Abstract:
Some journalists in Ghana expect their sources to pay or reward them for covering a
programme especially when they are invited by the organiser(s) of the programme.
Similarly, PR practitioners are cited as being among the top three sources that perpetuate
brown envelope journalism (Soli) in their dealings with journalists. The practice, thus,
appears to have become a norm among event organisers (often PR practitioners) and
journalists (reporters) without recourse to the ethical implications of the practice. This
study investigates the factors media practitioners in Ghana consider when they are
confronted with the phenomenon of Soli. The study adopted the quantitative research
approach and the survey design to investigate this phenomenon. The Theory of Reasoned
Action (TRA), the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Social Responsibility
Theory (SRT) guided the study. Findings of the study were tested against the Pearson
moment correlation coefficient and the Durbin-Watson regression model through SPSS
version 20.0. The results of the study, among others, showed that there is a significant
association between salary levels of journalists and journalists‘ inclination to accepting
Soli. Ghanaian Journalists‘ knowledge of the GJA code of conduct was also found to be
significant and positively related to journalists‘ acceptance of Soli. There was a
significant relationship between PR practitioners‘ knowledge of IPR (Ghana) code of
ethics and payment of Soli by PR practitioners. The study also found a significant
relationship between PR practitioners desire to obtain positive media coverage and
payment of Soli by PR practitioners.
Description:
A DISSERTATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION
AND MEDIA STUDIES, FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION, SUBMITTED TO THE
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF
EDUCATION, WINNEBA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF THE MASTER OF
PHILOSOPHY (COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES
[BUSINESS COMMUNICATION]) DEGREE
JULY, 2017