SECTOR 4

up in media, as one does not need a journalism degree to practice journalism.
This is seen as a positive, as it provides scope for journalists to specialise on certain
issues or topics that they know well, and allows for a “fair balance of people from
other backgrounds”.
Some media houses send their journalists for additional training. At the Dispatch,
for example, journalists are sent for training twice a year. The training of journalists
is seen as being in the interest of the media house. Some media houses, however,
fear that the more they invest in a journalist’s training, the more likely he/she is
to leave to a higher paying media house. As such, some media houses will not
assist journalists in upgrading their qualifications from a diploma to a degree, nor
will they provide an allowance – including study leave – for the journalist to study.
Others may “bring in people to talk about certain issues, but they don’t really
send journalists out (for training)”.
Some NGOs also provide training or short courses. In the past, for example, the
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) conducted several training courses for journalists.
Panellists noted that the GJA should be in a good position to source training for
the media.

Scores:
Individual scores:
1

Country does not meet indicator

2

Country meets only a few aspects of indicator

3

Country meets some aspects of indicator

4

Country meets most aspects of indicator

5

Country meets all aspects of the indicator

Average score:

3.8 (2006: 4.7; 2008: 3.8; 2011: 3.5)

AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2013

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