An analysis of front-page conflict stories of the Ghanaian Times newspaper

Abstract

Conflict has remained a shackle that deters the progress of countries, especially developing nations and the media have a role to play in de-escalating conflict situations. The study examines the coverage of conflict by the media, specifically the print media, the frames and tones used to report issues of conflict and the reasons for the publication of such stories in line with the challenges of journalists and editors. Newspaper content analysis and interviews are methods used to collect data for the study. Premised on structural conflict, framing and gatekeeping theories, the contents of the Ghanaian Times, a state-owned newspaper, published from January 2016 to December, 2020 were analysed, and 179 conflict-related stories were identified. The analysis of these stories established that the media in Ghana, particularly newspapers give little attention to the promotion of peace journalism when reporting conflictrelated issues. Four frames-consequence, responsibility, solution and conflict emerged from the data analysed. The newspaper from the data dominantly used neutral tone in reporting conflict related issues. Journalists and editors argued that sources of conflict news, media ideology, resources and logistics, personal values of journalists and the safety and security of journalists are the challenges during their reportage on issues of conflict. The study recommends, therefore, that the media, especially the print media pay more attention to and report issues of conflict with the use of peace journalism due to the devastating effect of conflict, especially in a country surrounded by nations experiencing terrorism and other forms of violence.