What makes the news An analysis of the front page stories of the Ghanaian times newspaper

Abstract

This study examined the news stories Ghanaian Times newspaper published on its front pages from 2015 to 2019. The study aimed at establishing the dominant news types, the news actors and the setting of the front page stories.The variables were based on the fact that the Ghanaian Times, as astate-owned media with a constitutional obligation of offering equal facilities and opportunities to all to express divergent views and opinions, will do just that. The gatekeeping theory and framing theories undergirded the study. To achieve the objectives of the study, qualitative content analysis was used to gather data for the study. Also, an interview was used to gather additional data to validate findings from the content analysis. Thematic analysis was used in handling the data especially in coming up with the themes and corresponding frames with regard to the focus of the study. Results showed a skewed coverage for political news, the elite and urban settings.The newspaper, in the exercise of their gatekeeping function, ended up with unfavourable coverage towards rural folks, the masses and even other non-political news. This may be because coverage on political issues and the elites boost sales and the newspaper depends on sales to cover its operational cost. As a result, the newspaper failed to uphold its constitutional obligation.