological developments in the communication sector. Or, differently stated, radio and television stations and most newspapers were exclusively owned by University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 the state prior to 1992; technological developments in communication also led to wide spread of news-sharing and interactivity on social media platforms, websites, and so on (Sey 2011a). Thus, conventions of news-sharing and public discourse such as civility, politeness, verification, et cetera, have not been absolutely adhered to, especially on social media platforms. In terms of scholarship in response to changes in journalistic standards vis-à-vis traditional norms, marked evidence has been the announcement of the death of Asantehene Opoku Ware II, the Asantehene, on February 25, 1999. The announcement in the media provoked public discontent, especially, amongst the Ashanti royal family because palace authorities and stakeholders had not been confidentially informed. Also, the palace authorities had not been accorded the reverence to announce the ruler’s death to the public as custom demanded (Gadzekpo 1999).3 Scholars and critics questioned the essence of journalism, communication, respect for cultural and traditional values versus the right to expression and information. Gadzekpo observes that The incident sparked a national debate on culture versus journalistic freedoms, with proponents of culture and tradition arguing strongly that journalism must be practiced in a cultural context and with a view to respecting cultural values and norms (1999 p. 3). Among the first foreign media houses that reported the news of the traditional ruler’s death were The New York Times, The British Broadcasting Corporation Radio – BBC Radio, The Guardian, 3 According to Hagan the reason to bar the announcement of the death of a king or traditional ruler until palace authorities do so, stem from the fact that the death creates a critical constitutional situation, which means that the people have lost their protector and the land is literally fragmented into possessions of villages and individuals. As the council deals with the constitutional crises, the time lapse becomes necessary to deal with any potential power struggle that may ensue (Hagan, 1968). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 and The Independent.4 Locally, the Ghanaian Chronicle published the news together with an editorial which featured on GhanaWeb,5 followed by publications in state-owned newspapers. The Asanteman Council blamed the media for contravening traditional protocols. The media were invited to Manhyia Palace in Kumasi for interrogation. Following this, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) issued a statement, entreating the media to “respect time-honored institutions and practices” (Faibille 1999). The Asantehene’s ‘death announcement incident’ was followed by other similar ones that drew the attention of scholars and commentators. Everyday instances, including the circulation in social media of nude pictures of a ‘Y’107.9 FM presenter, Ms. Ada, whose story of a purported abduction and sexual assault turned out to be false, abound in the Ghanaian media.6 The new media was particularly blamed for overlooking fact-checking and spreading false news. Nii Tetteh Kwei II, the Ga Dzaasetse, lamented at a news conference, saying: We are here to let you know that the Paramount Chief of the Ga State has [has died]. Rumours about the King’s passing had been rife long before he was pronounced dead by medical doctors in London. [We] hope that with the formal announcement of King Tackie Tawiah's death, the rumours would die too. [The media] must learn to investigate and speak the truth at all times and not just say anything in the name of freedom of expression (http://www.myjoyonline.com Jan. 15, 2013, 11:21 GMT). John Mahama, the former President of the Republic of Ghana, reminded the media to build society by avoiding sensationalism in their reportage. This had become necessary due to a bribery allegation aimed at the revered traditional ruler of Asante, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. Mahama bemoaned, saying: 4 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html by Michael Kaufman, March 4, 1999; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/303645.stm by Mark Doyle, March 5, 1999, 07:00 GMT; https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/mar/05/guardianobituaries. westafrica by Cameron Duodu, March 5, 1999, 12:48GMT;https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of- ashantihttps://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti- 1078403.html1078403.html by James Walker, March 5, 1999, 01:02 GMT. 5 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372, March 1, 1999. 6 https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found- recouping- at hospital.php University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/04/world/opoku-ware-ii-king-of-asante-is-dead-at-89.html https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-t-kaufman https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-t-kaufman https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-t-kaufman https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-t-kaufman http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/303645.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/303645.stm https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/mar/05/guardianobituaries.%20westafrica https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/mar/05/guardianobituaries.%20westafrica https://www.theguardian.com/profile/cameronduodu https://www.theguardian.com/profile/cameronduodu https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-king-opoku-ware-ii-of-ashanti-1078403.html https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Ghanaian-Chronicle-5372 https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/April-14th/kidnapped-yfm-presenter-ms-ada-found-recouping-%20at%20hospital.php 8 […] look at the recent lie that [the Asantehene] was the conduit for passing bribes to the Judges and now you can’t hold anybody responsible because somebody did it online and so that should warn our media […].” The media is supposed to advance society; it is not supposed to harm society […] (www.peacefmonline.com/pages/politics/politics/201309/174483.php Sept. 15, 2013; “Mahama condemns bribery allegation against Asantehene,” citifmonline.com/Ghana by Efua Idan Osam, Sept. 15, 2013 at 11: 52a.m). At a congregation of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in Accra, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo notes: The Media has immeasurable power to build up the confidence and values of our society and its institutions […], media practitioners must take a second look at the power they wield and the responsibility they owe society with the view to ensuring that they do not sacrifice integrity and the future of our society for today’s headline or breaking news (3news.com General News of Friday, 3 August 2018). With the advent of the internet and online news sites, many commentators like Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor7 have suggested that the regulators of broadcasting have lost the battle on unbridled news-sharing. Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor proposed to the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) to review its code of ethics to include social media practices. He contends that The difficulty facing the GJA in matters of this nature [fake news and misrepresentation of information] is that they ought to review the GJA Code of Ethics in view of the blossoming social media business in the country and globally to take care of practices in that part of the divide of the media practice (http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel, 19 April 2015). The regulatory bodies are seemingly faced with the difficulty of regulating the activities on the internet, even much more handicapped in this era of convergence, bolstering the “integration of voice, video, and data technologies” (Borchers 2001, p. 99; Campbell 1999) or mixture of media, “multimedia,” or “integrated media” (Rich 2010, p. 4). The element of national jurisdictions in the cross-border world of the internet raises debates about the appropriate regime for deciding internet disputes and the possible need for an international convention. There is simply too much 7 Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor is a legal practitioner and Ranking Member of the Constitution and Legal Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana and a Member of Parliament for South Dayi Constituency in the Volta Region. