Inaugural Lecture by Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo

Inaugural Lecture

by

Professor Audrey Gadzekpo

Topic:
Taking the Gown to Town: Reflections of a Scholar-Activist on

Media in Ghana’s Democratic Journey

Chairperson:
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo

Vice-Chancellor

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ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS

4.30 p.m. – Arrival of Guests

– Procession

– Welcome Remarks/

Introduction of Chairperson:

Mrs. Emelia N.K. Agyei-Mensah, Registrar

– Introduction of Lecturer:

Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo

Vice-Chancellor



– Seprewa

– Inaugural Lecture:
Professor Audrey Gadzekpo


– Musical Interlude:
Ghana Dance Ensemble


– Presentations

– Chairperson’s Closing Remarks:

Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo

Vice-Chancellor

– University Anthem

(Page 12)

– Recession

– Reception

Inaugural Lecture by Professor Audrey Gadzekpo 3

ABSTRACT

In a speech delivered before the Parliament of Ghana in 2009, US
President Barrack Obama stressed the need for building stronger
institutions to bolster democracy in Africa. He reminded his
audience that an independent press, and institutions such as strong
parliaments, honest police forces, independent judges, a vibrant
private sector and civil society, are what “give life to democracy.”
That notion of a well-functioning media as a cornerstone of liberal
democracy is the rationale behind the strong provisions on the
media contained in chapter 12 of the Ghanaian constitution.
From an almost de facto state monopolistic media system in
the 1980s, Ghana now boasts one of the most liberal media
environments on the continent. For the past five years, the country
has ranked ahead of established democracies such as the U.S. and
U.K. in the World Press Freedom Index as published by Reporters
without Borders (RSF). Out of 180 countries, Ghana ranked 26th
in 2017, 23rd in 2018, 27th in 2019, and 30th in both 2020 and 2021.
Worthy of note is also the proliferation of media outlets throughout
the country. By the fourth quarter of 2021, records from the National
Communications Authority (NCA) showed there were 489 FM
stations operational in all 16 regions of the country and 110 television
stations on air. In addition, hundreds of newspapers are registered
with the National Media Commission (NMC), even though those
records are not entirely reliable. Energising this pluralistic media
environment, is the ever-increasing availability of social media
through mobile devices that enable many Ghanaians to readily
access news and information. It is estimated that about 20 percent
of the country’s population are active on social media platforms like
WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Such strong
evidence of a vibrant and pluralistic media environment, however,
fails to reveal the quality of the Ghanaian media and their capacity
to live up to their democratic imperatives and it is this lacuna that
motivates the discussions underpinning this paper.
From my position as a scholar-activist whose work has focused
mainly on media and democracy, I examine the performance of
the media in Ghana and the ways in which they have contributed

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to or undermined democratic governance. In this evaluative and
reflective exercise, I also interrogate the context of media practice
and the political economy under which the media must operate.
My assessment draws from the methodological approaches of a
variety of media performance frameworks, including UNESCO’s
Media Development Indicators, the African Media Barometer, as
well as theoretical positions advanced by media scholars on how
journalism works or should function in democratic societies.
In my critique, I have contended with the legal and regulatory
regime in Ghana and the constitutional provisions that offer strong
protection for free expression and independent media. At the same
time, I have raised concerns about developments that threaten free
speech, journalists’ safety, and journalism practice. I also sound the
alarm that the unresolved murder of investigative journalist, Ahmed
Hussein-Suale and continuing attacks on journalists portends
badly not only for the media, but democratic growth in Ghana.
Furthermore, even as I celebrate the existence of the Right to
Information Act, which was passed in 2019, and recent rulings by
the RTI Commission upholding our fundamental right to public
information, I critique the absence of a broadcast law that could
address regulatory challenges and guide professional practice in
the broadcast sector.
I also laud developments that have led to a plethora of local
language stations and enabled citizens to better express
themselves in the public sphere, but problematise the many
gendered aspects of media practice that continue to perpetuate
inequalities in newsrooms as well as in the larger society.
Additionally, I confront critical and uncomfortable questions about
the opacity of media ownership and how that masks the political
capture of media, and address the precarity of media work that
calls into question the viability and sustainability of legacy media
in the country. I end by making recommendations on how the
media can be strengthened to play their normative roles and how
the environment in which they operate improved to support the
nurturing of democratic growth in Ghana.

