The latest report published by Reporters Without Borders has ranked Ghana 50th on the World Press Freedom Index 2024.
Ghana has made notable advancements in media freedom, improving from its previous ranking of 62nd place over the past year.
The 2024 ranking places Ghana among the top 50 countries out of the 180 included in the study.
Reporters Without Borders acknowledged that Ghana has a vibrant and pluralistic media environment.
This includes the media landscape, legal framework, political situation, economy, safety, and sociocultural context.
This finding is based on the fact that, of the five indicators used to compile the ranking, the political indicator has fallen the most, registering a global average fall of 7.6 points.
The research conducted by Reporters Without Borders singled out media platforms such as “the Joy News channel, the Myjoyonline website, and radio Peace FM” as “very popular and reflect a high degree of pluralism and diversity.
In the political context, however, the report recounted an incident where some members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) forcefully invaded the studios of UTV in Accra.
“Nonetheless, the ruling party wrote to the Despite Media Group, which runs the privately owned United TV channel, in October 2023 requesting the inclusion of one of its members in the TV channel’s broadcasts in order, it said, to ensure balance. ”
Globally, the findings show that a growing number of political authorities are not doing their best to ensure a conducive environment for journalism and the public’s right to unbiased news and information.
RSF editorial director, Anne Bocandé explained “As more than half the world’s population goes to the polls in 2024, RSF is warning of a worrying trend revealed by the 2024 World Press Freedom Index: a decline in the political indicator, one of five indicators detailed in the Index. States and other political forces are playing a decreasing role in protecting press freedom.”
“This disempowerment sometimes goes hand in hand with more hostile actions that undermine the role of journalists, or even instrumentalise the media through campaigns of harassment or disinformation.”