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/politics/politics/201309/174483.php http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/politics/politics/201309/174483.php http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel 9 information to cover in one day, making the selection of what to cover necessary (Grabber, McQuail & Norris 1998, p. 22; Nnorom 2012). Borchers believes that convergence of the media and the possibility to provide news rapidly, means there will always be an upsurge in speedy reporting (Borchers 2001). The effect of all these is, stories may not be double-checked before publishing or broadcasting. In the traditional context and among most ethnic groups in Ghana, information communication is a power transaction and follows a set of complex protocols. For instance, in a marriage announcement, the giving and receiving of drinks marks the completion of a specific communication transaction. The person, who receives the drink, by extension news, incurs certain responsibilities and must act swiftly. The entitlement to receive and release information is well-defined. The restrictions guiding news-sharing are instituted in the indigenous context and safeguarded by the traditional rulers to avert the society from any act that may defile its communicative values and make it amenable to indiscipline. This is not conceivable in many communities today due to Ghana’s republican status and constitutional rule, which has limited the power-role but maintained the cultural functions of traditional rulers. This is not to say that the contemporary mass channels do not work within regulatory regimes. However, they do not labour under any such strict controls as in the case of the indigenous media. Commenting on the intricacy of media ethics and practice in a fluid technological era, O’Connor notes that: Opening up and democratising creation and distribution of content [in a new media world of the Internet] also opened a Pandora’s box of credibility concerns, as unfiltered, unverified and often untrue claims [...] were regularly asserted, swallowed whole, regurgitated and then repeated, over and over, until accepted by many as facts (2012, p. 22). No matter the reasons for these circumstances in the media, the outcomes are obvious: the presentday media environment appears to be engulfed with ‘unprofessionalism,’ and presentation of opinions as fact (Ginsburg 2016). The situation with news-sharing in the modern mass media worsens when it comes to reporting on traditionally sensitive matters that need the attention and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 reflection of the people. It is, therefore significant to consider how indigenous communicative norms can be made to impact on the contemporary mass media channels. Media ownership and authorship of news poses another problem for media practice in Ghana. The fact that many media houses are privately owned and serve specific interests of certain clients signifies a takeover from the people, the ‘cultural ownership of the media.’ The media entities have fostered economic, political, religious, ethnic, and regional clienteles. These groups of clienteles influence what is newsworthy, instead of the media entities focusing on key manifestations of news as outlined by Rich (2010).8 Hagan (2006) argues that within a democracy, it is inevitable that the ownership and control of the media be contested by those who seek a stake in civil society and government. Thus, “in a free multiethnic and pluralistic society like ours, the spread of the media might come to reflect the demarcation of spheres of influence and the restructuring of social influence and power-relationships in society” (Hagan 2006, p. 6). In a perspective described by Hagan, without a clear cultural philosophy and agenda for the media, those who own and control the media might become unwitting allies of the powerful external forces who may negatively influence the cultural orientation of the people in terms of choices and behaviour thereby alienating the people from their cultural roots. Referring to articles in the April 27 and 30, 2015, issues of the Public Agenda newspaper, Karikari remarks that […] there is a growing tendency toward concentration and monopoly of media, especially in broadcasting. And this development is even the more insidious and inimical to free speech considering the fact that there is, as the Public Agenda puts it, “a nexus” of interests between business and politics (Karikari 2017, p. 5). 8 Timeliness (event that occurred in a day, or that happened a day before, or that will occur in the near future is deemed timely); proximity (event that is of interest to a particular community); unusual nature (out-of-the-ordinary, bizarre, rare events); human interest (stories about people with special issues, accomplishments or competences); conflict (news with elements of conflict with authorities); impact (events that provoke stories in response); helpfulness (consumer, health, etc. stories); celebrities (stories about entertainers, athletes, about people who have attained fame – good or bad); entertainment (leisure-time-oriented stories); issues or problems in the community (story containing qualities of conflict and proximity) and trends (stories that indicate patterns or shifts in issues, e.g. increase in armed robbery, social issues, etc.) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 So, one observes each time and everywhere, instances of mainstream media deception in the form of opinionated ‘pay-per-post news,’ unfounded information, manipulated images and ‘hiredout views’ (O’Connor 2012). In order to make informed judgement on matters of significance to their survival, members of society strive each day to ascertain the correctness, objectivity and reliability of news items, newspersons, and media houses. The declarations of the 1992 Constitution on liberalisation of the media led to media pluralism and proliferation of private media ownership in Ghana. The Provisions of the Constitution regarding plurality of ownership and editorial point- of-view brought about two factors. On the one hand, they have encouraged individuals and groups to own radio stations, newspapers, and television stations (push=competition); on the other hand, society’s demand for news has increased (pull=patronage) (O’Connor 2012). The media networks must compete for audiences by producing news on short deadlines while under pressure to be the first to break the stories. In so doing, they engage in the creation of epidemic of fake news of which society is at a risk of being innocent enablers through, in most cases, posting and reposting of these news items. O’Connor notes that This push and pull between speed and accuracy merely reiterates an age-old tension in news, pitting the urge to get it first against the need to get it right. […]. Since both speed and accuracy are crucial in news reporting, separating truth from rumour and fact from fiction remains essential for maintaining trust (2012, p. 132). As one of the studies that examine the media in Ghana, this thesis is located within the growing scholarship on news-sharing in new mass media channels in the global south. It is also situated within the overall field of media, communication, and tradition/cultural studies. Available scholarship shows that studies on the media in Ghana have placed emphasis on various categories. For example, scholars such as Agyekum (2013, 2010, 2002), and Yankah (2011, 