Abstract:
This study examines the ways by which Public Service Broadcasting programming
and coverage serve the vulnerable using GBC Radio Upper West as a case study. The
study was anchored on the tenets of Public Service Broadcasting, the concept of
vulnerability and the Political Economy Theory of the Media. It used the qualitative
research approach and the multiple methods of data collection such as in-depth
interviews, focus group discussion and document analysis, to collect data from eight
respondents from the period of May, 2019 to October, 2019. The data which was
thematically analysed found out that Radio Upper West programming and coverage of
the vulnerable respond to their special needs through diversified programming,
advocacy and socio-economic empowerment, with the aim of breaking the cycle of
negative societal practices against the marginalised. Also, the study discovered that
the sustainability of Radio Upper West programmes and coverage relating to the
vulnerable is seriously threatened by market forces such as competition and high cost
of production. As the station attempts to stay afloat through revenue generation, it is
forced to prioritise commercialisation over public service and by extension service to
the vulnerable. This study also found that though the station, to an extent, seeks to
operate in compliance with the Public Service Broadcasting principles of universal
access and diversity, the participation of the vulnerable in programming and coverage
is not much encouraging. The study argues that journalists at Radio Upper West are
vulnerable themselves and susceptible to being at the beck and call of the powerful
elite to the detriment of the vulnerable. It is one of such reasons that this study affirms
the real threats posed to the Public Service Broadcasting value of universal access and
participation. This study recommends to public service broadcasters to find innovative
ways of making conscious allocations to the programming and coverage of the
vulnerable in order to give true meaning to the principle of universal access and
participation.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Communication and Media Studies,
Faculty of Foreign Languages Education and Communication, submitted to the
School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Media Studies)
in the University of Education, Winneba
MARCH, 2021
