The Unheard Third: Ghana’s Newspaper Coverage of Voter Apathy and its Implications for Participatory Democracy

Abstract

Political actors decry low voter turnout during elections, emphasizing their impact on democratic participation. The media’s role in focusing on the phenomenon of triggering behavioral change cannot be overemphasized. Although scholarly interest in election coverage is growing, little is known about the salience of the media’s coverage of voter apathy, especially in emerging democracies such as Ghana. Through qualitative content analysis and the prism of media salience in agenda-setting, this study analyzed news stories published by two leading Ghanaian newspapers during the 2020 presidential election in Ghana. The study found that the media hardly attaches attention and prominence to voters’ apathy in their electoral coverage, and the valence (tone) is somewhat negative. Much of the media’s focus is on presidential candidates, at the expense of a phenomenon that threatens participatory democracy. The practical and theoretical implications of this study are discussed.