Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine whether media owners’ political affiliations influence news
content and journalistic professionalism in Ghana. Media ownership theory as developed by Altschull in 1984
basically contends that the content of any newspaper is directly influenced by the interests of its owners. The
findings of this study support this theory.
The research was based on content analysis as well as in-depth interview. Media content was measured through
content analysis of the two major newspapers of the country, Daily Guide and Enquirer. The two were selected
because of their owners’ political affiliations, circulation and reach.
The results of the in-depth interviews were then compared with the findings of the content analysis. The articles
reviewed coupled with data from the interviews appear to confirm the widely-held view that the Ghanaian
media, particularly the press, have taken entrenched political positions.
Therefore, the study found that in majority of the instances newspaper ownership did have relationship with the
nature of coverage of NDC and NPP issues in Ghana from 2010 to 2014. The findings indicated that Daily
Guide and Enquirer covered political issues in a similar fashion during the period under review. Hence, the
main hypothesis that there was likely to be relationship between newspaper owners’ political affiliations and the
coverage of NDC and NPP issues in Ghana was supported by the results of the study.