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Professor Audrey Gadzekpo

BA (University of Ghana), MA (Brigham Young University),
PhD (University of Birmingham)

Former Dean, School of Information and Communication Studies

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PROFILE

Audrey Gadzekpo, Ph.D. is a Professor of Communication Studies
and former Dean of the School of Information and Communication
Studies, University of Ghana. She has close to 30 years of experience
teaching, researching and advocating on issues relating to media,
gender, governance, and development.

She attended Achimota Primary School, and proceeded to
Achimota Secondary School, where she obtained her Ordinary
Level certificate, before pursuing her sixth form education at OLA
Secondary School, Ho. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from
the University of Ghana, a Master of Arts in Communications from
Brigham Young University, Utah, USA and a Doctorate degree in
African Studies from the University of Birmingham, U.K.

Her early career was as a journalist with The Indianapolis Recorder
in Indiana, USA where she rose to become editor, before returning to
Ghana and co-founding and editing the women’s magazine, AWO.
She also wrote a regular socio-political column in the Ghanaian
Chronicle and later the Mirror.

Since 1993, Professor Gadzekpo’s academic career has been
centred primarily at the University of Ghana. She has also held
adjunct positions at New York University in Ghana and at the Ghana
Institute of Journalism (GIJ). She has served as a visiting scholar at
the Program of African Studies, Northwestern University, U.S.; a
guest researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden;
and a research fellow of the Africa Oxford Initiative, University of
Oxford, UK. She is also a regular guest lecturer at the Police Staff
and Command College, Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, and
the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.

Teaching
Professor Gadzekpo’s teaching portfolio includes courses such as
print journalism, media and gender, health communication, media

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ethics, media culture and society, communicating climate change,
communicating public policy, international communication,
qualitative research methods in communication studies, and
political communication.

Since 2015, she has also regularly taught at the Pan-African
Doctoral Academy, University of Ghana, where she co-designed
and co-teaches two training modules on ‘presentation skills’ and
‘communicating scientific results to academic and non-academic
audiences.’

Research
Professor Gadzekpo’s research focuses on the nexus between
media, and concerns such as gender, health, climate change,
democracy and governance, conflict, and history. She is currently
engaged in COVID-19 related research with a team of international
researchers and colleagues from Noguchi Memorial Institute for
Medical Research. She is also collaborating with partners from
the University of Leeds and University of Nairobi on gender and
climate change related research.

Extension and Training Activities
Professor Gadzekpo has conducted numerous training seminars,
workshops, and lectures for organisations such as: the Ghana
Journalists Association (GJA), Private Newspaper Publishers
Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), Ghana Community Radio
Network (GCRN), Center for Democratic Development (CDD-
Ghana), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health
Organisation (WHO), The United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank, Ghana
Institute of Consultants, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), STAR-
Ghana Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Friedrich Naumann
Foundation, European Union, Centre for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), Newmont-Ghana, Barclays Bank, Standard
Chartered Bank, Enterprise Group, Electoral Commission of Ghana,
Ghana Statistical Service, and Trades Union Congress, Ghana.

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Advocacy
Professor Gadzekpo has considerable experience engaging in
media, gender, governance and behavioural change advocacy
work. She has been involved in election monitoring in Ghana and
other countries in Africa, anti-corruption campaigns and initiatives,
empowerment of women initiatives, media development projects
and initiatives, and health/environmental issues. For more than four
years she chaired the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for
Health Promotion (ICC-HP) in Ghana and was in 2006 a focal person
for the Ghana Sustainable Change Project, a collaborative project
with five institutions that led among otherthings, to the development
of a health communication syllabus and training manual titled
“Communication, behaviour change and health: A trainer’s manual.”
She was also a member of the ‘Specialised Committee on Culture/
Communication,’ for the Ghana National Commission for UNESCO
from 1997-2000 and continues to collaborate with UNESCO on
projects, most recently in the development of Media Development
Indicators for Ghana and on Media and Information Literacy.

