GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF PEACE CAMPAIGNS PRIOR TO THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS: A SURVEY OF STUDENTS OF THE KW AME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (KNUST) BY SALIH SURAD ABUBAKAR (MAJN 16017) . A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH, GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER OF ARTS IN JOURNALISM AUGUST, 2017 DECLARATION I declare that this work is an original and it is not any work that has been presented for a degree in any other university and that all works cited were duly acknowledged . . J?~ .. hr·~ Signature Date Salih Suhad Abubakar (Student) ..... 0A(k.· ................... . Sign~~ Date Dr. Etse Sikanku (Supervisor) DEDICATION My utmost gratitude goes to Allah, the beginning and the end and easer of affairs and He owns the most beautiful of names. I thank him for granting me the strength and fortitude to come out with this work in one piece and guiding my path through the journey at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. My unflinching appreciation goes to my parents, Sheikh Salih Abubakar and Mrs Akiba Seidu for both the moral and financial support when I needed them the most. I am forever indebted to Latifa Sualah Abubakar for the trust she had in me. I am grateful to Zainu Salih Abubakar for his kind and encouraging words. I could not have survived without your support of Hawa Salih Abubakar and Nawal Salih Abubakar. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My allegiance and utmost reverence goes to Allah, the beginning and the end and easer of affairs and He owns the most beautiful of names. I thank him for granting me the strength and fortitude to come out with this work in one piece and guiding my path through the journey at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. I am grateful to my supervisor Dr. Etse Sikanku who took time off his very busy and demanding schedule to guide me through the rubrics of research and whose insightful contribution made this work an intellectual piece. I thank Alhaj Rabiu Maude for helping out when I needed it the most, and to Mr. Mohammed Shaban Osman and Faisal Mutari, I am eternally grateful for the motivation and words of wisdom. I am thankful to Najwa Abbas Adargo, Teddy Aziz Addo, Ridwan Abbas Adargo and Mr. Hardi for their patience and support. I am grateful to Rev. Pheobe Ansah for helping with the distribution of the questionnaires and coming to my aid when I needed it the most. I sincerely thank the graduate school secretariat for helping make my stay at the Ghana Institute of Journalism a peaceful one. I am thankful to the entire 2016/2017 Masters students for their fraternity and the J oumalism class for their sense of commitment. My overwhelming gratitude goes to my study mates Constance Adomaa Takyi, Uthman Jibrilla, Yvone Aryee and Nana Yaa Agyare for their patience, perseverance and sense of humour. I am thankful to Mr. Antaru for making your office space available to me during examination periods. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARA TION ............................................................................................................................ i DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT •...............••••.••••••••.•.......•••••••••••.•••••.......•.•..••........••.....•...................... iii LIST OF TABLES ••••••••••••••••••••••..•......•.••••••......•.....•••.......•••••••••••••••••••••••••...•..•••••••••••••••••.•..•••.• vii LIST OF FIGURES ..•......•.•.....•....••••..•••.•....••••••••••••••••••.•••.••...••••.....••••••....•..•...............•........•.. viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSI ILLUST~ TIONS ••••••..•.•....•••••..••••••••••••••••••••••••••...••••.•••••.•.•• ix ABST~CT •......••..•••••••••••••••..•.•••••••••••.•...•••••••••••.•...•...•..••••••••..•••...•.••....••••••••••••••••••••••................ x CHAPTER ONE ..... .................. ......... ........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Objectives of the Study ....................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 14 1.5 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 14 1.6 Scope and Limitations ......................................................................................................... 15 1.7 Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 16 1.8 Organization of the Report of the Study ............................................................................. 18 CHAPTER TWO ....••...•••••.•••••..•.•••...•...•..•.•....•.•••••.•••..•.•.••.••...•••........•••••••.••••.•......••.•••.•.•....•...•. 20 LITERATURE REVIEW •••••••••••......•••••.••••••••.••••••••...•..•••••••••••••••••••••.•••••..•.•..•.•••••...••••••••••... 20 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 20 IV 2.3 Review of Theoretical Literature ........................................................................................ 33 2.3.1 Functionalist Approach .................................................................................................... 33 2.3.2 Agenda Setting Theory ..................................................................................................... 35 2.3.3 Media Effect ..................................................................................................................... 38 2.3.4 Priming Effect .................................................................................................................. 39 CHAPTER THRE-E .................................................................................................................... 43 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 43 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 43 3.2 Research Design .................................................................................................................. 