With the complaint by President Mahama that his
‘transformational message’ is being “blocked or distorted” by the media, the
Daily Statesman, Friday 21, 2016, decided to monitor the major news bulletin of
GTV, the state broadcaster, at 7pm.And it was revealing to note that
even though as many as six activities involving President Mahama and the
governing NDC were featured, none involving any of the opposition parties was
featured.
The news bulletin began with President Mahama’s inauguration of
a new fleet of buses for the State Transport Company, and quickly followed up
with a news item of Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur speaking against the NPP
Manifesto in Cape Coast.
Right after that, another news item on the Vice
President at the Fosu College of Education was broadcasted.
GTV again
followed it up with another news item on Julius Debrah, the Chief of Staff, who
was also in the Brong Ahafo region campaigning for President Mahama and the
NDC.
GTV again fed viewers with a news item on the First Lady, Lordina
Mahama, who had donated some items to a hospital, before showing a news item
which was not related to politics. But that was quickly followed by a story of a
group known as ‘Transformational Ladies’, a wing of NDC, making a donation to
the Osu Children’s home.
With two slots for advertisement before the
business segment, GTV dedicated one slot for an NDC campaign advert and the
other for a home appliance company, Hisense, before coming back with business
news on the Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, claiming that the economy was
projected to grow in 2017.
Again, another time was allotted for an NDC
campaign advertisement before the state broadcaster started its international
news.
Strangely, the state broadcaster did not find it worthwhile to
carry any news item involving the the main opposition NPP whose Presidential
Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, and Running Mate, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, were also
campaigning at differerent locations just the same time their counterparts in
the governing NDC were doing same. |
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