Thursday 1 March 2012

I am frustrated by the bias.

I watch Joy News via their YouTube channel.

Wow. I've never seen politics so heavily biased. I don't live in Ghana so perhaps I've missed the memo as to the agenda of Joy News, but they are extremely left-wing. In fact I don't think I can even say Left-wing. Ghana's political spectrum, given that it is undoubtedly a two-party system, is not yet formed. There is just NDC or NPP, but neither party (even less so the NDC than NPP) can place their ideology (if they have one), firmly in a place on the left-wing/right-wing spectrum.

I hope Ghanaians will be able to see through the illogical and frankly unfair and and dangerous rhetoric being promoted by the Joy News channel. I don't mind Joy News being pro-NDC, everyone must stick their standard somewhere; but whilst my family naturally support the NPP, I constantly criticise both parties equally. Both have faults. A true broadcaster looking out for the benefit of the country, whilst leaning to one side, will ensure or at least attempt to be as neutral as possible or provide at least once in an hour show some sense of challenge to the words of the government's representatives.

When Mills gained power, I said to my family, I hope Ghanaians inside and out, will give him a chance. When rumours spread that Kufuor and Kofi Annan had to make Nana Akufo Addo leave the result as it had been declared, I was disappointed at the prospect of Ghana's democracy being undermined by a poor loser; but just as Akufo Addo was on the verge of becoming a poor loser, President Mills in his fourth and final year of this term, is becoming - and allowing his party to become - bad winners. There is sportsmanship in winning and losing and neither side should forget that.

The media, if it will not be independent, should be fair. The structure and content of shows as I have seen on Joy News, will not help to put an end to the "politics of insults". If the older generation of Ghanaian journalists are too stuck in their ways to be fair and be unbiased (and this is to be professional in their field) then perhaps they should step aside to allow the younger generation to think for themselves, and take over the industry in the interest of the nation's democracy.

2 comments:

  1. I just wondering how a TV station decides which party to affiliate with. It might have to do with who owns it may be.
    But this really happen everywhere, fox news in America bashing the democrats every chance.

    Ghanaian you have to choose not to believe everything they hear. They should make decisions on the truth, their own truth

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  2. yeh I guess it's got everything to do with the owner, and I guess that if you want a certain ideology given more air time than another then one should set up their own tv station. Channels like Fox News make me hurl, the bias is disgusting and I might be judged for saying this but the US can afford to have Fox News, whereas Ghana cannot. All around us, countries descend into madness pre- and post-election, Ghanaians may be peaceful people, but Ghana is not occupied with just Ghanaians, so if we don't want to light the tinderbox, perhaps we shouldn't bring the matches you know?

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