43 3.3 Research Population ............................................................................................................ 44 3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques .............................................................................. 44 3.5.1 Questionnaire ................................................................................................................... 45 3.6 Data Collection Procedure .................................................................................................. 47 3.7 Data Treatment, Presentation and Analysis Processes ........................................................ 47 3.8 Sequence Of Research ActiVities ........................................................................................ 48 3.9 Research Ethics ................................................................................................................... 49 3.10 Validity and Reliability of Research Results .................................................................... 49 3.11 Problems Encountered ....................................................................................................... 50 3.12 BriefProfile ....................................................................................................................... 50 V CHAPTER FOUR ..••••••...•••••....••••....•••••••....••••••....•••••.....•••••••...••••••••.......••••••..•..••..••••......•••••••... 52 ANAL YSIS AND PRESENTATION OF DAT A ••....••••••••...••••••••••.•..••••••••.•..•••••••••••.......••••• 52 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 52 4.2 Data Presentation and Analysis ........................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER FIVE ••••••.....••••••.•••...••••..•.•••............•••••••••....•••••..•.•.••••••••...•••••••.....•.•••••••••••.•...•...•..• 73 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ............................. 73 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 73 5.2 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 73 5.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 83 5.4 Suggestions .......................................................................................................................... 84 REFEREN CES •..•••..•••.•••..•••••••••..••••••••...••••••••......•.••••••.••••.•.....•.......••••••••••••......••••••••••....•..•••••••• 86 APPENDI" .•...•....•..•..•...•••.•••...•.••.......••.••.•.•.....•.....••••••..•..............•...•..••.••. 102 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Month respondents first heard of the peace campaign ..................... 53 Table 2Respondent's reasons for not participating in peace campaigns ........... 55 Table 3Respondents means of getting information ................................... 62 Table 4Respondents most preferred means of getting information ................ 63 Table 5Medium respondents first heard peace campaign ........................... 64 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Gender and awareness of respondents ....................................................... 52 Figure 2Awareness of peace campaigns ............................................................... 53 Figure 3Respondents involvement in peace campaign .............................................. 54 Figure 4Campaigns enlightens respondents on consequence of violence ........................ 56 Figure 5Whether campaign should be maintained ................................................... 56 Figure 6Whether campaign curbed violence .............................................................. 57 Figure 7Whether campaign message was complex ................................................... 58 Figure 8Whether media was adequately used in the campaign ......................................... 59 Figure 9Whether the campaigns were timely .......................................................... 60 Figure 10Whether the MUSIGA was effective in preaching peace ................................. 61 Figure 11 Level of information received by respondents .................................................... 65 Figure 12Steps taken by respondents after hearing about the campaign ........................... 65 Figure 13Whether the images used were friendly ....................................................... 66 Figure 14Whether the images used were persuasive ................................................. 67 Figure 15Whether the images favored political parties .............................................. 68 Figure 16Whether the images told a better story than text. ......................................... 69 Figure 17Whether images used were relevant to the peace campaign ............................. 70 Figure 18Whether the images used was eye-catching, appealing and interesting ................ 71 Figure 19Whether the images used were of high quality and resolution ........................... 72 viii CADA EC LVRE Zango UNDP KNUST RTLM IDP U.S VOA EU PSA LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS/ILLUSTRATIONS The Center for African Democratic Affairs Electoral Commission Limited Voter Registration Exercise Strangers quarters or community United Nations Development Programme Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Radio Television mille collines Internally Displaced Persons United States Voice of America European Union Public Service Announcement ix ABSTRACT This research employs the use of survey to investigates the perception of students of the K wame Nkrumah university of science and technology (KNUST) on peace campaigns during the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election by looking at : 1) how the public perceived peace campaigns prior to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election, 2) sources of peace . messages, 3 )whether the peace campaigns changed public behavior before, during and after the election and 4 )the