Monday mornings are busy days in the newsroom of the Business and Financial Times. Elizabeth Punsu, picks up her Zoom audio recorder, actively preparing to chase stories.
But behind her profession, is a harsh reality that she and her peers in the media fraternity often lament; the soaring cost of living in Ghana.
Elizabeth and her colleagues say the increasing cost of living in Ghana is impacting their professional lives.
The financial pressure brings challenges that can potentially influence their journalistic practices.
“Personally, the recent living cost in the country is taking a toll on me,” she says. “I used to spend around 40 cedis daily on transport, and on my two meals for the day. Now, I spend around 80 cedis. Food prices have shot up, and transport costs are higher too.”
The Day-to-day Financial Pressure
Elizabeth’s experience is not a new thing among journalists.
Across Ghana, Journalists find themselves grappling with growing expenses.
“I used to order Uber and Bolt. They were charging 15 cedis. Currently, they are charging more than 20 cedis” she says. “At times, even if my office provides us transportation money, it’s not enough for the rounds we make as journalists. The work demands we move around a lot, and the costs just keep adding up.”
Florence Afriyie Mensah, who works with the Ghana News Agency agrees.
“The high cost of living in Ghana affects us all,” she says. “Since January, I haven’t been able to save a single dime. Prices of groceries and other necessities are so high.”
For Florence and many other female journalists, the burden includes professional and personal responsibilities.
PHOTO 3 – FLORENCE AFRIYIE MENSAH
This is a pertinent issue that has not yet received attention.
“We women in the media space are suffering,” she says.
The Gendered Cost of Professional Looks
For female journalists, the cost of living crisis goes beyond basic necessities.
The burden to maintain a professional appearance adds to the financial strain.
Sarah Boakye from Akan-based radio station, Time FM highlights this point.
“As a female journalist, especially on TV or radio, it is a requirement to always look prim and proper,” she explains. “Most of us are role models. People watch us. You have to make you do not repeat outfit. Your make-up, shoes, bags and hairstyle have to be on point. It is not cheap too.”
Beatrice Spio-Garbrah from Media General shares this sentiment.
“As a woman, you cannot dress any how to work. I am always on TV so I have to make sure I look good. People are watching us, you know. To look good does not come cheap. Makeup, skin care, hair care, accessories, clothing are all expensive. Our male counterparts do not worry their heads so much over these things,” she explained.
The Fight for Fair Pay and Respect
A survey by online news portal Jamlab Africa reveals journalists in Ghana are the most poorly paid professionals.
The financial challenges female journalists face are multiplied compounded by pay differences and respect at the office.
“Female journalists are not respected so much. People feel we are not so intelligent,” Sarah laments. “The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) needs to a lot to make sure our work conditions improve.”
Freelance journalist, Nana Akosua Yeboah highlights the plights of freelancers.
“Those of us working in media houses that we are not on payroll, it’s really hard,” she reveals. “We go out looking and working on stories, but how do we even get transport to move around or even get to the workplace?”
Female freelancers are mostly unpaid or underpaid for their work, despite their efforts.
“Event organizers try to cheat us because we’re women. They do not pay us our worth. They pay their male counterparts more for the same job. It’s unfair.”
This sentiment is shared by Beatrice Spio-Garbrah who emphasizes the disparities between male and female journalists.
“I do not have empirical evidence to back what I am saying but I hear most male counterparts earn more than us,” she says. “If we’re facing the same economic crisis, then we’re impacted differently. Men don’t have to worry buy sanitary materials or worry as much about their appearance. But as a woman, you need to fix your hair, get your makeup right, and dress well. It’s an added cost that men generally don’t have.”
The Social and Emotional Toll
Beyond the professional part, the high cost of living also takes a toll on personal lives and social interactions.
Margaret Narh from Despite Media shares her experiences.
“Financial constraints affect our social interactions and source of entertainment,” Margaret explains. “You might want to hang out with friends on weekends, but the cost of fuel, food, and everything else makes it difficult. So, you end up staying home, which affects your mental health.”
Survival Strategies
In spite of these challenges, Elizabeth Punsu is finding ways to adapt and survive.
She has taken on additional work.
“I do a few research projects and write for people to get another income. The salary is okay, but with the increase in food and supplies, it’s not enough.”
Margaret has side businesses and saves costs by buying essential items in bulk.
“Buying in bulk helps, especially for sanitary materials,” she says. “But even then, it’s a constant struggle to make ends meet.”
Reporting on Themselves; a Call for Change
Ultimately, female journalists find themselves in an ironic situation.
These journalists deliver the news with professionalism whilst managing tight budget budgets and juggling multiple jobs.
They report on the lives and conditions of others but their own stories remain untold.
“We report on strikes, demonstrations, and other people’s living conditions,” Elizabeth says, “but our own struggles are often overlooked.”
Nana Akosua adds “More stories should be done on female journalists. There are lots of struggles we are going through, but we don’t talk about it enough.
Rising Costs and Resilience in Journalism
To further explore high cost of living and journalistic integrity, we shift from the personal challenges faced by female journalists to the broad impact of living cost in the newsroom environment.
In the Multimedia Group Limited, where independent fearless and credible journalism is found through each story told.
In the Joy Newsroom, gender equity and journalistic integrity is the mission of News Editor, Seyram Abla De-Souza.
