FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN GHANA: THE ROLE OF THE JOURNALIST

   

Ghana, one of the first African countries to gain independence from the British is characterized worldwide as a democratic and peaceful state. However, this has not always been the case. The country has been through the mill right from the onset of independence. The occasion of coup d’états and military oppression could never be erased from the minds of most Ghanaians. The Journalist, who plays a major role in every democratic state, serving as a watchdog, has been a part of the struggle for true independence.

Freedom of expression; a phrase which is on the lips of most Ghanaians is rather valued in this part of the world. The sphere or space which mainly allows for it is the media, which is the hub of information in this country. Journalists are mostly at the war front of this theme because they are the major representatives of the people. The 1992 constitution declares in no equivocal terms that: All persons shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media. The constitution thus guarantees that the press and every individual in Ghana has the right to say anything that they want, to whoever that they want and wherever that they want. Journalists and media practitioners have been bestowed with this right in Ghana, but there has been an uprising that this freedom is somewhat abused and demonstrated anyhow.

The traditional role of journalists in a democracy generally takes the form of informing, educating and entertaining audiences. They also serve as the fourth estate by keeping an eye on the three other arms of government in every democracy which are the legislative, executive and judicial bodies. Journalists are the bridge or the link between government and the ordinary people, the elite and the public. They disseminate the views and policies of government to the citizens of the country in a bid to inform them of what goes on in society, how resources are being utilized, and how accountable those in government are to the tasks for which they have been assigned. In return, journalists also listen and gather the opinions of the citizens concerning these policies and disseminate them to the government in power. Thus, it is a two way affair. It is important for journalists to carry out this role in democratic states where there is freedom of expression because, they are equipped with the skills of distilling or presenting free speech in a way that would not offend either parties but bring about peaceful co-existence. In the absence of journalists, a right such as freedom of expression would be less regarded since it would be impossible for views and opinions to be heard in the citizenry and governance. Journalists and the media are the referees when it comes to the opinions and views of all levels of people in society.

Although in the process of propagating free speech and freedom of expression among citizens, certain biases could be made in the form of selecting specific opinion leaders to represent a group of people when the aim of these leaders is only to promote a certain agenda, or directing journalists to represent only a particular side of the story, leaving the other party no space or opportunity to express themselves as well. These are some of the pitfalls of the journalistic profession when it comes to being the advocates of freedom of expression. It is not entirely the fault of individual journalists though since the profession is now infested with ‘objectivity obstacles’ such as ownership of the media houses, advertisers, sources of information (mostly government), ideologies and flak in the form of complaints and petitions.

As Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States puts it, “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter”. The role of the journalist in ensuring that the constitution and its provisions, freedom of expression being of prime importance, are met is risky but essential to the core of every democratic society; hence the need for cooperation and support from both citizens and government