effectiveness of the use of images as campaign strategies in the peace messages. The sample of 150 students was selected using the convenient sampling technique. The questionnaires administered showed that majority of the respondents thought the peace campaign was a good initiative and ought to be maintained; majority of the sample received the peace messages from television (27.3%), radio (27.3%) and newspapers (15.7%). While majority constituting fifty (50) respondents (41.3%) believed the peace messages made them avoid violent acts and majority agreed that images were fairly effectively; 34.7% agreed the images used were appealing while 29.7% agreed the images used were relevant to the campaign. However 46.3% of the respondents had no idea what qualified as standard picture qUality. The study shed light on the effectiveness of the messages and medium used in conveying the intended messages so as to be a form of evaluation for those who engaged in the peace campaigning and serve as stepping stone for more effective and efficient work to be done in the near future. x CHAPTER ONE 1.1 Background of the Study Many Ghanaians expressed doubt about peace before, during and after the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections (The Center for African Democratic Affairs (CADA) 2012). Election violence, regardless of how minor, it is has been experienced and recorded in Ghana since 1992. During the biometric voter registration prior to the 2012 presidential election, incidences of violence were reported in different parts of the country. Some individuals thought that Ghana ought to have been commended as they suggested that such violent acts were widespread and could undennine the very foundation of the democracy of the country. If an activity as detailed and procedural as the voter's registration could record incidences of alleged fraud and irregularities as enumerated by the Electoral Commission (EC) then what could happen to an election process which is relatively exhaustive. When political parties set up "Heroes Fund" to cater for victims of electoral violence then there is a cause for concern. There is no need to say that there is fire on the mountain because these political parties anticipate the possibilities of electoral violence and have set aside funds to compensate those involved or victims of such violence. Ghana's democratic credentials should not in the slightest sense entertain election violence in any form or kind it may present itself. The country has to work effortlessly to achieving violent­ free elections. Elections provide a people with the ability tq exercise their right to choose a candidate they deem worthy to fit a political position or remove an existing office holder they deem unworthy. Olanrirunoye (2008:67) is of the opinion that individual members of society engage in the electoral process by deliberately and consciously taking part in activities that have impact on 1 their society. Olukayode and Lawal (2012) as written by Sylva and Annab (2016) assert that election confers legitimacy on leaders and in essence makes the leaders acceptable to the people. In the developing world, particularly African countries like Nigeria, Benin, Central Africa and Gambia just to mention a few experience situations where presidential elections is a battle to the death and Ghana is no exception. Presidential and parliamentary election in Ghana is contentious and stormy in almost all African countries leading to elections dividing the population into different factions instead of uniting them. Lukman (2009) asserts that casting of the vote on election days does not ultimately mean the process is democratic hence peaceful, rather it is an aggregate of all activities ranging from a credible voter's register, well equipped party system built on sound ideology, transparent nomination of candidates during parties' primaries are devoid of violence. Lukman (2009) believes that a successful election is the one which has most of the activities outlined respected to the letter. The media is a powerful tool of mass mobilization and it is key player in the political landscape in every society. The media is a double edged sword, capable of motivating peace or instigating . violence. Akinfeleye (2003) writes that information is necessary for effective governance and administration and society in turn depends profoundly on the press for vital information. The dependence of the society on the media for most of its information makes it nearly impossible to have a democratic society without an independent news media. Although the media could be a major source or outlet for propagating peace and a violence-free election, other sources exist; billboards, posters, paintings, interpersonal communication and so on. During election periods, economic and social doubts and concerns of the people clash with their hopes and fears of change, frustration and yearnings. This heightens the likelihood of violent 2 competitions. Usually instances of conflict are most frequent prior to the party primaries in the selection of who should lead the party. This violence is rarely the master craft of ordinary voters but rather the mastery and artistry of the elite who direct such acts. The necessity for peace during elections in Ghana has become an issue worth the concern. Ghana as a country has experienced considerable amount of peace during elections as compared to its neighboring countries. For this reason, there is a mistaken notion that citizens would always . comport themselves and act in a civilized manner during elections, therefore politicians and stakeholders including both governmental and non-governmental organizations usually would probably not embark on peace campaigns loud enough to attract the attention needed on media platforms. The political parties would sparingly campaign for peace even though it is not their duty; there is a need for it on their