Media partisan politics in Ghana: Tracing its evolution under National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party governments

Abdul Rashid Gbambu; Mohammed Gadafi Ibrahim; Rasaq M. Adisa

doi:10.51867/AQSSR.2.3.23

Authors

Abdul Rashid Gbambu Islamic University College, Ghana (IUCG), Ghana Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7877-6763
Mohammed Gadafi Ibrahim University for Development Studies, Ghana Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3936-0831
Rasaq M. Adisa University of Ilorin, Nigeria Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3790-2195

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/AQSSR.2.3.23

Keywords:

Ghana, Media Coverage, Partisan Politics, Press Freedom, Political Parties

Abstract

This study explored the evolution of media coverage in Ghanaian politics by comparing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) under President John Dramani Mahama (2012-2016) with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo (2017-2024). Using Agenda-Setting Theory, the study examined the changes in media coverage patterns, thematic trends, and the media’s role in shaping public discourse, thereby shedding light on the complex interplay between media and politics in Ghana. Adopting a qualitative case study design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 media professionals across six regions, selected via purposive and snowball sampling. In addition, 20 key news articles published between 2012 and 2024, were reviewed to identify patterns in political reporting. The target population comprised experienced journalists and media practitioners actively engaged in political communication. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that although political bias and media ownership influenced reporting, many journalists sustained a critical watchdog role. The media consistently held both administrations accountable by highlighting issues such as corruption, governance failures, and economic hardship. The study concluded that Ghana’s media landscape, though politicised, continued to shape political narratives and public opinion. It recommended the promotion of press freedom, reform of media ownership structures, and the strengthening of ethical standards as necessary measures to preserve media independence and reinforce its democratic role.

References

Afful, E. (2016). Coverage of presidential candidates and press bias in Ghana. Journal of Communications, Media & Society, 3(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.63772/jocmas.v3n1.2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.63772/jocmas.v3n1.2

Allcott, H., Gentzkow, M., & Yu, C. (2019). Trends in the diffusion of misinformation on social media. Research & Politics, 6(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168019848554 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168019848554

Allotey, G. A. (2018, June 19). Blame NDC for Ghana's woes, not Nana Addo's gov't - Bantama MP. Citi News. https://citinewsroom.com/2018/06/blame-ndc-for-ghanas-woes-not-nana-addos-govt-bantama-mp//

Andani, M. A. I., & Antwi-Boateng, O. (2021). FM stations' role in rural development: The case of Northern Ghana. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 20(4), 336-357. https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341599 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341599

Ansah, P. A. (1979). Problems of localising radio in Ghana. Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands), 25(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/001654927902500101 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/001654927902500101

Asante, N. A. A. (2020, October 5). How free is Ghana's media? Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/how-free-ghanas-media

Asare-Donkoh, F. (2017, April 11). Rejoinder: The media is hypocritical; never helped Mahama fight galamsey. GhanaWeb. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Rejoinder-The-media-is-hypocritical-never-helped-Mahama-fight-galamsey-527733

Asomah, J. Y. (2024a). Is social media a helpful communicative tool in combatting corruption in developing countries? Evidence from Ghana. Communication and the Public, 10(3), 177-196. (Original work published 2025)

https://doi.org/10.1177/20570473241263610 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/20570473241263610

Asomah, Y. J. (2024b). How can the private media be strengthened to investigate and expose corruption in Ghana? Understanding Ghanaian perspectives. Journalism Practice, 18(5), 1193-1216. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2022.2074520 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2022.2074520

Bennett, W. L., & Kneuer, M. (2024). Communication and democratic erosion: The rise of illiberal public spheres. European Journal of Communication, 39(2), 177-196.

https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231217378 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231217378

Bennett, W. L., & Livingston, S. (2018). The disinformation order: Disruptive communication and the decline of democratic institutions. European Journal of Communication, 33(2), 122-139. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323118760317 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323118760317

Boateng, C., & Frimpong, E. D. (2016, September 29). Ford gift saga: Mahama violated gift policy; but not culpable for bribery - CHRAJ. Graphic Online. https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/mahama-violated-gift-policy-but-not-culpable-for-bribery-chraj.html

Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: A meta-analysis of current research. Information, Communication & Society, 18(5), 524-538.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1008542 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1008542

Castleberry, G. L. (2024). The spreadable media model of mass communication: Tracing the corporate continuity of Disney-Marvel. In D. Brode (Ed.), Analyzing the Marvel Universe: Critical Essays on the Comics and Film Adaptations (pp. 219-232). McFarland.

CitiFMonline. (2018, February 22). Gov't blames Mahama for poor performance in the 2017 Corruption Perception Index. Modern Ghana. https://www.modernghana.com/news/836706/govt-blames-mahama-for-poor-performance-in-the-2017-corrupt.html

Cohen, S. B. (1963). Geography and politics in a world divided. Oxford University Press.

