How Can the Private Media Be Strengthened to Investigate and Expose Corruption in Ghana? Understanding Ghanaian Perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT The media are often considered an essential player in the fight against corruption. As part of the measures to combat corruption, it is essential to understand how to make the media play a critical watchdog role in sub-Saharan Africa. Using Hallin and Mancini’s work on media systems and data from in-depth semi-structured interviews, the following question is addressed: How can the Ghanaian private media be strengthened to investigate and expose corruption? The findings show the need to establish an investigative journalism fund, address political parallelism, improve journalistic professionalism, and ensure favourable state interventions. The implications these findings have for policy are presented in the conclusion. This article contributes to the theoretical, empirical, and policy debates on strengthening the media to be an active, critical watchdog in fighting corruption.