part. However, playing the watchdog role, the media drums the need for peace before, during and after elections. To a good number of people, peace generally means co-existing peacefully. However, the father of peace studies Gultang (1969) often tells of a distinction between two different kinds of peace. To him peace could positive or negative. Negative peace according to him is the absence of violence while positive peace is filled with positive content. Gultang (1969) writes that Peace is not the total absence of any conflict but rather the absence of violence in all forms. This brings to fore the difference between conflict and violence. Pruitt and Rubin (1986) assert that conflict as Conflict means perceived divergence of interest, or a belief that the parties' current aspirations Cannot be achieved simultaneously. Conrad (1990) also posits that Conflicts are communicative interactions among people who are interdependent and who perceive that their interests are incompatible, inconsistent, or in tension. 3 On the other hand, violence has had meanings that cover a wide range. Thus, it may appear to be self-evident what 'violence' is but, in reality, 'violence' is an exhaustive word which covers a wide and frequently changing range of different physical and emotional behaviors, situations and victim-offender relationships (Levi & Maguire, 2002). Elections in Africa seem to breed a lot of tension because of the conflicts that have preceded elections or the conflict that accompany the aftermath of elections. When the media is referred to . as the fourth state or the fourth arm of government it only connotes the media should be vigilant of the society for the society so as to make the public safe. In Ghana prior to elections, moods are tensed up as various political parties' campaign to win the vote of the electorates. Prof. Hugh Hugh Berrington in 2014 writes that a political party yearns for power, or a portion of power, and to achieve power it must win control, or a share of control, of the organs of government. The roles and purpose of political parties in reality are not to promote peace but to acquire power and to rule. Berrington reports in his article what Laski (1938) wrote about political parties some seventy five years ago. Political parties distort the issues and produce divisions in the electorate which very superficially represents the way in which opinion is in fact distributed ... they falsify the perspective of the issues they create ... they build about persons allegiance which should go to ideas ... yet when the last criticisms of party has been made the services they render to a democratic state are inestimable. With the above perception of political parties, it can be said that in order to retain or get power they are willing to do anything. That is how far they will go to achieve their goal. But in the case of Ghana and Africa at large it has become imperative for political parties to adopt peace messages in their political campaigns so as to add their weight behind the peace campaigns. 4 Therefore, with the background of what a political party is and what is expected of the media and how also knowing that there is a possibility of civil unrest among supporters of these parties prior to and during the aftermath of the elections. The belief is that this unrest could be curbed by extensive and consistent peace campaigns. However, for these peace messages to reach the audience the media acts an advocacy role, a platform to debate issues, a source of information and also the mouth piece of the public and also was established on the core values, on grounds that it works for the betterment of the state and citizens at large. It is observed that most Ghanaians would normally follow prompts from political parties first before any other thing. Therefore, if these political groups campaign for peace there is more likelihood for their loyal fans to heed. That is why the involvement of political parties has become necessary. Egypt, Somalia, Libya, Uganda, Ivory Coast just to mention a few are countries in Africa that have experienced political unrest all because a political party wanted power or more power. And the supporters of these political parties joined in to claim their stake in the name of their various political parties. What if the parties had preached peace? What if the media had continuously drummed home the message of peace? Then maybe individuals would respect the decisions of their political parties and keep calm so as not to escalate any tension . . Leeper and Slothuus (2014) assert that parties shape citizens' opinions by mobilizing, influencing, and structuring choices among political alternatives. But the answer to when and how parties influence citizens' reasoning and political opinions depends on an interaction between citizens' motivations, effort, and information generated from the political environment. This means explicit information about which political party supports or opposes a given policy are considered essential to opinion formation because they are assumed to help citizens form opinions toward public policy, even when they have little grasp of the substance of the issue. 