Now ranked 60 among 180 countries, globally assessed based on the level of freedom available to journalists, the country’s new position was largely attributable to insecurity and continuous threat to the lives of media practitioners in their line of duty.
The ranking is the lowest the country has ever seen in the past 17 years since it placed 66th in 2005.
According to the report, journalists have undergone growing pressures in recent times, despite being regional leaders, in democratic stability.
It stated that the “government has shown itself intolerant of criticism. In addition, one-third of media outlets are owned by politicians or by people tied to the top political parties. The content they produce is largely partisan.
“Press freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution of 1992. Media are free to operate as they like, in accordance with the regulations of the National Media Commission. The 2019 information access law authorises journalists to demand information of national interest.”
In 2020, reporters covering the effectiveness of anti-COVID-19 measures were attacked by security forces.
Harriet Thompson speaking on the ranking said Ghana’s press freedom ranking is a shame.
In an interview with JoyNews, she said “I think it is really a shame for Ghana. Yes, I do and that is why I think that the government’s commitment to media freedom, as I say in conversations that I have had with those representatives, it is important to hold on to that as Ghana’s journalists continue to do a great job that they do.”
“I do believe that commitment to the freedom of the media is strong amongst Ghana’s population and the government,” Harriet Thompson added.
