Audrey Gadzekpo

"The study revealed that media ownership in the country was shrouded in opacity, with political faces found to be behind most of the broadcast media entities."

"As we globalise and link up with the wider world, we need to always be reminded of what makes us unique."

"Media are a public good and must be supported to survive, if nothing else in the interest of democracy."

"As the maxim underscoring the symbiotic relationship between democracy and media holds, where there is democracy, there must be free media and where there is free media, the political system being practised is bound to be democratic."

"Political faces behind broadcast media ownership mean that partisan actors and governments can control public discourse, and this is not good for our democracy."

"The study found that the traditional media organisations were heavily dependent on the pharmaceutical industry, especially herbal products, for adverts."

"Generally, many organisations in Ghana are not profitable and are, at best, breaking even and cannot fund investigative reports because of the cost involved."

"It was discovered that in most of the media houses, there was no clear-cut promotion mechanisms."

"The report also found that many journalists had the feeling that law enforcement agencies and the judiciary did very little to protect their safety."

"In terms of working conditions of the media, the study found that journalists worked in precarious conditions, with some of them working without any contract or receiving salary at all."

"As a researcher with a multidisciplinary focus, I am always looking for opportunities to expand my research agenda in ways that are meaningful, particularly in relation to African development. The APN has impacted my perspective and focus, in that I am now more consciously deepening my knowledge on peacebuilding, security, and development."

"I came to the subject by accident, by being invited primarily by training institutes such as Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) to lecture for one of their courses. For example, next week I am teaching part of a course on gender and conflict, where I will speak about gender, media, and conflict. So, you can imagine that chairing the conference panel at Wilton Park on “Case Studies: The Role of Civil Society across Regions,” particularly focusing on gender, provided me with another opportunity to expand my knowledge and challenged me to think about issues in a different way. Therefore, when I teach that course, this experience will inform some of the perspectives that I bring to it."