5 The media is not to tell citizens how and what to decide on but rather feed them with both implicit and explicit infonnation for the citizens to make up their minds. Campbell, Converse, Miller and Donald (1960), argue that there is a competition of voices reaching the audience and that the political party is an opinion forming agency of great relevance, because they believed that the role of the political party is a supplier of cues by which the audience may evaluate the elements of politics" (Campbell et al.,1960). This goes to say that citizens are willing to toe the line and stands of their political parties. Also the individuals owe allegiance to the political parties they belong to. This allegiance could be bonded by ideology or even historical development. Chapter 12 article 163 of the 1992 constitution of the republic of Ghana guarantees freedom of the media and states "all state-owned media shall afford fair opportunities and facilities for the presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions". However, it is the responsibility of the media to act in the best interest of the citizens and as Gultang (1969) rightly posits "it is difficult to be against peace". According to the Managing Directors' Report of the Graphic Conununication Group Limited, 2012 was a year which they as a group extended the coverage of the campaigning, voting, and the aftennath of the presidential and parliamentary elections by delivering the news, ensuring immediacy and accuracy as and when it happened. This is believed to be done to prevent any allegation or accusation of bias in reportage. The society we live in is filled with individuals with different perspectives, ideologies and views about how the world should be and who deserves what. This belief is in line with Cohen (1996:229) description of communities as socially stratified, conservative, and may contain a 6 variety of conflicting and competing groups and interests. In this regard it is wise to say that not all citizens will favour certain initiatives from social institutions like the media. According to Artist (1996), Arnst (1996:113) posits that "arriving at a common and agreed set of objectives for development is not a simple matter of allowing everybody to have their say". It is in this regard that it can be said that citizens will have varying views on the peace campaigns that flooded the media during the 2016 general elections. To come to an agreed stand on what society prefers or prioritizes is like an unending journey to an unknown place because society is heterogeneous. It is also true that real life communities almost invariably experience conflicts every now and then and sometimes these can be murderous to any good initiative and on the other hand Gultang (1969) believes that nobody can be against peace. However, with what a community is composed of, it will not be strange for a section of the population to be against peace. Ghana over the years has held "peaceful" elections have never missed a chance to have a situation of missing ballot materials and voters complaining of voter intimidation. Though not persistent, it calls for worry considering Ghana's hall mark of democratic excellence. This hall mark is as a result of a continuous and persistent effort to maintain law and order and rule of law at all times even during crucial times such as during elections. Generally, elections . create an atmosphere of anxiety. Past elections from different countries like Nigeria, Kenyan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo just to mention a few show that violence increasingly likely as the polls draw nearer and the entire month of election is high-risk period as instances in the country over the years has portrayed. In Nigeria for example, elections historically have been spoiled by violence and intimidation. Human Rights watch observers during the 2007 polls in Nigeria observed tactics strategized to 7 harm journalists, political aspirants and their families. Ghana is not far from the mark as it has experienced its share of violence however the Electoral Commission (EC) and security service were quick to abate the nuisance to avoid future reoccurrences. Elections in Ghana has been marred with alleged issues of fraudulent activities and voting irregularities and these situations incite voters regardless the closest Ghana has come to a reelection was the presidential runoff in 2008 when the first run of the elections did not produce a winner who had secured 50% of the total valid vote cast. Unlike the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections where ten (10 out of sixteen (16) registered political parties registered with the EC contested the election and 2012 . where eight (8) presidential candidates were cleared to contest the election out of twenty three (23) political parties registered with the EC. Out of the eight (8), seven (7) belonged to political parties with one being an independent candidate. In 2016, Ghana experienced similar situations when the new Electoral Commissioner and her outfit deemed fit to contest four (4) out of·the seventeen (17) who filed to contest in the election before the deadline; fifteen (15) represented political parties and two (2) were independent candidates. However, twenty three (23) candidates had picked up forms. The tension created by this decision was immeasurable as party supporters rallied behind their candidates to battle the Electoral Commission's decision in court. In the mix of all this were the ordinary voters being steered in all directions by their party leaders. The rising fears amidst the dying hopes made the dissemination and propagation of peace messages a necessity for the survival of the sanity of the ordinary people as well as the sanctity of the pending voting process. Peace messages were across the length and breadth of the country. 