Children's Television Policy and Content Diversity in Ghana

Abstract

Governments in developing countries, facing challenges sustaining economic growth, have allowed private participation in different sectors of the economy. These structural changes have resulted in media pluralism characterized by the coexistence of privately owned and state-owned commercial and public broadcasting services. Using an analysis of primary documents and interviews with media professionals, this article examines the external and internal factors that affect children's television programming in Ghana. The article evaluates the activities and interactions of the children's television community, as well as the regulatory framework governing Ghana's media industry, to determine the prospects of children's television programming. Children's media policies have not kept up with the transition from media monopoly to media pluralism, leaving market forces, industry players, and advocacy groups to determine the diversity of children's media content.