The Interface Between Media Funding and Agenda Setting: The Conduit for Media Independence

Abstract

The media was accorded the status of the fourth estate with the objective of making it autonomous of society players like the government and corporate entities. However, its funding questions the independence of these entities. Using an exploratory mixed method that combines semi-structured interviews with the content analysis of newspapers, this study investigated the impact of media funding on the independence of government and private print media outlets in Ghana, tagging advertising as a revenue-generating source to determine agenda-setting patterns. In Ghana’s media economy, government and corporate entities influence editorial autonomy and favour state-owned papers than private outlets.

Keywords

Advertising media funding agenda setting autonomy private public

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