8 1.2 Statement of the Problem Ghana stands a chance to lose its status as a promising democratic state. The country cannot afford to lose its credibility as an icon and beacon of hope to many African states especially on the international front. Most if not all African states look up to Ghana as what democracy should be especially during elections when tensions are high and hopes are raised. The Electoral Commission over the years has tries its best to conduct free and fair elections across the length and breadth of the country by providing equipment and personnel needed to conduct an election. The Electoral Commission has put in much effort in trying to make elections in Ghana as transparent as possible by inviting international observers. In June 2016 the Centre for African Democratic Affairs (CADA), Mr. Kwame Damoah Agyemang revealed in a press release that the 2016 general election is likely to face chaos and violence looking at the trail of avoidable electoral violence in the Limited Voter Registration Exercise (L VRE) and other electoral functions. He accused militant groups of orchestrating such acts with the support of known political parties. In the opinion of CADA, election threat come in various forms and may include intimidation, physical attacks on election materials, violent clashes among groups of rival supporters, armed clashes among political parties, vandalism on property, firing on protestants and so on. A survey conducted by Mr. Jeff Fischer of Electoral Violence Project for the 1992-2012 period, divided violence into categories; assault/violent intimidation (49.1 %), protests/public disorder (15.0%), property vandalisation (1.5%), seizure of public property (31.7%) and ballot box theft (2.4%). In all 5,707 incidents were identified. However, despite all these there have been alleged concerns of fraud, rigging, bloated register, missing ballot boxes, and the independency of the Electoral Commission has been questioned 9 countless of times. This undoubtedly has given a negative name to the electioneering process in the country even if international observers on the international front might find elections in Ghana on the whole as peaceful as compared to other African states. Instances of violence has happened over the years where deaths as well as injuries have been recorded due to clashes between party members and where ordinary voters have been caught in the crossfire. The security service has always tended to rush in to maintain a ceasefrre. Following a media interview most citizens have attributed these unfortunate acts of violence to the lack of education on the necessity of peace and high level of illiteracy. Peace campaigns were ongoing during the 2008 and 2012 elections however it cannot be said . that they were not publicized enough. The campaign for peace has been pitched in newspapers, radio, television messages, billboards, paintings and so on. Conflict and violence during elections does not only envelop political parties. It goes as far as entangling ethnic sentiments and religious affiliations. Ghana has been described as peaceful country, but violence occurs from time to time involving various protagonists; which are ethnic, religious, economic and political. Most often the political aspects of the conflict triggers religious confrontations. Already the northern part of the country here and again is confronted with ethnic conflict and violence, hence fueling it with political tensions would do the country no good. Economic activities would come to a halt especially foreign investors would leave the country. Even within the country, citizens involved in their petty trading will lose their source of livelihood. In the article "Increasing Violent Conflicts in the North: The youth must rethink", Y akubu, a youth development advocate in Tamale states that the causes of conflicts in the north are many 10 . and include disputes over land, tribal divides, chieftaincy disputes and religious divergence. The Upper East Region of Ghana's conflict was mainly a chieftaincy dispute. However unlike Nigeria where religious confrontations are rampant Ghana has had its fair share of experience in that domain. In Ghana, religious conflicts can be traceable to most settler communities like the Zango and some Muslim communities. The negative effects of these conflicts on the development of such people and their communities cannot be underestimated. Samwini (2006) made two observations. The fITst is that, Islam in the populous Muslim communities in Ghana started at different points in time. The second is that, these Islamic communities once were living peacefully and harmoniously until the emergence of some denominations with radical teachings that marred the existing peaceful atmosphere among Muslims. African Research Bulletin (1998) recorded that the intra­ religious conflict between the AI-Sunni and Orthodox/traditionalist Muslims in 1995, 1997 and 1998. Political stability is viewed as an important ingredient to attract foreign direct investment essential totechnology transfer and economic development (Canterbury and Kendie, 2010). A violent election process is likely to impede the political serenity of the country which first made the country attractive to foreign investors in the first place. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reports that in a few cases such as Liberia, Sierra-Leone and Cote d'Ivoire, these conflicts have evolved into full scale wars with unimaginable consequences . . Peace is of crucial value in contemporary Africa today, the most valuable "public good", but yet the most elusive. The UNDP reports that so volatile is the situation that Ghana has normally been described as an oasis of peace within the sub-region. 11 . A violent election will affect the education sector as schools will be on clock down till the violence and conflict is resolved. In places where curfews are put in place the citizens complain of how their routine has been abruptly interrupted how much more the whole country being under surveillance from dawn to dusk. In Gambia, the entire country was in frenzy pending the agreement of the sitting president to vacate office. Though election might seem an internal affair, its aftermath be it good or bad has a consequence on the entire sub-region and the probably the world as a whole. When there is violence or conflict during election, the whole country is put under a microscope and social activities are restricted. When violence and conflicts starts it lights and sparks into a wildfire. The media in Ghana over the years have shown keen interest in maintaining the peaceful . environment before, during and after election. Also the media is a strong force that cannot be contended with in trying to maintain a peaceful