1998) researched into linguistics and ethnography of communication, cultural foundations of free speech, and communication with contemporary society. Scholars including Ansu-Kyeremeh (2005, 1998, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 1994), Gadzekpo (2008, 2001, 1999) have explored media and democratisation, education and development, and culture/indigenous communication, while palace communication, etiquettes and proprieties have been investigated by Hagan (1968) and Yankah (1991a & b). Gadzekpo (2009) has further examined media and feminist concerns. Adjetey (2000), Afreh (2000), Dzirasah (2000), Karikari and Kumado (2000) spearheaded themes on media reception, expression, ethics, and the law, while subjects on broadcast policy and regulations have been studied by Amegatcher (1998) and Anderson (2013). Elsewhere, scholars including Anyidoho (2016b), Hackett and Zhao (2010) focus on tradition, audiences and messages interface, modernity, and foundations of ethics whereas Herman and Chomsky (2002) concentrated on communication, globalisation, culture, and development. Popular media, convergence, ownership, globalisation versus glocalisation, democracy and development, have been the focus of scholars such as Nyamnjoh (2010, 2009), Oduro-Frimpong (2011) and Wasserman (2012, 2011, 2010, 2007). Cooper (2007) and Karen (2003) focus on pop culture’s influence on children, and effects of violence in the media. It should be clear from the above that studies regarding the media in Ghana appear not to have dwelled largely on new media forms that deliver content by relying heavily on the internet, online media technologies, such as social media and social network platforms, and on computers, mobile phones, et cetera. For instance, specific subjects like convergence and interactivity due to advancement in technology vis-à-vis indigenous communicative forms in Ghana have not been fully studied. However, earlier studies by Ghanaian and African researchers such as Akpabio (2003), Ansu-Kyeremeh (1998, 1994) and Owusu (2012), and generally, Friend and Singer (2007), McCarthy (2010), Park and Pooley (2008), and Shapiro and Humphreys (2012) have focused on historical communication systems to unearth understandings into contemporary communication issues. These studies proposed further investigations and additions to scholarship in order to University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 understand the fine distinctions, conflicts, and impact in present-day communication practices. Likewise, these studies have not essentially considered the concepts of globalisation and glocalisation, regarding social identities in the media and on general notions of policymaking, legislations, and the economy. Glocalisation slightly alters the dynamics and emphasises both global and local ethos and link them, in a unique way, to media production, news-sharing and consumption experiences, social and cultural frameworks (Burgh-Woodman, 2014; Chao-Chen, 2013). Although Akpabio (2003), Ansu-Kyeremeh (1998) and the rest, mentioned earlier, have proposed further investigation into the area of historical communication systems, this thesis in addition seeks to explore contemporary communication systems to see how both systems have impacted on each other. The emergence of social media and social networks has increased the phenomenon of interactivity to boundless heights to the extent that owning a mobile phone can make one assume the position of a news producer, newscaster or reporter, news reviewer, besides being a listener or a viewer (Hagan, 2006). These are all encouraging developments as far as news-sharing and decision-making is concerned. However, how these developments can be harnessed to serve the public interest remains a huge question. O’Connor observes that “The new media world of the Internet, with its emphasis on speed and immediacy, had in some respects only made [the] crisis of confidence worse” (2012, p. 22). As noted earlier, this suggests that speed in information dissemination brings about challenges relating to verification, especially with online media and its commercial pressures. Baumann (2013) contends that the commercial pursuit of media persons has a great impact on the narratives and content they produce for society in a convergence and interactive epoch of the media. In respect of social and cultural implications, Hagan argues that “[…] public discourse will be across ethnic domains even when it is in one indigenous language” University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 (2006, p. 6). The inference, therefore, is that inflamed emotional discourse coupled with an enlarged media space could overwhelm and destroy society, particularly when indigenous norms of information sharing have been, somewhat, disregarded. The growing disputed concept of confidentiality, the increasing complexity of public discourse, and the deepened demand for accuracy are all matters of concern to the Ghanaian society. These are typical issues of the new paradigm of mass communication that must necessitate inquiry, principally by considering how civility can be restored into public discourse during new technologies of news-sharing and in the era of media convergence and interactivity in Ghana. This research builds on the studies outlined above and specifically seeks to contribute to scholarship in the area of news-sharing in new mass media channels in relation to indigenous communicative acts in Ghana. The study examines three cases purposively selected; one case for each theme: News about the dead (Sharing of the news of the passing of Paul Victor Obeng9 by the Daily Guide newspaper); News on divulging of private information or conversation (Sharing of a private conversation between Ebo Quansah10 and his friend by Asempa 94.7 MHz FM) and News concerning deliberate falsehood (Sharing of satirical image and publications about H.E. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur11 by Peace 104.3 MHz FM Online. These cases were selected based on the public interest they generated in Ghana, leading to their extensive sharing on social media platforms, on radio and television. The cases were also selected because they were reported to the National Media Commission (NMC), a constitutionally mandated arbiter of issues in the Ghanaian media. Thus, there are official documents on these cases, therefore lend credibility to academic study such as this. Lastly, the selected cases have not been critically analysed within the 9 Paul Victor Obeng was a former Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and a Senior Presidential Adviser on Governmental Affairs. 10 Ebo Quansah is a veteran journalist, the editor of the Ghanaian Chronicle newspaper. 11 H.E. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur was the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 scholarship, and their examination may serve as reference points for further studies in Ghana and elsewhere in the area of media and communication. The thesis presents a theoretical connection between socio-cultural index of encoding and decoding dualism advocated by Hall (1980, 1982) and news-sharing in order to examine new social media driving forces of convergence and interactivity, globalisation and glocalisation, and proliferation and ownership of media organisations vis-à-vis the cultural context.12 In terms of proliferation of media houses and ownership, and information-sharing in the mass media, a survey on the subject shows that apart from a few studies such as Osei-Appiah (2019), Owusu (2012) and Tettey (2001), analysis on the subject has often been expressed through commentaries and observations, and by reporters and columnists.13 The study therefore seeks to fill the gap in knowledge of the concepts of convergence and interactivity, globalisation and glocalisation, and media proliferation and ownership regarding news-sharing in new media channels in relation to indigenous media in Ghana. 