Pre-Fieldwork Proposal
Objectives outlined
Before going to Ghana:
In preparation for this course’s fieldwork in Ghana, after learning more about the significance of social and political legacy, I set my scope on exploring the impact journalism/media may have had on the way significant social and political figures are remembered posthumously. Jeffrey Ahlman’s readings about Nkrumahism and the Pan-Africanism espoused to me the impact that Nkrumahism still has in Ghana today. Despite the fact that Nkrumah passed in 1972, Ghanaians still see him as one of their country’s greatest leaders. His ideals of independence, globalization, and Pan-Africanism have shaped Ghanaian society so thoroughly that those values can still be seen in the way Ghanaians interact socially and politically today. As a student journalist, I recognized that the way I present the information that I collect ultimately serves as a recording of a person and event. It is because of writers that we are able to have these recollections of the past. Thus, when thinking about my investigations in Ghana, I wanted to better understand the connection that Ghanaians still had to the past and in conjunction, how journalists of present day think about how their writing will shape the future.
Possible Primary Sources:
•Professional Journalists (print, radio, television)
•Students
Evidence & How to Collect:
•Testimonials – organize and conduct interviews
•Current events – buy newspapers daily
•Historical evidence – view newspapers from the past in archives/national library
Questions developed:
•How prevalent are significant historical social/political figures and events, like Kwame Nkrumah and the Pan-Africanist Movement today?
•What role do Ghanaians think the media plays in shaping perceptions, and in the long-term, legacies?
•Are journalists integral to maintaining democracy?
•Do today’s Ghanaian journalists have an amiable or adversarial relationship with their government?
•In what ways do Ghanaian journalists think about media ethics?
•Do Ghanaian journalist think about how their work impacts society or shapes the future?
Post-Fieldwork Proposal
Objectives outlined
After going to Ghana:
Toward the end of my two weeks in Ghana that the scope of my interests shifted throughout my trip. While conducting my fieldwork I found myself impressed by the extent to which Ghanaian women had social and political power. Although it differed amongst classes and occupations, Ghanaian women as a whole had access to a level of social mobility that I had expected in Africa. Reading Gracia Clark’s Onions Are My Husband and meeting many female entrepreneurs, judges, and market women, having conversations with students of all genders with opinions regarding the significance of gender, as well as having the opportunity to be connected to a female journalist and listening to Professor Jennifer Hasty’s views regarding gender in Ghanaian newsrooms reinforced my interest in connecting gender to my research. Upon reflection, I set off to integrate my experiences with my curiosities. In lieu of the political controversies surrounding the Ghanaian election, talk of disqualifications, corruption, and voter apathy, I began to realize that the struggles that Ghanaians faced in terms of maintaining democracy were not so different from the difficulties experienced by the government in American. I also noted that journalists in both countries played integral roles in translating the discombobulation of the political systems in their midst to the population, as responsibility that appeared to be approached differently depending on the journalist as a reporter in addition to the news outlet they represented. Also, I began noticing that women in both Ghana and the United States had unique experiences in the workplace as a result of their gender. Thus, I wanted to better understand the connection between gender, journalism, media ethics, and democracy.
Primary Sources:
•Media Professionals
•Ghanaian Institute of Journalism Students
•Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology Students
•Miss Taxi Ghana
•Former President John Kufuor
•Former President Jerry Rawlings
•Chief Justice Georgina Wood
•Professor Jennifer Hastings
•Dr. Gretchen Bauer
•Author Gracia Clark
Evidence & Manner in which they were collected:
•Testimonials – in person interviews/meetings
•Current events – daily newspapers
•Scholarly Text – Onions Are My Husband and Press and Political Culture in Ghana
•Survey - distribution of a questionnaire
Questions asked:
•What role does gender play in Ghanaian newsrooms?
•Are female journalists treated or regarded differently than male journalists?
•Are there any discrepancies in the personal ethical codes between female and male journalists?
•Are there actions that journalists may take that would be deemed unethical or harmful to democracy?
•To what extent is journalism necessary for the maintenance of democracy?
•Has journalism or media ethics become harder to maintain in lieu of social media?