SECTOR 4 4.3 Salary levels and general working conditions, including safety, for journalists and other media practitioners are adequate. Salary levels at most media establishments are poor. According to one panellist, “If you add their salaries to solidarity payments, then maybe it’s enough.” At state-owned media houses, entry-level journalists earn about 500 to 600 GH¢ per month; senior reporters earn about 1 400 GH¢, and editors take home 3 500 to 4 000 GH¢, along with additional benefits. A panellist stated that the Daily Graphic pays much more than The Ghanaian Times, and explained that this has to do with the business approach that the media house has taken. The Daily Graphic pays close to double what The Ghanaian Times pays. In private media, entry-level journalists earn about 200 GH¢ per month and are often expected to first volunteer for a period of time. Senior reporters earn about 2 000 to 3 000 GH¢, and editors take home more. “There is a huge disparity between the top level and the people [and or] reporters who actually do the legwork and come to the press conferences. Much of the real work is done by those who don’t even get paid anything.” Freelancers get paid even less. “I started off as a freelancer, and they acted as if they were doing me a favour, rather than the other way round. I even had to give them tips to get a story through.” Freelancers and entry-level journalists, for the most part, receive no benefits. Additionally, few media houses, if any, make provisions for the safety of their staff. In fact, safety and health policies are not very prevalent across media houses. “When media houses send reporters to places where there could be tensions [and or] harm, they don’t provide for the reporters’ security. The burden of security is placed on the organisers.” “If a journalist gets hurt on the job, the editor may provide something, and will likely take up the bill.” Some media houses, notably The Ghanaian Times, GBC and the Daily Graphic, provide a ‘risk allowance’ of about 100 GH¢. Because of the low level of pay, journalists often ask for “solidarity” (or soli for short). This is a term used to describe the ‘transport allowance’ requested by journalists of the organisations or individuals whose events they cover. A civil society member of the panel stated that “when we have pressers, we always have people asking for soli.” AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2016 2017 63