Wednesday 30 November 2011

A Different Sort of Journalism

This one I didn't submit for publication...


As a third year journalism student in Adelaide, I have had some exposure to the operations of the media in Australia and the principles and skills that are expected of a working journalist. I have experienced working in journalism at a television station, a radio station and an online magazine. I have now experienced work as an intern at the Daily Graphic, the highest-selling national newspaper in Ghana and have been stunned by the array of differences between journalism at home in Australia and here in Ghana.
My first day in the newsroom presented me with a few of these. Firstly, I noticed the disparity between the number of journalists and the number of (working) computers. There are not nearly enough computers available for every journalist to be able to work, even with a number of staff bringing their laptops to the office. On top of this, there are often computers not working, network problems with the internet and a very temperamental printer. The interns have been denied access to the internet – how we are supposed to research for stories is beyond me. I also learnt that despite events starting anywhere from 8am to sometime in the evening, the one and only driver always leaves at 9am. And when I say 9am, we must factor in ‘Ghana Man Time’ (GMT) so it is usually closer to 9:30 or 10am when he leaves. Often journalists must simply catch taxis and pay with their own money if they wish to arrive at events on time.
Invitations arrive at the office for events, including press conferences, meetings, conventions, ceremonies and launches in the weeks beforehand, and I often wonder why the organisers of the events have even invited the media. I went to a conference last week that consisted of a four hour presentation on how to perform heart surgery and liver transplants. Not exactly news. Obviously these organisations want publicity, but you can be hard pressed as a journalist looking for an angle that is actually newsworthy. A graduation ceremony or product launch is not exactly newsworthy where I come from. Many stories that are reproduced from press releases are closer to a public relations job than journalism. And then there is the added bonus of events starting late. You can often experience Ghana Man Time at its best while waiting up to two hours for an event to begin.
The house style at the Daily Graphic is another thing I have had to adapt to. Firstly, the writing style and language used would cause riots if printed in Australia. Front page headlines over the last couple of weeks have included ‘Lesbians Invade Accra Shopping Mall’ and the use of the word ‘homo’, language that is most certainly taboo in Australia. The writing of stories often involves copying lines directly from press conferences and reproducing press releases; sentences are used that simply don’t make sense due to poor English and complex words and phrases are copied by journalists who do not understand it themselves – the average Ghanaian would certainly not understand, especially those who struggle with basic English. Perhaps the house style is due to culture. Perhaps the content of the paper is due to restrictions caused by the paper being state-owned.
And then one must consider the images used to accompany stories. It is not uncommon to see a dead body plastered across the front page, or an unconscious child lying in a hospital bed. This is not something you would see in Australia as it violates two principles of ethical journalism – respecting privacy and considering the sensitivities of the reader. Again, this is probably due to differences in culture and different expectations of the media by Ghanaians developed over many years.
Despite all these differences between journalism in Australia and Ghana, by far the most shocking is the receipt of what is known as ‘brown envelopes’ in Western Africa’s media circles. Journalists here in Ghana do not just accept, but expect to get paid at the conclusion of press conferences, conventions, meeting and other events. They will actively hunt down the organisers of events to collect their payments – Ghana Cedi (GHC) notes often placed in brown envelopes - before they leave to complete their stories. Inside the envelope, a journalist can expect to find anywhere from GHC10 to GHC200.
In the business, they like to call this payment ‘travel money’ as organisers are aware that journalists have to pay for their own transport to and from events. But the amount of money often received is far too much for this to be a justification. Some journalists admit this, but justify their acceptance of the payments by saying they rely on this money as their wages are very low. Some like to call it a ‘tip’ and compare it to the money received by workers in hospitality. But you cannot compare a journalist receiving payment at the end of an event to a waiter receiving a tip for his services. It is a waiter’s duty to provide the best service possible to their customers, and there is no problem if, at the end of this service, they are rewarded for their efforts. A journalist, on the other hand, has a responsibility not to the organisers of an event, but to the general public and the readers of the news. Their responsibility should not lie with the person paying them their ‘tip’ as a waiter’s responsibility does. A journalist has a duty to provide unbiased, uncensored and transparent news for their readers.
 The payment given to a journalist comes with strings and expectations which play on the mind of the journalist whether they are aware of it or not. The acceptance of money for a story undoubtedly conjures some sense of responsibility for the journalist. It is possible as a journalist to block this out and write an unbiased story, but there is still an uncomfortable sense of guilt that comes with the ‘brown envelope’. And of course, not all journalists choose the moral high ground to remain unbiased.
Then of course there are the strings that come with the money that are not as easy to ignore as your own conscience. Upon registration at events, media are expected to provide contact information. It is not uncommon on the days following the event to be pestered with phone calls from organisers, asking if their story has been written and why it has not yet been published. They want to know when they will see it in the paper and sometimes even ask to check the story before it goes to print. As I have had to explain on numerous occasions, I have no control of what is published, payment or no payment. Even after being warned that bribes – yes, I said it, they are bribes – are a part of the culture of journalism here in Ghana, and after being exposed to the practice for over four weeks now, I still find it incredibly uncomfortable. It truly makes you question with whom your responsibility lies, and whether you can actually trust the news.
Overall, journalism in Ghana is a completely different experience to what it is in Australia. I struggled to accept many of these differences at the beginning and found it incredibly frustrating to work for an organisation whose inefficiency was so typically Ghanaian. But I can now see the immense value of working in the Ghanaian media and the lessons I have learnt about the country, the culture, the people and journalism… even if it’s what not do in Australia.

1 comment:

  1. THE SAD PART OF THIS JOKE IS THAT YOU QUEUED FOR THE MONEY. YOU NEVER SAID NO TO IT WHILE YOU WERE HERE.

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