Ghana ranks 50th in World Press Freedom Index, faces pressures despite progress

Ghana has experienced a significant improvement in press freedom, climbing 12 places to rank 50th globally in the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

While this advancement is commendable, the report highlighted ongoing issues such as political pressure and impunity for attacks against journalists.

The RSF report praised Ghana's vibrant media landscape, boasting over

Read full article100 outlets, which is supported by a legal framework guaranteeing press freedom.

However, it noted a downside to this freedom, citing the emergence of partisan media outlets owned by politicians, leading to biased content and political favoritism.

Despite the diversity of private media outlets like Joy News and Peace FM, concerns were raised regarding the government's influence over the National Media Commission, responsible for media regulation.

The report highlighted an incident in 2023 where the ruling party pressured a private channel to include its members in broadcasts, signaling a worrying trend of political interference.

While the 2019 Right to Information Act empowers journalists, the report pointed out that a fee for requesting information in non-English languages acts as a barrier.

Financial constraints within the media sector also pose challenges, leading to low salaries, limited resources, and closures of some news outlets. State-owned media benefit from government advertising, raising questions about their editorial independence.

Although Ghana provides a relatively tolerant environment for journalists to cover various topics, safety concerns have escalated in recent years.

The report highlighted several instances of attacks on press freedom, including intrusions by ruling party supporters into a TV studio and physical assaults on journalists during live reports.

Additionally, politicians have issued death threats against investigative journalists. Cases of police violence against journalists often go unpunished, and investigations into the murder of investigative reporter Ahmed Hussein-Suale have stalled due to lack of evidence, according to the report.