Postcolonial Trajectories of Foreign News Selection in the Ghanaian Press

Abstract

This paper investigated, from multiple levels and perspectives, the influences exerted by global news organisations on the representation of Africa in the Ghanaian press detailing the conditions that have accounted for these influences, which remain celebrated as universal news values. Relying on content analysis, survey and ethnographic interview, the study uncovered a postcolonial ambivalence in which Ghanaian journalists rather largely sought to rationalise these multiple ideological influences on their news-selection with little resistance. The self-reflexive appropriation of an African perspective by these journalists was not reflected in their coverage of the continent. Their heavy reliance on global news organisations, especially the BBC, depicts a lingering postcolonial influence. Although they constructed their increasing use of Xinhua news agency as a form of resistance, the invasion of their subconscious mind by qualities of the BBC is rather submissive.

KEYWORDS:

• Africa
• afro-pessimism
• ethnography
• representation
• new values
• postcolonial critique
• Xinhua
• mimicry
• hybridity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to the members of the School of International and Intercultural Communication (SIIC) and the reviewers for their guidance. I do recognise that the improvement in clarity and precision of this paper is partly the result of their comments. I am highly grateful to Ernest Agorde, Elinam Amevor, Akosua Sackey and Elsie Aseiduwaa Acquaisie for proofreading.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Due to anonymity agreements accepted during the field research, interviewees were identified by six alphanumeric codes in this analysis: Tms p1, Gde p2, Crs p3, Gph p4, Gph p5, and Tms p6.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Research School Ruhr-Universität Bochum under the German Excellence Initiative [DFG GSC 98/3]; and Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism in Dortmund.