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The general objective of this study is to compare perceived tensions that exist between the processes involved in the sharing of news and information in traditional communicative acts and in contemporary mass channels. Although the study does not seek to do a comparison of the indigenous media and new media, it will make references to how both forms of media are similar and dissimilar to establish relevant points. The specific objectives are to: 12 “Convergence,” “interactivity,” “globalisation” and “glocalisation” are explained later in this chapter. 13 Kwame Karikari referred to two of such publications in the April 27 and 30, 2015, issues of the Public Agenda newspaper when he delivered the Public Agenda Inaugural lecture at W.E.B DuBois Centre in Accra on the topic “Politics, Human rights and the Media in Ghana” on Dec. 11, 2017. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 1. Determine indigenous communicative acts in Ghana in relation to the themes (News about the dead, News on divulging of private information or conversation, News concerning deliberate falsehood) selected and find out how they are applied in information and newssharing on culturally sensitive matters. 2. Find out whether practitioners in the contemporary mass channels are familiar with indigenous communicative acts and how these acts are upheld in an era of media convergence and interactivity, owing to technological advancements in communication. 3. Determine how globalisation and glocalisation affect information and news-sharing in contemporary mass channels. 4. Explore how proliferation of media and media ownership (mainstream and social media) affect indigenous communicative acts in information and news-sharing. 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS The study seeks to answer the following questions to help fill the gaps identified in the scholarship and to expand on previous knowledge in the area of information and news-sharing. This is within the context of media convergence and interactivity, globalisation and glocalisation, media proliferation and ownership, in relation to indigenous communicative acts and new mass media channels in Ghana: 1. What are the indigenous communicative acts pertaining to information and news-sharing on culturally sensitive matters and how are they applied in the area of the three themes (News about the dead, News on divulging of private information or conversation, News concerning deliberate falsehood)? University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 2. Are media practitioners in contemporary mass channels familiar with indigenous communicative acts and do they endeavour to uphold them in an era of media convergence and interactivity? 3. What impacts do the contexts of globalisation and glocalisation have on information and news-sharing in the themes selected for examination? 4. Does proliferation of media and media ownership (mainstream and social media) affect information and news-sharing, regarding presentation and representation in the selected themes and how? 1.4 OVERVIEW OF THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES The study employs the Interpretive Model, which traces its roots to Max Weber and Wilhelm Dilthey (Roth & Weber 1976), and the Critical Model, developed by Stuart Hall in 1982 (Hall 1982, 1997a, 1992). Both models are encamped in epistemology of cultural/traditional and historical enquiries, political and economic perspectives, textual analysis, audience reception, and in media studies. These approaches have enabled the examination of the basis for production of cultural texts, investigation of media texts or messages (video clips/excerpts, written texts, et cetera), and study of how producers of media texts and cultural participants perceive these texts. Also, it is innovative to this study to use the Interpretive and Critical Models because from the literature reviewed, both theoretical frameworks have not been used in the study of the Ghanaian media. Thus, the research questions of this study have been fashioned in line with the approaches described above. This study has been created in three parts for examination. Each of the three parts has been featured in each of the three cases selected for analysis. Thus, sharing of the news of the passing of Paul Victor Obeng, sharing of a private conversation between Ebo Qaunsah and his friend, and sharing of satirical image and publications about H.E. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 The criteria for selecting the cases for analysis are in two folds: because the cases had been the subject of much media discussion; and because the three cases had been reported at the NMC, a statutory institution with the powers conferred on it under Article 167(b) of the 1992 Constitution to “take all appropriate measures to ensure the establishment and maintenance of the highest journalistic standards in the mass media, including the investigation, mediation and settlement of complaints made against or by the press or other mass media.” Case studies are known to have worked in fulfilling systematic research obligations that justify generalisation (Gerring 2007), a notion that is also shared by White (1994) and Babbie (1992). Part One deals with the historical and political perspectives of each case, derived or constructed from administrative-text-based data, which comprises press releases, letters, memos, and other correspondences. The cases were grouped according to their themes to give a context to each of the cases. This approach has also helped to establish specific issues raised against each selected case. Part Two involves textual analysis of each case and guided by the purpose of this study “to critique the processes involved in news and information sharing in indigenous communicative acts vis-à-vis contemporary mass media channels.” The textual analysis approach is significant because media texts or messages, essentially, cannot be “viewed as static, transparent and unchanging throughout the communication process” (Procter 2004, p. 57). In other words, communication is continually consciously slanted or subjective. Part Three examines readings and interpretations of media experts and practitioners and, to borrow Kuwor’s words, “cultural bearers and Ghanaian indigenous knowledge authorities, including chiefs, elders, […]” (2018, p. 2) with regards to the creators’/sharers’ biases and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 depictions in the selected cases. The critical and interpretive models have been applied to one- onone field interviews conducted. Hall’s (1982, 1973) encoding/decoding theoretical framework of communication has been applied across the three parts to deduce connotations, depictions and values from the publications and the news shared. This is a social framework of communication that accommodates perspectives and systems of both production and consumption of media texts. 14 This communicative concept makes room for this study to establish what happens in indigenous media and in contemporary media when it comes to disseminating information on the three selected themes. Procter notes that “‘Encoding/decoding’ was primarily intended as a critique of mass communications research and its empirical claims” (2004, p. 58). Hall argues that the conventional theories consider that the “sender creates the message and fixes its meaning, which is then communicated directly and transparently to the recipient” (Hall 1980, p. 131), instead of seeing the recipients as active audiences. It may well be said that Hall developed encoding/decoding theory as a means of expanding on conventional theories of mass media research. The study draws on the three parts-approach and Hall’s communicative framework to interrogate the roles of the indigenous communicative acts and the contemporary mass media in news-sharing in the era of convergence and interactivity, globalisation and glocalisation, and proliferation of media and media ownership. 