election atmosphere. However, despite the support of the Ghanaian media in advocating for peaceful elections, a section of the popUlation might find it to be needless. However, the changing situations in neighboring countries should prompt the media and other stake holders to advertise for peace in equal proportion they advertise the policies of political leaders. Considering the fact that the months of October and November are most critical because these are delicate months when political parties launch their manifestos and the entire population is in frenzy as well as in a divide supporting the various political parties with might and mane. During this period, it becomes necessary for extensive campaign for peace by the political parties even though peace campaigning is not a core responsibility of a political party. Because of the tension in the air during these trying times there should be peace messages floating through all media platforms to keep the citizens educated prior to the December polls. 12 The media has maintained a certain front as the space to surf for information on campaign policies from various political parties. The airwaves; radio and television have over the years been a consistent source of information. However, the internet seems to have caught the attention of many because of the present shift of journalism to include the citizen journalist. It has become convenient for audience to go digital for the information they need. Other avenues were exploited to the advantage of the campaigners. Crowd rallied in the streets to preach peace, billboards were mounted, artistes and artists portrayed the essence of peace through their craft and telecom service providers were not lefty out as they sent daily prompt to remind its customers on the relevance of peace. The problem that arises is the contention of the perception the audience holds of the peace messages during the 2016 elections and also investigates the techniques and strategies used by the campaigns to propagate the peace campaigns and how the public responded to the peace campaigns. 1.3 Objectives of the Study The study aims to determine the level of media exposure on issues regarding peace in the state- newspaper prior to the 2016 December polls. The study will also focus on the below. 1. To find out how the students of the KNUST perceived peace campaigns prior to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election. 2. To identify the sources from where the students of the KNUST received the peace messages. 3. To find out whether the peace campaigns changed the behavior of the students of KNUST before, during and after the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election. 13 4. To investigate the effectiveness of the use of images as campaign strategies to project intended peace messages during the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election. 1.4 Research Questions 1. What is the perception of the students of KNUST on the peace campaigns prior to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election? 2. What are the main sources of information of the students of KNUST of the peace campaigns prior to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election? 3. Did the peace campaigns change public behavior? 4. Was the use of images as a campaign strategy effective in projecting the intended peace messages campaigns prior to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary election? 1.5 Significance of the Study Thomas Paine a famous political thinker says that "those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it". Although a great number of studies has been done to address public perceptions on various issues ranging from elections to sanitation, there is more to be done on public perception of peace campaign during elections and the role of communication in ensuring an effective campaign. The study will serve as the reference point for the mass media to improve upon the content and context of campaign messages. It should also psych stakeholders like political parties, non - governmental organizations and individuals as a whole to show more interest in peace campaigns. 14 The study will shed light on the effectiveness of the messages and medium used in conveying the intended messages so as to be a form of evaluation for those who engaged in the peace . campaigning and serve as stepping stone for more effective and efficient work to be done in the near future. It will serve as a guide to researchers and campaign implementers who would want to evaluate the perception of the public on peace campaigns and could probably use it as a yard stick to measure perception in subsequent elections. It should also serve as an eye opener for the public and to elicit from them better ways for peace messages to reach them an or tailored to suit the purpose for which it was intended in order to promote peace, stability and harmony before, during and after elections. The findings should be able to add to world of existing knowledge about the role of peace campaigns during elections in Africa and especially its importance to Ghana. The findings of the study will be helpful in draw the attention of political parties as well as the media to position on whether to prioritize peace campaigns prior to elections as crucial to the countries existence. 