“The cost of living, yes, is impacting the team,” Abla says “You have people requesting a return to the COVID-era shift, where some work from home to cut transport costs now soaring up to 53 cedis a day.”
She adds that economic burdens are not borne excessively by female journalists.
“Gender doesn’t dictate remuneration at Multimedia,” she reveals. “It’s about impact and merit. There are women here who earn more than their male counterparts.”
A Silence from the Top
As News Editor, Seyram and other female journalists speak about the need for change, there is a silence from female news editors and those in managerial positions.
A number of female leaders in the media fraternity were approached for their perspectives on the challenges their peers face.
They declined to comment, citing fears of retribution and professional backlash.
Their silence is a prompt of the gender dynamics at play, where female leaders, who could advocate for change, are silenced by fear of losing their hard earned positions.
The Saga of State and Private Media.
The Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Linda Asante-Adjei, says the difference between state and private media is obvious.
“Interestingly, with the state media, because they are employed by the government, there is a structured salary system,” Linda explains. “The problem lies with the private media, where owners dictate how much and when to pay. This has led to situations where some journalists earn as low as 150 cedis, as found in a 2012 Trades Union Congress survey. The lack of regulation makes it difficult to ensure fair and consistent pay across board.”
The private media presents some challenges.
“Many journalists in the private sector do not have formal employment contracts, making it easy for employers to exploit them. They can be hired and fired verbally, with no clear conditions of service,” Linda says. “The GJA has been advocating for unionization to negotiate better salaries and conditions, but getting private media owners to the table is a challenge.”
The Essence of Journalism: Integrity amidst Challenges
This poor remuneration has forced many to compromise their ethics and professional standards.
The Centre for Intelligence and Security Analysis, Ghana (CISA), has advocated better remuneration for journalists to safeguard the peace saying poor salaries of media personnel in Ghana is a threat to national security.
Financial insecurity affects the personal lives of female journalists and undermines the quality of journalism.
“When journalists are not paid well, it opens the door to corruption. Politicians and individuals can bribe underpaid journalists to publish biased or false information, which damages the credibility of the media,” Linda says. “We are supposed to educate, inform, and entertain, but if we do not put accurate information out there, we end up harming the country more than helping it.”
The financial crisis also impedes journalists’ ability to gather news.
“Many journalists don’t own vehicles, and media houses often lack the resources to provide transportation. This means journalists have to pay out of pocket to cover stories, which is unsustainable given their low earnings. As a result, some resort to accepting ‘soli’ – transportation allowances from event organizers – which can compromise their impartiality.”
The 2021 Policy Brief towards Sustainable Journalism by the Consortium to Promote Human Rights, Civic Freedom, and Media Development (CHARMS AFRICA), reveals state spending on media in Sub-Saharan Africa has been declining.
Poverty and youth unemployment is high in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is impacting all markets including the media market.
This has encouraged fertile grounds for ‘brown envelope’ media practices, popularly referred to in in Ghana as ‘soli’ and uncertainties existing in many media enterprises.
This lack of resources is narrowing the news agenda as the Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association asserts.
The policy brief further reveals that the poor conditions of service for journalists is a hindrance impacting the independence that is required of them in carrying out their duties
In Guinea Bissau, journalists are compelled to join political parties to be able to continue to work as professional journalists.
The situation is similar is Ghana as good journalists and news editors have aligned themselves with political parties, calling objective and impartial journalist as ‘poverty journalism’ which makes one go hungry.
In Ghana and Guinea Bissau, where the media environment is free, there is a growing trend of politicians taking up the ownership of local radio and TV stations.
This is forcing journalists to push their own agenda instead of one that interests the public.
With the importance of the Agenda 2030, a key function of journalists is to critically scrutinize the compliance of the SDGs and Agenda 2030 and exposing the sustainability challenges associated with them.
But if journalist fail to be economically empowered, may not be enable to execute that mandate.
According to Linda Asante-Adjei some journalists are leaving the profession to take up better paying jobs in other sectors.
CHARM AFRICA is stressing the need for media’s own sustainability, emphasizing the need for innovative revenue streams at both systemic and organizational levels.
Support Systems and Initiatives
While there are initiatives to support journalists, a lot needs to be done.
“The GJA has received support from the Union of Journalists in the Netherlands to run welfare projects for female journalists. These programs have been impactful, but there is limited funding,” Linda says. “The Alliance for Women in the Media also works hard to empower female journalists, but we need more support systems.”
In addition to this effort, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has liaised with Canal France International (CFI) to conduct a series of gender-sensitive reporting and women empowerment trainings for 32 female journalists in Ghana and La Cote D’Ivoire.
These training sessions have brought up the challenges female journalists face and have equipped them with the knowledge to address these matters.
PHOTO 12 – MFWA
“I have been empowered to voice my experiences and advocate for change,” Participant Anita Serwaah Adzoga said. “Such initiatives are will help in our struggle to for better working conditions for all journalist especially females, because our demands are high.”
As the GJA carry on its advocacy, media owners and policymakers must recognize and address these matters to ensure an equitable future for all media practitioners’ especially female journalists in Ghana.
Yet, the female leaders’ silence tell us of the challenges ahead and the need to call for change action to break the cycle of fear and silence in the media industry.