14 Media text – the basic element that fosters shot-by-shot, close reading (textual analysis) of media products. It contains codes such as shot duration, camera movement, and lighting that structure a particular act of communication, a message. The code must be shared by the sender and the receiver for the message to be understood (Corrigan & White 2004, pp. 423-424). Metz (1974a) defines text as “any finite, organized discourse intended to realize communication […]” (Metz 1974a, p. 51). Media products are organised to enhance communication, therefore qualify as texts. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This thesis is as a result of a systematic research, dating from 2015 to 2020. The study focuses on three case studies with different themes. As mentioned earlier, these cases have been selected based on the huge public debate generated among Ghanaians, questioning the role of the modern mass media and how they reflect the traditions of ‘the people’ and serve the public interest. Also, the cases have been selected because they have been reported to the National Media Commission of Ghana. This suggests that the selection of these cases does not exhaust the list of numerous similar cases that occur daily in the Ghanaian media, especially on social media platforms. The cases were selected from the period 2010 to 2015. The period is significant because it is after the coming into force of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, therefore can be described as guaranteeing a vigorous, free, and open media enshrined in the Constitution. It is also a period immediately before and within the effective study period from 2015 to 2020, when cases relevant to the study had been reported. The study is interested in the themes chosen because they emphasise the values, traditions, and beliefs of most ethnic groups in Ghana and can be said to represent Ghanaian perspectives. Although the cases studied have been limited to one case each for a theme, the selected cases are important enough to represent comparable cases. These cases are fully presented in Chapter Five. 1.6 MOTIVATIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study has been motivated by the notion that as humans, we are witnesses to our time and history. Thus, it behooves on us to be interested in matters important to the maintenance of the values, norms, attitudes, et cetera, of society, especially when they create the opportunity to pursue research. The following notions about the motivation for the study are significant: University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 1. The ‘One who has forgotten the past will not grasp the present.’ In essence, this adage connotes that a society may not progress if it is not deeply rooted in its traditions, and at the same time ready to accept change. It is important that the high-tech expediency of newssharing in the contemporary mass media does not take over the time-honoured communicative values of Ghanaians. Gitelman (2006), Park and Pooley (2008), and Shapiro and Humphreys (2012) have examined in their works historical communication systems, and arrived at the conclusion that these systems “can help identify nuances, tensions, and motivations in contemporary communication practices” (Shapiro and Humphreys 2012, p. 1152). This thesis seeks to augment this literature, regarding Ghana, in order to deepen the understanding of contemporary communication issues, and the subjects of tradition and modernity, change and continuity. 2. The media, in general, is one of the most powerful instruments in human history, representing the conscience, the sense of right and wrong, of a society. Hagan describes the media’s role in the modern time as a prophetic one. He used an Akan proverb to demonstrate this: “if the traditional soothsayer foretells the destruction of the nation, he is himself a victim of his dire predictions” (Hagan 2006, p. 13). Thus, Hagan is cautioning the media to be constructive in playing its watchdog and visionary role. The study is significant because it has been designed to cut across social sciences and humanities discipline of communication studies. This strategy is helpful to locate the study in several possible ‘homes.’ While this thesis is focused on a particular issue, “information and news-sharing in indigenous communicative acts vis-à-vis in contemporary mass channels in Ghana,” it provides insights into matters of global importance. For instance, the study interrogates fallacies about indigenous knowledge practices and philosophies relating to indigenous communicative acts. This University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 era demands of the African scholar to draw parallels and reflections of African cultural inspirations from the perspectives of the global flow of ideas to make them worthwhile. In a connected and transnational world in which so many phenomena are lessboundary-defined, and become comparable across contexts, this orientation is ever more urgent for a researcher in African studies, and in Africa. It is hoped that the debates and findings of this study will provide students, academics, media practitioners, communication policymakers, researchers, government officials, and other stakeholders who have an interest in this subject with the necessary strategies and tools to serve society in a more efficient manner. With the above expositions on the purpose of the study, the problem statement, research objectives and questions, scope of the study, and motivations and significance of the study, it is now necessary to clarify certain key concepts and terminologies at the centre of this study, so as to properly establish the context in which they have been deployed. 1.7 CLARIFICATION OF KEY CONCEPTS In a thesis about media, communication and culture, many concepts and terms take on a variety of connotations. The key concepts and terms used in this thesis are: indigenous media, modern mass media, new media (digital media), news, globalisation and glocalisation, culture and tradition, conflict and tension, and text. Also, some concepts and terms have been used interchangeably. For example, the terms “conventional media,” “mainstream media,” “modern mass media” and “old media” have been used interchangeably to refer to newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film and the internet.15 Scholars such as Curran (2000), Friend and Singer (2007) and O’Connor (2012) use conventional media and mainstream media, respectively, in their writings, while Hagan (2006) uses modern mass media to mean the same channels stated above. “New media” or “digital media” 15 “Conventional media” are also now commonly referred to as “traditional media” or “legacy media.” University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 23 have been used interchangeably with “the internet and social media (Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.)” in the same way as Friend and Singer (2007), Ginsburg (2016), Hope & Ryan (2014) and Sikanku (2011) have used then in their works. “Contemporary mass channels” has been used in this study to embrace “modern mass media” and “new media.” “Indigenous communicative acts,” “indigenous media,” “traditional media,” and “indigenous communication systems,” have also been employed interchangeably as in the writings of Claxton (2010) and Ansu- Kyeremeh (1998, 1994). Additionally, “news-sharing” refers to “information-sharing.” 