Consultancies
Professor Gadzekpo has served as a consultant on many
communication/media related projects for organisations such as
the International IDEA, the Public Information Unit, United Nations
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), World Bank, Partnership for Aflatoxin
Control in Africa (PACA), UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, EU, Electoral
Commission of Ghana, Institute of Policy Analysis (IPA), and Ghana
Statistical Service. Most recently, she was the lead consultant for
the National Risk Communication and Community Engagement
Strategy for COVID-19 Pandemic in Ghana. She has also designed
and facilitated workshops to support the media in the Gambia and
Liberia to improve coverage of transitional justice processes.

Professor Gadzekpo was also part of a team of academics
responsible for developing curricula for a Master’s in Research and
Public Policy (MRPP) Programme for the Partnership for African
Social and Governance Research (PASGR), which was rolled out

Inaugural Lecture by Professor Audrey Gadzekpo 9

in 12 African universities. She also served as the governance
expert for Ghana on the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK,
Mwananchi action learning programme aimed at strengthening
citizen engagement with governments in seven African countries.

Editorial Boards
In addition to serving on numerous boards and committees at
the University of Ghana, Professor Gadzekpo is on international
editorial boards including: African Journalism studies, Feminist
Media Studies, and the Journal of African Media Studies (JAMS). For
several years, she was also co-editor of the Codesria journal titled
African Media Review. She has also edited or been co-editor of
special issue journals, including: the Ada special issue on ‘Emerging
Gender, Media and Technology Scholarship in Africa’; the African
Journalism Studies issue on ‘Journalism and Foreign Aid in Africa’
and the African Communication Research issue on ‘The image of
women in African media.’ Professor Gadzekpo is also a reviewer for
a variety of scholarly manuscripts.

Governing Boards
Professor Gadzekpo currently chairs the board of Panos West
Africa (PIWA), a media development organisation based in Senegal,
and is vice-chairperson of the board of the Center for Democratic
Development (CDD-Ghana). She also serves on the boards of the
following organisations: West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) in
Senegal; Centre for Journalism, Innovation & Development (CJID) in
Nigeria; Solidaridad Continental Supervisory Board for Africa; STAR-
Ghana Foundation; GHACEM Foundation, Webster University-
Ghana Campus, and Tema International School (TIS). She is also
patron of the Alliance for Women in the Media (AWMA).

In the past, she has chaired the board of the Ghana Integrity Initiative
(GII) and served on several other boards and commissions, including:
The National Media Commission (NMC), Ghana Broadcasting
Corporation, Ghana News Agency, Public Agenda Newspaper,
Vodafone Foundation, Joyce Ababio College of Creative Design
(JACCD), and African Literature Centre in Kitwe, Zambia.

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Professor Gadzekpo is the second of four children born to Fred
Gadzekpo (deceased) and Margaret Gadzekpo. She is anchored by
two brothers – Frank and Keli –, her sister Sese, and two daughters
– Nubuke and Paulina.

Link to fullCVis available at: https://www.ug.edu.gh/commstudies/
prof-audrey-gadzekpo-cv



Inaugural Lecture by Professor Audrey Gadzekpo 11

UNIVERSITY ANTHEM

Hail University of Ghana
The nation’s hope and glory
The place that bears the star of peace
That bids us all to do our best
Let the great Tower of learning
Inspire both young and old
May we proceed in unity to uphold the public cause.

//: Arise, arise O Legon
Defend the cause of freedom
Proceed in truth and integrity to make
Our nation proud: //

We ask for strength and wisdom
As we climb the hill of learning
May we excel in what’er we do
As we prepare to face the world
With a mind ready at all times
And a conscience quick to feel
May we proceed in unity to uphold the public cause.

//: Arise, arise O Legon
Defend the cause of freedom
Proceed in truth and integrity to make
our nation proud ://

(Prof. Emeritus J. H. Kwabena Nketia)

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