CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION             Background to the Study

In democracies the world over, elections play a very important role. Elections are pivotal such that they deepen and legitimize the government in power. The media has the onus of covering elections impartially and providing a balanced and fair coverage of elections and electoral processes (Akoh & Ahiabenu, 2012). The media play a vital role in every democracy and their importance in politics is indispensable. The Canadian-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC, 2008) for example, posits that the free flow of information is the lifeblood of democracy.

In every election, the media is very important to the electoral process. The media scrutinizes the electoral process to evaluate fairness of the process, efficiency and probity. The media plays a “watchdog” role in that it informs electorates on how effectively governments have performed and help them to account (aceproject, 2020). The media in Ghana has played a pivotal role in informing electorates especially in the build up to elections, during and after the elections.

Particularly, online media has become a potent instrument for deepening democratic values and processes in terms of information dissemination, evaluation and monitoring of electioneering processes in Africa (Fadeyi & Abdulrahman, 2019). Political and electioneering campaigns are now increasingly built around new technology platforms rather than traditional broadcast (aceproject.org, 2020). Social media platforms were used by political parties, candidates and governmental organizations for campaigning and increasing level of awareness. Almost all candidates in general elections use social media platforms to communicate with voters, but the emergence of new political actors because of digitization is something that has occurred in only a

few countries. “Digital media have, however, remarkably increased the volume of political discussion and raised the political interest of the general public” (Chan, 2014, pg 107). Today, established newsroom routines and professional norms are evolving as a result of challenges and opportunities posed by technological convergence. They give special attention to credentialed journalists, who gravitate to online sources in order to cull information into news (D’Angelo & Shaw, 2017).

The media in Ghana has contributed to Ghana’s democratic journey in the fourth republic by way of the coverage they give to elections. Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana makes it possible for Ghanaians who are eighteen years and above to go to the polls after every four years to elect into office new representatives. Prior to each general election in Ghana, the various political parties embark on campaign trails to convince electorates to vote for them. The mass media comes to play its major role of transmitting information to electorates during this period.. This information is to assess the actions and positions of leaders, as well as influence public approval and perceptions of character traits and prime the importance of certain traits (Iyengar et al., 2008; Shaw and Roberts, 2000).

Citizens in democracies the world over rely increasingly on the media as a primary source of political information (Mughan and Gunther 2000). Given the growing internet culture in the country, it is not surprising that many citizens are turning to online media for news during elections. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have now provided different platforms for reporting elections, adding on to the myriad of already existent tools that are available to cover the news in times of elections (Akoh & Ahiabenu, 2012). This is because people consume news faster these days than some years ago and ICT provides the platform for media outlets to get news to their consumers faster, thereby the emergence of several online media platforms. Thus, as

technology advances, there is a shift from the traditional media such as print, radio and television to new media such as social media and other online technologies. Not surprisingly, a number of online media have emerged to meet this demand.

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