1.7.1 Indigenous Media (IM) The term, ‘indigenous,’ has been delineated by Claxton to mean “[an experience that is] local or native to the country, the people or the society concerned” (Claxton, 2010:2). So, ‘indigenous’ connotes concepts (traditions, values, norms) or people who dwell in a particular geographical location and are inhabitants of the land. “Indigenous” suggests a phenomenon that originates, it is distinctive of, and occurs naturally, in a specific space or place. It also implies that indigenous societies play key roles in creating and preserving shared memories and time-honoured activities that characterises histories of values and significances (Blake 1993). Thus, considering indigenous traditions as part and parcel of meaning-making in indigenous societies can be constructive to the communication needs of these societies. The use of ‘indigenous media’ in this thesis implies the primary means of communication in Ghanaian society before the contact with Europeans (missionary, trade, and colonialism), and with the inception of newspapers, radio, and television. Ansu-Kyeremeh contends that indigenous media is any form of endogenous communication process, which by its institution, form and integration into a particular society, functions as an avenue for disseminating messages in a way that involves the use of values, symbolism, institution, and belief systems of the society (Ansu- University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 24 Kyeremeh 1998). Akpabio holds a similar view, noting that indigenous communication system appeals and connects with the society, therefore boosts effectiveness of the message that disseminates in the society (Akpabio 2003). This form of media was the institutional organ and the official channel of communication in most Ghanaian communities, and was protected by law. For instance, in Akan16 tradition, the Ɛsɛn (court crier or town-crier) heralded by the talking drum, horn, gong, et cetera, disseminated news and communicated with the people. Similarly, expression of information through musical instruments, storytelling and performance are aspects of mass media in the Ghanaian perspective (Finnegan 1970; Nketia 1971; Yankah 1998). In this respect, a fair balance of communicative cues (the use of a situation and emotion, body language, etc.) and speech (tone, voice inflection, etc.), and even silence, are effective to disseminate information. For this reason, bowing to an elderly person can signify many things (greeting, apology, and so on), depending on the nature of the bow. It is non-verbal but sends a message before a word is said. Contrary to a generally held view that mass communication is a Western concept because it required technology-mediated gadgets, this thesis argues that some indigenous communication systems such as the drum language (talking drums), gong beating, smoke signals, et cetera, are mass-focused. Both indigenous and technologically-driven mass communication encodes messages, which the receiver decodes, using his/her experiences in a culture vis-à-vis current or prevailing knowledge. Yankah notes that “The Akan did not need to borrow the word ‘broadcast.’ Whereas bɔ dawuro literary means ‘to beat the gong,’ it also means ‘to announce,’ ‘to 16 Akan is the predominant ethnic group in Ghana. 47.5% of Ghanaians are Akan. The Akan occupy the greater part of Southern Ghana. Akan comprises various dialects: Asante, Akuapem, Fante, Akyem, Agona, Akwamu, Assin, Denkyira, Twifo, Wassaw, Kwawu, Brong and Buem (Agyekum 2006; 2010 Population & Housing Census, Summary Report of Final Results, Ghana Statistical Service, May 2012). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 25 broadcast.’ It depicts the typical African mode of public news communication […]” (Yankah 1998, p. 6). He holds a similar view about the manifestations of other indigenous communicative acts: The horns and talking drums indeed constitute the nexus between the folk and mass media in Africa, since like radio, they communicate messages over long distances. In historical times, these served as strategic modes of mass communication (1998, p. 7). In the Ghanaian cultural context, mass communication is protected with norms and protocols that recognise the overall interest of safety, societal values, and the rights of interested parties in society. Indigenous or traditional protocols of news-sharing refer to culturally acceptable and entrenched norms, procedures, etiquettes, et cetera, of communication in the traditional context that are to be “preserved and not lost” (Graburn 2001, p. 6). This suggests that the application of these protocols in communication promotes social cohesion and order. The dawurobɔfo (gong- beater), for instance, exercised deliberate care and diligence with public communication, and came out only occasionally to inform or summon the community to action. The conventional notion is that the indigenous media has limited reach and general expense associated with face-to-face modes of communication are the reasons why mass media forms are preferable in many news- sharing contexts in contemporary times. But Yankah observes that “As communication becomes more faceless, the indigenous norms of restrained discourse are bound to slacken, taken over by greater openness and candour where affront is inevitable. But this also deepens the communication crisis […]” (1998, p. 40). Faceless communication manifests in situations where it is impractical to attach face-to-speech. For instance, during radio and television phone-ins, which are everyday experiences in a contemporary complex society. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 26 1.7.2 Modern Mass Media (MMM) The modern mass media represent the means by which encoded messages and information are delivered to a mass public through newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film, and the internet.17 In other words, the modern mass media are any of the various means that can reach a large group or masses of people, either through print, electronic or broadcasting. Newspapers and magazines are collectively referred to as the print media, while radio, television, film, and the internet imply electronic media. (Wimmer & Dominick 2006). Also, “the media,” refers to the main means of mass communication and other technologies that allow immediate access and contribution of content in the form of images, video, and text; the reporters, journalists, et cetera, working for organisations engaged in such communication (Lowrey 2018). Thus, Lowrey is suggesting that with the media, there is often a principal part dealing with personnel such as a newspaper publisher, and an establishment such as a television or radio station or network studio that produces content for a larger audience. It should be stated that broadcasting at all material times has involved two elements. These are content production and transmission. The two combine to constitute the broadcast medium. These also mean message that stem from a certain established source (the sender), passes through a medium (the mediator), and to a mass of diverse and anonymous audience (the receivers). Hence, the reference to ‘modern mass media’ implies mass media communication in the contemporary era such as conventional media, digital media, new media, social media, social networks, et cetera (Lowrey 2018). It appears, so far, that what differentiates the modern mass media from other communications media, for example, the telephone, is its “mass” characteristic. The above essential factors of media still exist even though their character has changed, pivoting on development of technologies of mass communication, and 17 Television and film are sometimes referred to as screen media (See Dovey 2009). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27 the commercialisation of information distribution. Mass communication itself is a communal activity and has not altered its close connection to culture and society even in the modern time. To comprehend the modern mass communication process, researchers seek to better appreciate both the nature of communication, such as who creates and sends the message, what is communicated, how, and with what result (Wimmer & Dominick 2006). Therefore, the media play roles as political communicators, providing information on the state and the government. The media also play the role as agents in the distribution of special types of messages to ascertain what changes occur as media ‘comes between’ the sender(s) and the receiver(s) of the messages. Some scholars recognise fictional entertainment such as film to be a medium for public discussion on social and political matters, therefore serving as a mass media (Curran 2000). These notions and approaches to examining the media are key to this study. 