Conroy-Krutz, J., & Moehler, D. C. (2015). Moderation from bias: A field experiment on partisan media in a new democracy. The Journal of Politics, 77(2), 575-587.

https://doi.org/10.1086/680187 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/680187

Couldry, N., Stephansen, H., Fotopoulou, A., MacDonald, R., Clark, W., & Dickens, L. (2014). Digital citizenship? Narrative exchange and the changing terms of civic culture. Citizenship Studies, 18(6-7), 615-629. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2013.865903 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2013.865903

Curran, J., & Seaton, J. (2018). Power without responsibility: Press, broadcasting and the internet in Britain. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351212298-12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351212298-12

Daily Guide. (2011, August 4). NPP names NDC 'bribe' journalists. Modern Ghana. https://www.modernghana.com/news/343572/npp-names-ndc-8216bribe8217-journalists.html#google_vignette

Darkwa, E., Inguva, H., Osafo-Adjei, C., & Acquah, B. (2024). The public sphere on a digital plane: The influence of the new digital media on Ghana's democracy and the public sphere. Inverge Journal of Social Sciences, 3(2), 46-62.

https://doi.org/10.63544/ijss.v3i2.82 DOI: https://doi.org/10.63544/ijss.v3i2.82

Davis, A. (2023). Political communication: An introduction for crisis times. John Wiley & Sons.

Dearing, J. W., & Rogers, E. (1996). Agenda-setting. Sage Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452243283

https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452243283.n1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452243283.n1

Dewenter, R., Dulleck, U., & Thomas, T. (2020). Does the 4th estate deliver? The Political Coverage Index and its application to media capture. Constitutional Political Economy, 31(3), 292-328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-019-09291-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-019-09291-5

DW Akademie. (2024, August 20). Assessing press freedom and freedom of expression in Ghana. https://akademie.dw.com/en/press-freedom-and-freedom-of-expression-2024-ghanas-gains-and-gaps/a-69994839

Gbormittah, F. R. A. N. C. I. S. (2020). A critique of the roles of indigenous communicative acts and the modern mass media in contemporary Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, University of Ghana).

Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana). (2023, March 7). The NDC-NPP duopoly in Ghana's multiparty democracy [Blog post]. https://cddgh.org/2023/03/the-ndc-npp-duopoly-in-ghanas-multiparty-democracy/

Gilardi, F., Gessler, T., Kubli, M., & Müller, S. (2022). Social media and political agenda setting. Political Communication, 39(1), 39-60.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2021.1910390 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2021.1910390

Government of Ghana. (2001). Criminal Code (Repeal of Criminal Libel and Seditious Laws) (Amendment) Act, 2001 (Act 602). Ghana Publishing Company. https://ghalii.org/akn/gh/act/2001/602/eng%402001-08-17

Green, J., & Jenkins, H. (2009). Audience research and convergence culture. In Media industries: History, theory, and method (pp. 213-230).

Gyekye-Jandoh, M. A., & Ahmed, A. H. (2023). Digital discourse and democracy: A critical assessment of the new media in Ghana's Fourth Republic. Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 10(1 & 2), 139-168. https://doi.org/10.4314/contjas.v10i1.6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/contjas.v10i1.6

Hallin, D. C. (2004). Comparing media systems: Three models of media and politics. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511790867 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511790867

Harcup, T. (2021). Journalism: Principles and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (2008). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media (With a new afterword by E. S. Herman). The Bodley Head.

Isbell, T., & Appiah-Nyamekye Sanny, J. (2018, November 6). Ghanaians rely on radio and TV, but support for media freedom drops sharply (Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 250). Afrobarometer. https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad250-ghanaians-rely-radio-and-tv-support-media-freedom-drops-sharply/

Jenkins, H., Shresthova, S., Gamber-Thompson, L., Kligler-Vilenchik, N., & Zimmerman, A. (2016). By any media necessary: The new youth activism. New York University Press.

Kargobai, G. (2017). Community radio and women's empowerment in Sierra Leone (Master's thesis). University of Guelph.

Karikari, K. (2018). Media as watchdog: The Ghana experience. In A. Olukotun (Ed.), Watchdogs or captured media? A study of the role of the media in Nigeria's emergent democracy, 1999-2016 (p. 351). Diamond Publications Ltd.

Kperogi, F. A. (2016). Networked social journalism: Media, citizen participation and democracy in Nigeria. In Participatory politics and citizen journalism in a networked Africa: A connected continent (pp. 19-33). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137554505_2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137554505_2

Leeper, T. J., & Slothuus, R. (2020). How the news media persuades: Framing effects and beyond. In E. Suhay, B. Grofman, & A. H. Trechsel (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of electoral persuasion (Oxford Handbooks). Oxford Academic. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.013.4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.013.4

Lippmann, W. (1992). Public opinion. Routledge.

