Approximately 24% of Ghanaians believe that the government should have the authority to control news items published by the media, according to a survey conducted by Afrobarometer.
The survey revealed that about 73% of Ghanaians are of the opinion that the government must not have the ability to control media publications.
Regarding the media’s role as the Fourth Estate, which serves as a watchdog over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, an overwhelming 83% of Ghanaians assert that the media should be permitted to fulfill this function.
However, about 15% of Ghanaians indicated that the media should refrain from negative reporting on the government, arguing that “too much negative reporting only harms the country.”
Furthermore, approximately 70% of Ghanaians believe the country’s media is free, while 29% contend that it is not.
The survey also discovered that, generally across the African continent, “72% of Africans ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that the media ‘should constant
ly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption.'”
Additionally, it was found that 65% of Africans believe that media reporting should not be under government control and that the media should have the freedom to publish as it sees fit.
In terms of media freedom, about 57% of Africans consider the media in their country to be free.
Afrobarometer indicated that the results of its survey demonstrate overwhelming support for the media in Ghana and across the African continent as a whole.
Source: Ghana Web