Abstract
Ghana Television (GTV), the national television channel of Ghana has, since its establishment in 1965, struggled to function effectively as a public service broadcaster. As the television wing of the publicly owned Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), which comprises both radio and television, GTV has often had to operate in a political environment characterized by military dictators who sought to use broadcasting as a tool to legitimize themselves. In 1992, Ghana returned to constitutional governance. The natural expectation was to see GBC, and for that matter GTV, transformed into a true public service broadcaster, but this was soon dissipated by the sudden appeal of liberal market ideas in the new political environment.
The media was deregulated, dismantling the monopoly structure of the broadcast market. For the first time, GTV faced competition from commercial television. At the same time, in the general shift towards market oriented policies, government reduced funding for state institutions including GBC. Facing dwindling funds, GTV was forced to compete with the new commercial television stations in both the audience and advertising markets, yet it was expected to pursue public service television goals and not only follow commercial principles.
Even though GBC as a whole was faced with these challenges, this thesis limits itself to television. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, policies and programming are examined to see how possible it is for GTV to function as a proper public service broadcaster in the face of commercialization and the controlling tendencies of government. The study concludes that existing laws and policies expose GTV to commercial and political pressures, which have implications for its public service broadcasting role. In addition, the absence of a comprehensive accountability mechanism has created a regulatory vacuum. As a result, the critical public service expectations of inclusive programming, national identity and enlightenment are bearing the brunt and GTV is far from the “station of the nation” it claims to be or should be.