Makananise, F. O., & Madima, S. E. (Eds.). (2024). Decolonising digital media and indigenisation of participatory epistemologies: Languages of the Global South. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003496991 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003496991

Martin, J. A. (2020). Press freedom in Ghana: A survey of journalists' attitudes toward libel law, right to information, and reporting practices. University of Baltimore Journal of Media Law & Ethics, 8, 55.

Mathenge, M. W. (2021). Role of mainstream media in democratic governance in the 21st century: A case study of Kenya and Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).

McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/267990

MFWA. (2023, February). The media and press freedom in Ghana: From repression, redemption to depression. Media Foundation for West Africa. Media Foundation for West Africa. https://www.mfwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Press-Freedom-in-Ghana-Online-Version.pdf

Meier, P. (2015). Digital humanitarians: How big data is changing the face of humanitarian response. CRC Press.

Miroshnichenko, A. (2024). Examining the impact of new media on the news media from the integrated viewpoint of media ecology and the political economy of communication (Doctoral thesis, York University, Toronto, Ontario).

Moehler, D. C., & Conroy-Krutz, J. (2016). Partisan media and engagement: A field experiment in a newly liberalized system. Political Communication, 33(3), 414-432.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2015.1069768 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2015.1069768

Mumuni, E. (2020, November 3). GBC @ 85 panel discussion on media and democracy [Live streaming]. Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. https://web.facebook.com/gbcghana/videos/gbc-panel-discussion/3126477607458256/?_rdc=1&_rdr

Mutsvairo, B. (2016). Digital activism in the social media era: Critical reflections on emerging trends in sub-Saharan Africa. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40949-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40949-8

Myjoyonline. (2021, March 1). Threats by Judicial Service against media scandalous, defy logic-Affail Monney. https://www.myjoyonline.com/threats-by-judicial-service-against-media-scandalous-defy-logic-affail-monney/

Noam, E. M. (Ed.). (2016). Who owns the world's media?: Media concentration and ownership around the world. Oxford University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987238.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199987238.001.0001

Okocha, D. O., Yousaf, M., & Onobe, M. J. (Eds.). (2023). Handbook of research on deconstructing culture and communication in the Global South. IGI Global.

https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-8093-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-8093-9

Okoro, Y. O., Ayo-Farai, O., Maduka, C. P., Okongwu, C. C., & Sodamade, O. T. (2024). A review of health misinformation on digital platforms: Challenges and countermeasures. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 6(1), 23-36. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijarss.v6i1.689 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51594/ijarss.v6i1.689

Osei, N. Y. (2016, October 24). President Mahama and the media cabal. Modern Ghana. https://www.modernghana.com/news/729801/president-mahama-and-the-media-cabal.html

PeaceFmOnline. (2012, January 6). Pro-NDC media launch blistering attack on Attorney-General. GhanaWeb. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Pro-NDC-Media-Launch-Blistering-Attack-On-Attorney-General-227101

Perloff, R. M. (2021). The dynamics of political communication: Media and politics in a digital age. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429298851 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429298851

Pickard, V. (2020). Restructuring democratic infrastructures: A policy approach to the journalism crisis. Digital Journalism, 8(6), 704-719.

https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1733433 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1733433

Ranttila, K. (2020). Social media and monopoly. Ohio Northern University Law Review, 46, 161.

Schejter, A., & Tirosh, N. (2014). New media policy: The redistribution of voice. In Policy and marketing strategies for digital media (pp. 73-86). Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315794303-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315794303-6

Scheufele, D. A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 9-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00326_4.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9916.2007.00326.x

Shardow, M. S., & Asare, B. E. (2016). Media ownership and independence: Implications for democratic governance in the fourth republic of Ghana. Journal of Pan African Studies, 9(9), 179-198.

Smart-Abbey, M. R. (2024, July 29). The NPP government have used democracy to suppress the will of Ghanaians, stifled media freedom and institutionalised corruption - Fitch and Afrobarometer reports [Feature article]. Modern Ghana. https://www.modernghana.com/news/1330473/the-npp-government-have-used-democracy-to-supress.html#google_vignette

Smith-Asante, E. (2024, September 2). Road to Election 2024: Ghana's elusive third force - Has duopoly come to stay? Graphic Online. https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-road-to-election-2024-ghanas-elusive-third-force-has-duopoly-come-to-stay.html

Suleiman, S. A. (2017). Investigative reporting and press coverage of corruption in Nigeria (1999-2012) (Doctoral dissertation, University of East Anglia).

Uwalaka, T., & Nwala, B. (2023). Examining the role of social media and mobile social networking applications in socio-political contestations in Nigeria. Communication and the Public, 8(3), 175-190.

https://doi.org/10.1177/20570473231168474 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/20570473231168474

Van Gyampo, R. E. (2017). Social media, traditional media and party politics in Ghana. Africa Review, 9(2), 125-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2017.1329806 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2017.1329806

Wolfsfeld, G. (2022). Making sense of media and politics: Five principles in political communication. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003176657 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003176657