1.7.3 New Media or Digital Media The new media presents the most radical forms of connecting, communicating, and exchanging ideas in societies, among individuals and groups (Friend & Singer 2007). It also creates a digital world with a quick and speedy access to information without any boundaries. The internet, with its associated platforms is referred to as new media. Since new media comprises elements of print and electronic media, it characterises the convergence or integration of both (Zheng 2018). The new media are of four main types: social media and networking, microblogging, photo sharing and video sharing. These types comprise platforms such as Social Networking (CompuServe, very beginning of emails in 1979; MySpace, 2003; Facebook, 2004, gained one billion active users in 11 years while radio hit 500 million users in 38 years; LinkedIn, 2002; Viber, 2010, over 100 million monthly active users from its 280 million global registered users; WhatsApp, 2010, about University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 28 100 million messages are posted each day), Microblogging (Twitter, 2006; Tumblr, 2007; Sina Weibo, 2012, has 503 million users), Photo Sharing (Instagram, 2010; Snapchat, 2011; Pinterest, 2010), and Video Sharing (Vimeo, 2004; YouTube, 2005; Periscope, 2015; Facebook Live, 2016). These platforms have enhanced the work of newspapers, radio, and television in exchange of information, ideas, views, news and gained enormous popularity and inroads in mainstream media (Ginsburg 2016; O’Connor 2012). 1.7.4 News With reference to ‘news,’ Bennett (1996), Borchers (2002) and Patterson’s (1998) notions are relevant. Borchers views news as “the content produced by news media” (Borchers 2002, p. 85). Borchers holds the view that news normally informs people of events that are important to them and helps them make decisions about important societal matters. Patterson explains that although journalists often view news as a “mirror held up to society,” news is a “highly selective account of events. News is a construct: it is a version of reality shaped in significant part by journalistic norms and conventions” (Patterson 1998, p. 17). Patterson’s viewpoint presents a question of subjectivity about what should be printed or transmitted. In reviewing scholarly critiques of news, Bennett, indicates that news has four characteristics that make it passable as a product for consumers. He posits that news is personalised (news focusing on individual actors as opposed to institutional factors; news directing public attention to scandals, careers, personal wins and losses, prestige and status), dramatised (presentation of news as a TV programme, movie or theatrical production with the essentials of drama and narrative. […] this dramatic focus of news makes it difficult to draw the line between “journalists as reporters of fact and as creators of fiction); fragmented (news out of focus and missing many pieces; ignoring the context of stories), and normalised (the tendency to filter new information through traditional values, beliefs, and images of society and to deliver the filtered information through the reassuring pronouncements of authorities charged with returning things to normal) (1996, pp. 37 & 65). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 29 As definitions of news keep changing, it is prudent to relate to its traditional qualities (timeliness, proximity, human interest, conflict, impact, helpfulness, celebrities, entertainment, etc.). These forms of news are not, in any remote way, different from what pertains with the indigenous media. However, it is important to state that the indigenous media only releases news occasionally, thereby creating informal and other well-recognised effective means of gathering, synthesising, analysing and disseminating news and views such as mouth-to-ear transmission of information (Akpabio 2003; Hagan 2006). While gossip and rumour may be abhorred in ‘ordinary’ life, in media circles it is seen as occupying a news void. In the past and, indeed, in some communities today, there was no other means of getting information disseminated daily than by means of rumour. Mostly, the well or water collection points, markets, drinking places, hair dressing and barbering salons, and so on, are the venues for getting the news of the day, verifying, or editing and spreading it. Women played a leading role in information gathering and broadcasting (Hagan 2006). Though there are subtle differences in the conception of rumour by various humanistic scholars, Tamotsu’s classic definition will suffice here: “a substitute for news; in fact, it is news that does not develop in institutional channels,” and that “[f]ar from being pathological rumour, it is part and parcel of efforts of men to come to terms with the exigencies of life” (Tamotsu 1966, p. 62). These definitions of rumour are denominated by their speculative tendency, and point to rumour’s vague nature and universality. Shedding light on the understanding of the phenomenon and its significance in current time, Kimmel notes that “with any desired bit of information instantaneously available with a click of a computer mouse, we might expect that rumors, which traditionally have flourished during periods of news blackouts and information famines, would be a thing of the past” (Kimmel 2004, p. viii). Paradoxically, the opposite seems to be the case. In Ghanaian contemporary society, rumours circulate wildly. Increasingly, rumours University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 30 seem to arise not from a lack of information, but within a context of information spill-over. This apparent contradiction can be traced largely to the public’s seemingly unquenchable need to know. As demands for greater access to news and instantaneous communication continue to grow, the reliability of any one piece of information has become that much more difficult to assess (O’Connor 2012). 1.7.5 Globalisation versus Glocalisation As mentioned earlier under “Problem Statement,” globalisation as a concept, typically emphasises the idea of policymaking, legislations, economy, and social standards, while glocalisation focuses on global and local philosophies of societies (Burgh-Woodman, 2014; Chao-Chen, 2013). In this study, these ideas are linked to the media regarding social and cultural contexts of production of news, its broadcast and consumption experiences. Globalisation underscores people of the world interdependent on one another in respect of cultural and social dynamics, such as ideas, power of institutions, et cetera. The unavoidability of globalisation and its impacts on societies, peoples, and cultures, is an ongoing enquiry to scholars of development concepts, education, politics, and so on (Pieterse 2004). Although interrelatedness of societies and cultures may produce a collective culture, this phenomenon should also be viewed as critical to engendering uniqueness within the shared culture. The concept of glocalisation concentrates on diverse significances of societies and cultures as a representation of both the global and the local (Deleuze & Guattari 1980; Ritzer 2003). The views of Deleuze and Guattari, and Ritzer become imperative in investigating the present situation of media and news-sharing identities in the globalised world. Gyekye (2013) provides a curious perspective in examining the concept of development, in relation to national orientation, which to an arguable greater extent, is not disconnected from University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 31 the perspective of the media. These ideas connect, in not a remote way, to the concepts of globalisation and glocalisation as they relate to national orientation and public philosophy. Gyekye notes that “National orientation must be closely tied to the public philosophy of a people. A public philosophy refers to a corpus of basic ideas and beliefs, an under-layer of values, perceptions, outlooks, fundamental convictions, and truths shared by a large section of a society” (2013, p. 159). There are two assumptions associated with development. One is the belief that development describes the political, economic, and social condition of Western countries. The other one is the assumption that any country which follows a set of policy recommendations that are thought to have led to the present condition of Western societies will attain a condition similar to them. Macamo ruled out the existence of the concept of ‘development.’ He contends that “Better still, development is an argument, a fallacious one at that” (2005, p. 21). Macamo argues that development is to be found in the kinds of policies which aim essentially at making everyday life more predictable (Macamo 2005). This implies that development should consist of policies designed to solve local problems with means that do not require more than the material and intellectual resources which people have at their disposal. 1.7.6 Culture and Tradition Culture, tradition, and the media are interlinked, commingled, to the extent that culture and traditions sometimes determines the type of media a society should have (McCee 1990; Nyamnjoh 2009). For this reason, this section elaborates about culture and tradition. This study considers classic and contemporary concepts of culture. In terms of classic concepts, Tyler notes that culture is “the complex whole which includes, knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (1958, p. 1). White, on the other hand, believes that culture is “an extrasomatic temporal continuum of things and events – tools, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 implements, utensils, clothing, ornaments, customs, institutions, beliefs, rituals, games, works of arts, and language” (1958, p. 3). According to Williams, culture denotes “types of products produced by people in a particular society. These products include art, literature, television shows, films, and architecture. Culture also refers to the “whole ways of life” of a society” (Williams 1977). Both concepts of culture by Williams, are distinct but connected in their interpretation of culture as an “active process of generating and circulating meanings and pleasures within a social system” (Fiske 1989, p. 23), which is relevant to this study. As a result, operational aspects of culture comprise laws, instructive systems, and habits of reliability and institutionalising these beliefs and values. Putting both meanings of culture by Williams together, Gunn and Brummett claim that cultures are multifaceted structures of beliefs, values, and practices. They extend cultural components to include “food, clothing styles, ways of walking and sitting, architecture, forms of entertainment, sayings and expressions, moral and ethical norms, religious practices, and other artifacts” (Gunn & Brummett 2004, p. 22). With regards to contemporary notions of culture, this study relies on the ideas of Gyekye (2013, 2001), Graburn (2001), Horner (1990) and Kuwor (2013). Like Gyekye and Horner, this study uses the terms “culture” and “tradition” interchangeably. According to Graburn, “Tradition was the name given to those cultural features which, in situations of change, were to be continued to be handed on, thought about, preserved and not lost” (2001, p. 6). Horner describes tradition as a reservoir. “Tradition as a reservoir is the concept that tradition is strength to draw upon, a source of historically defined identity, and a source of a sense of safety, specialness, or difference” (1990, p. 9). From these positions, both Graburn (2001) and Horner (1990) are suggesting that tradition borders on transfer of knowledge, skill, and attitude from one generation to the other. It can then be said that tradition, in general terms, refers to habits in a particular ethnic group such as cultural University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 33 institutions, ceremonies, events, arts of African ancestors, customs, rituals, folklore, belief, et cetera. Although some of these traditions may be outmoded, they are still used in some communities to counsel, apprise, caution, inspire and motivate people on what, when, where and how to conduct themselves. In terms of culture, it “[…] is the specific embodiment of a people’s way of life in its totality” (Gyekye 2013, p. 142). Gyekye’s position on culture explains that human beings living in a particular location would put in place a social structure (values, practices, institutions, patterns of thought and ways of behaving) to direct their conduct. In this way, the need for culture can be attributed to finding solution to problems that arise when human beings come together in a society. In Gyekye’s point of view, culture has identifiable features: “it is a community creation (group products), not of an individual; it is a shared experience; culture is a social heritage; it is a learned behaviour; culture is dynamic and diverse; and it conditions the life of a people” (2013, p. 142). Kuwor’s delineation of culture fit together with Gyekye’s and it is key to this study. Kuwor clarifies that culture is “accumulated practices and experiences of a people in a given geo-physical environment through time and causation” (Kuwor 2013, p. 230). According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), “Culture is a space for dialogue in our communities” (2019, p. 3). Culture comprises, among others, worldview, cosmology, philosophy, beliefs, ideas, perceptions, values (knowledge about nature and the cosmos), folklores, oral traditions, cultural expressions, creative culture (performances – dances, theatre, performance poetry, storytelling), visual arts (sculpture, painting, drawing), cultural practices (rain-making, rites of passage), et cetera. UNESCO’s definition of culture evidently implies that all forms of culture are created. This is important to this thesis University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34 because it relates to the creation of media texts (audio, images, and words), which contain cultural elements. Mansouri (2017) confirms that whatever is created bears the ‘signature’ of the creator. Although the above notions and interpretations of culture agree on the fact that culture consists of something that is shared and/or learned by a group of people, the content of culture varies in different definitions. It may be appropriate to deduce as Birukou, Blanzieri, Giorgini and Giunchiglia (2009) do, that “culture” is a slippery and ever-present concept. Today, the World is confronted with cultural challenges whose scope and complexity have become apparent over the past twenty years. According to UNESCO, “More than ever, it is vital to ensure the protection and promotion of cultural diversity, in societies where new fault lines are emerging due to the combined effect of growing inequalities, the resurgence of conflicts and the increase in migration flows” (Cultural Policies and Development Culture Sector, UNESCO 2019, p. 3). Likewise, globalisation has brought about the problem of interactions of cultures. On the one hand, such interactions lead to distorting restrictions between cultures, while on the other hand, it leads to the growing need for people to be aware of one another’s cultural understandings to be able to coexist (Mansouri 2017). Thus, the relevance of UNESCO’s assertion to this thesis, lies in the fact that the media as major stakeholders in creating, safeguarding, and transforming culture, have a role to play in shaping people’s understandings and feelings towards culture of others. Connecting culture to media and communication, Balnaves, Donald and Shoesmith (2009), Hall (1976) and Hofstede (1982) present interesting perspectives. Hall, like Gyekye, believes that “cultures have different styles of communication and different contexts that reflect their individualism or collectivism. Hall further examines cultures as ‘high context’ or ‘low context.’ Ghana and other African and most Asian countries may be categorised as having high context culture because their cultures tend to have greater conformity to group expectations. Cultures of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 35 USA, UK, et cetera, may be considered as low context because they have the tendency of being individualistic. Hall’s assertion is that in individualistic countries, competition rather than coo