The Role of Broadcast Journalism in Ashanti Region
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the role of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region
- To find out how GBC compete with foreign broadcasting media like BBC, VOA, CNN and radio France.
- To find out the challenges of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Establishing what broadcast journalism entails and its similarity with traditional print journalism is essential to the understanding of any changes in the subject. Broadcast journalism is the application of traditional print journalism to media that involves broadcasting via the internet, radio, or television. Since broadcast journalism was born from the common journalistic practices cemented by centuries of print journalism, many of the same rules apply to both areas of interest. When learning to become a journalist in any form, students learn all types of journalism, broadcast or otherwise. In fact, many of the universities with the top journalism schools in America (University of Texas at Austin, University of Syracuse, Boston University, University of Southern California, and Northwestern University) all offer experiences in the field of journalism across all types of medium. Additionally, across the five universities, the courses offered and required for a journalism type of major include Radio, Television and Film at University of Texas at Austin; Multimedia Storytelling at University of Syracuse; Visual Storytelling at Boston University; Navigating Media and the News in the Digital Age at the University of Southern California and Multimedia Storytelling for Northwestern University. The aforementioned courses required to become any sort of major in journalism at the top journalism schools in the country all serve the purpose of creating well-rounded professionals across the full spectrum of the journalism field. This is done largely due to the necessity of common skills required across all areas of specialization in journalism to prepare for the current day trend of careers with interchangeable requirements. The broad field of study known as journalism has standards to follow for practitioners. Veteran journalist Colleen Cotter states that for journalists learning their craft, one of the most important values ingrained into them from the start is their ability to tell the facts in stories that are accurate and subsequently credible. Credibility relies on the accuracy of language used in reporting as well as correctness of the word choice. The idea of being a credible news source is also closely related to the journalists ability to find truth in an ethical manner. With this, the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Code of Ethics states that “ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.” A journalist’s ability to present themselves on television or some other medium with integrity stemming from courses in which they learn their craft or experiences they have in their field allows them to be the credible and neutral sources the public expects. The shift on broadcast journalism, particularly on TV and online, in the late twentieth to the early twenty-first was a noticeable deviation from the previous decades with ABC, CBS, and NBC (CNN in 1980).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to the role of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting the role of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region. 200 staff of selected broadcast media in Ashanti in Ghana was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the role of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region
Summary
This study was on the role of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region. Three objectives were raised which included; To ascertain the role of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region, to find out how GBC compete with foreign broadcasting media like BBC, VOA, CNN and radio France and to find out the challenges of broadcast journalism in Ashanti region. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected broadcast media in Ashanti Region was selected randomly. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up directors, editors, senior staffs and junior staffs were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
It was concluded that despite the changes in mentality surrounding broadcast journalism reflecting a lack of trust for the medium, the language of GBC broadcasts in particular has not changed substantially over the past thirty years and, if anything, has gotten slightly more neutral rather than less. Regarding the lack of any notable shift, several potential factors exist. The first of those factors could be GBC itself. GBC boasts a reputation of being one of the oldest in the field of television news and a largely unbiased style of reporting. Maintaining this reputation could lead to a consistent use of positive, negative, and neutral words in broadcasts over the years. Conceivably, they could have found a method that gives them the credibility they work towards
Recommendation
GBC should fully embrace and adapt to the use of new media technologies in other to fully remain relevant in the industry.
To ensure effective and maximum utilization of new media technologies in the public service broadcasting, efforts should be made by the relevant stakeholders to ensure that broadcasters in the public service are trained properly on how to use digital broadcasting equipment.
References
- Mojaye, E.M., Oyewo, O.O., Bayo, R.M. & Sobowale,I.A. (Eds.): Health Communication, Gender Violence and ICTs in Nigeria. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press
- Baran, S. J. (2009). Introduction to mass communication: Media literacy and culture.(5th ed.). Boston: McGraw – Hill.
- Barr, T. (2002). The internet and online communication in Stuart C., & Graeme T.(Eds.) The media & communications in Australia. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
- Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2003). Media society: Industries, images and audiences. (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press
- Danaan, G. (2006). The Growth of Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Less Developed Countries (LDCs): Issues and problems. International Journal of Communication Nsukka: Communication studies Forum, 5, 117-118.
- Flew, T. (2002). New media: An introduction. UK: Oxford University Press.
- Fritts, E. O. (2002). Broadcasters moving forward on DTV. Retrieved from: https://wwwnab.org. Accessed on 12th February, 2017
- Lievrouw, L.A., & Livingstone, S. (2006). Introduction to the Updated Student Edition In: L.A Lievrouw., & S Livingstone (Eds:): The Handbook of New Media. Updated Student Edition. London: Sage
