What role do social accountability actors play in resisting media capture in sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

Although media capture is a global issue, it is a particularly significant problem in sub-Saharan African countries like Ghana. Media capture occurs when media organisations become incapable of performing critical watchdog functions, such as fighting corruption and human rights violations, because of pressures from capital and power. This article addresses a fundamental question: In Ghana’s Fourth Republic, what role do social accountability actors play in resisting media capture by capital and power? I argue that social accountability actors perform three essential, interrelated roles: (1) defending media freedoms and independence, (2) activating and facilitating the media’s work and (3) legitimising and encouraging critical journalism. In doing so, they use a combination of strategies – from advocacy, denunciation and legal action to establishing and funding non-profit media outlets to do investigative journalism. This work extends the literature by examining the crucial role social accountability actors play in counteracting media capture so that critical journalism can do its job.