THE USE OF MEDIA ADVOCACY BY CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs) IN PUSHING DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IN GHANA

ABSTRACT

The study examined media advocacy as practiced by Civil Society organizations in pushing for

development agenda in Ghana. The study employed an exploratory research design and a sample

size of three(3) CSOs namely Ghana Integrity Initiative, Media Foundation for West Africa and

the Centre for Democratic Development using the purposive sampling technique. Underpinned

by the Agenda Setting and the Two-step flow theory, interviews were conducted for data

collection. Interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis approach. The

findings revealed that, CSOs use various strategies accompanied with different media forms

depending on their target audience and the specific issue at hand. It also found that media

advocacy plays a significant role in their work towards development as it reaches a wider

audience in the shortest possible time. The outcome of their media advocacy, either results in a

policy or behavioral change, contributing to the development agenda in Ghana. It also found that

the use of social media for media advocacy cannot be overlooked in this era of smart phone

usage especially in serving as a tool and a platform for building relationship with media

practitioners.

The study recommended that further studies can be done on the external communication

relationship between CSOs and media institutions taking special focus on the costs and benefits

in their media advocacy roles.