Between Policy and Risk Communication: Coverage of Air Pollution in Ghanaian Newspapers

Abstract

Mass media plays an increasingly persuasive role in orienting political decisions, shaping social agendas, influencing individuals’ actions, and interpreting scientific evidence for the public. With growing scientific understanding of the health, social and environmental consequences of air pollution, there is an urgent need to understand how media coverage frames these links, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. This paper examines how the Ghanaian print and electronic media houses are covering air pollution issues given increased efforts at reducing air pollution within the country. The main goal of this work is to track the progress of policies to reduce air pollution. We used a qualitative content analysis of selected newspapers (both traditional and online) between the periods 2016 and 2021 and we found that articles on air pollution have been increasing, with more reportage on impact and policy issues compared to causes of air pollution. A focus group with six members of the media confirmed an interest in covering health and environmental issues, particularly coverage of specific diseases and human-interest pieces. This increasing attention is likely associated with intensifying local, national, and international action to improve air quality in Ghana, and growing awareness of the health impacts of air pollution.

The evolution of media reportage on GMOs in Ghana following approval of first GM crop

“…This mixed method study purposively identified three of the most vibrant digital news outlets in Ghana and did a content analysis of all GMO stories reported over three years from January 2021 to December 2023. We sourced data for this study from Ghanaweb.com, the most-read news website in Ghana; Myjoyonline.com, the second most-read news website in Ghana, and Graphic.com.gh, the digital platform of the most influential newspaper in Ghana, Daily Graphic 33–35 , 36 We used 8 keywords to search for all GMO-focused stories reported on these news websites over the period; GMO, GMOs, GM foods, GM Crops, Biotech crops, Biotechnology crops, Genetically modified crops, and Genetically Engineered Crops. We read through each of the articles and coded them manually, as was done by Lynas et al, 19 into one of 5 dominant issue categories; human health articles, food security articles, environment articles, sociocultural articles, and economics articles.…”

The Digital Strategies and Efficacy of Environmental Movements in Hong Kong

“…We argue that indirectly, over a longer period of time this may bring about changes in environmental policy as well. As previous studies suggest, the increased social and media attention to environmental issues may empower environmental activism, placing pressure on the government to respond to those salient environmental issues (Agyei-Mensah et al, 2022;Raja˜o & Jarke, 2018). In order to mitigate the political consequences of negative news and ensure better control over the situation, the government is likely to make policy responses.…”