ABSTRACT
“What is news?” How do journalists as producers and purveyors of news determine what news is? This study sought answers to these age-old questions by examining newsroom practices in a commercial and public radio station in Ghana, that is, Joy FM and Uniiq FM respectively. Underpinned by the theories of gatekeeping, ownership and news values, the study sought to interrogate the continuing relevance of traditional hegemonic views about news determinants. This study argued that these views needed to be examined in the Ghanaian context, given the fact that contexts differ historically, culturally and in terms of prevailing social needs. For instance, Ghana’s media environment has encountered changes in re-democratisation, pluralism and technological advancements which may not be synonymous to those in other contexts. The study also sought to establish whether ownership was a determinant of news. An ethnographic study which combined in-depth interviews, document analysis and participant observation was used to explore new ideas about news determinants. The study found that some news values adopted by the public station, Uniiq F.M, were not in line with traditional definitions of news. Also, ownership was not found to be a determinant of news in both stations. The study concluded that there are no universal determinants with regards to what makes news, since this may vary according to context.
Background
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
The question “What is news?” and how journalists as producers and purveyors of news determine what news is, has been central to debates in the field of professional journalism and in academia globally. These debates are still relevant considering that news and its determinants are a core component of journalism practice. Across the globe, news has been the most influential source of information, opinions and ideas for most people. The Global Media Monitoring Project considers news as “a key element of the public and private space in which people, nations and societies live” (GMMP, 2010, p.6). Therefore, how news is produced and factors that determine what make news as well as the production process is a subject of interest and significance. It is important for instance, to note that although many events occur every day, not every one of these events qualifies to be published as news.
Studies that have delved into the question have offered extensive definitions of what news is. Many of such studies have been undertaken largely in Western countries (Dunaway & Lawrence, 2015; Iosifidis, 2010) and have chartered the path for what has become conventionally accepted as news. In this regard, taxonomies have been proposed to pinpoint certain factors that determine what news is, and journalistic jargons such as “if it bleeds, it leads”, are used to suggest that what journalists consider newsworthy is largely based on fatalities (Miller & Albert, 2015).
Over the years, scholars have created templates of news determinants that define news in Western contexts. However, it must not be assumed that these taxonomies would be relevant in every context, considering that backgrounds and existing circumstances differ from one setting to another. In the face of insufficient empirical evidence expounding news determinants in non-Western settings, questions arise as to whether traditional taxonomies and concepts are operational in other contexts such as Ghana.
The traditional definitions of what makes news have been contested even in Western cultures from where they originated, and arguments have been raised about their universality and continuing relevance particularly in the face of challenges and opportunities brought about by technology (Harcup & O’Neill, 2017). Early in the 1980s, Murphy and Scotton (1987) argued about the appropriateness of what is considered the standard approach to determining news and called on developing countries to consider alternative news values. This call for alternative news values was particularly relevant in the context of Africa’s media history of state monopoly and technological deficiencies.
In the light of these reconsiderations about what makes news, the question then arises as to whether Western standards or traditional approaches are applicable in the African context, particularly in Ghana where media liberalisation and technological changes have contributed to a new face of broadcast journalism in Ghana (Akrofi-Quarcoo, 2015). Therefore, this study sought to interrogate news determinants in Ghana, focusing on a commercial and a public radio station, Joy F.M and Uniiq F.M respectively. Before explaining the reasons for the choice of
these stations, it is first necessary to look at the history of journalism and the status of radio and news in Ghana.
