THERE WILL BE INK - Initiative for Policy Dialogue

needed supplementary income to cash-strapped journalists in exchange for positive coverage. Thisinfluence-peddling is apparently especially common in the extractive industries. Direct cashpayments are also apparently commonplace in business-reporting in general. Our researcher was toldon numerous occasions that the outright buying of the news is a regular phenomenon, and evenconsidered routine and not necessarily problematic by many journalists. (It must be noted that noneof the journalists interviewed claimed to have taken any direct payments in exchange for positivecoverage, only that they’d witnessed it regularly.)Anas Anas, editor with the Crusading Guide and a well-known Ghanaian investigative reporter, saidthat another challenge to the media in Ghana – also related to the poor regard in which the publicholds the media – is “the lack of confidence” that people have in the industry to be a positive force.Anas said that Ghanaians, in general, “do not see the media as a business entity itself that can spuron economic development,” which, he argues, is very problematic for a media industry that needsinvestment and a better image if it is to develop.Challenges specific to business and economic journalistsSomewhat surprisingly, almost every journalist interviewed for this report identified the samechallenges to being a business and economic journalist. Far and away, the most commonlymentioned challenges were:1. Poor access to information2. The capabilities and expertise of the journalists themselves, including a lack of specializationand training in business and economics reporting3. Lack of resources within media organizations, including funding for travel, expenses, andaccess to equipmentChart 2: Among the Ghanaian journalists who completed the survey, the biggest obstaclesto their work were lack of knowledge and skills (including new media) and poor pay.reporters do not receive a salary from the publication but rather receive income from writing stories that businesses payfor.– 45 –