1.6 Scope and Limitations Though the issue of peace campaign is a nationwide affair the researcher sought to limit the study to the K wame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Department of Integrated Rural Art and Industry due to time and financial constraints. The scope of the study is to examine the campaign strategies used by the campaigners to propagate the peace messages and also to investigate the sources from where the public accessed peace campaigns during the election. The study will look at media outlets as well as other techniques to propagate the peace 15 messages like demonstrations, electronic action-alerts, new media, use of campaign merchandise, specialized conferences, rallies, marches and so on. The study will look at how well the channels were tailored to suit the target audience and if it achieved the intended purpose. The study will also focus on investigating whether or not the public saw and regarded the peace campaigns as relevant and find out if the effort put in the campaign by the campaigners was appreciated. There are various strategies employed in campaigning depending on the set objectives, target population and the problem at hand. However, the study would concern itself with the campaigner's use of images to achieve the intended effects. The target population, students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Department of Integrated Rural Arts and Industry is also easily accessible considering the short time frame allotted for this study and also the researcher being a fonner student of the institution and familiar with the lecturers will avoid the inconvenience of using a different . population from a different environment. It is true that a number of strategies go into planning a peace campaign, however not all strategies might be appropriate depending on the problem at hand, the target audience and intended objective. Hence only an aspect of the strategy as observed in the peace campaigns would be investigated. The simple rando~ sampling method used to select the study sample makes it easy for generalizing considering the research is a quantitative study. 1. 7 Definition of Terms Peace It is hard to be all out against peace. By projecting an image of hannony of interests that tenn 'peace' may help bring about such hannony (Galtung 1969). 'Peace' provides a one-word 16 language in which all are able to "express values of concern and togetherness because peace is on anybody's agenda" (Galtung, 1969). 'Peace' and 'violence' are linked to each other such that peace can be regarded as the "absence of violence" (Galtung, 1969). Peace also has two sides; Galtung (1969) refers to them as negative peace and positive peace. While negative peace is absence of personal violence, positive peace is the absence of structural violence. Peace Campaigns Reardon (2002) writes that peace education seeks to prepare individuals to take responsibility; informed action, take responsible, informed action towards a less violent and more just world. Wintersteiner (2002) asserts that peace campaign is an attempt to advance and disseminate peace education and messages in localities and engage when possible transnational corporations. It is an initiative of action that employs communication activities to effect change in behavior. Perception James Rowland Angell agrees that the term perception has been defined and described by psychologists differently and broadly. James Rowland Angell defines perception as the consciousness of particular material things present to the sense". Public Perception In this study perception is being looked at in space of the media influence. According to (Wanta, Ooland & Lee 2004: 364), Cohen (1963) held the notion that "the press may not be successful in telling us what to think, but is stunningly successful in telling us what to think about". However, Ooland et al. (2004) disagree with this notion. In light with this argument public perception is the light in which the audience of a particular message views the content of the message they are 17 being fed with. Public perception could be positive or negative depending on what the audience deem beneficial to mean. 1.8 Organization of the Report of the Study . Chapter one includes the background of the study where a brief history is given on the necessity of peace campaigns before, during and after elections in Africa especially in Ghana. The problem statement explains the economic, political and religious consequences of violence during election and how it can undermine the development of the country. The research questions seek to find out the sources from where the public receives peace messages as well as investigating public perception about such peace messages. The research seeks to answer whether the use of images in projecting peace messages was effective in propagating peace during the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections and to investigate whether peace campaigns changed public behavior during the election. The objectives outlined the areas to look into as regarding the research questions. The . significance of the study will be deliberated on as well as the scope and limitation of the study which narrows the focus on the aspect of the strategy to investigate. Chapter two of the work will dwell on the literature review where relevant literature, theories and other related works will be looked at in relation to why there is a need for the media to be used as a medium to embark on peace campaigns using their outfit and also other avenues to project the peace messages. The perception of the public on the peace messages as presented by the campaigners through the various mediums prior to the 2016 December elections. Chapter three will also tackle the methodology. It will discuss the methods used and the kind of research undertaken and why certain decisions were taken and others were not. 18 Also the presentation and analysis of data would be done in chapter four of the study. In this chapter the appropriate presentation tools; tables, pie charts, and histograms will be used to present the data gathered. The final chapter, chapter five would present the conclusion and recommendation. 19 2.1 Introduction CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter consists of review of theories related to the study. It is divided into two parts. The . first part looks a review of related literature from other related sources and the second part covers a review of related theories. 2.2 Review of Empirical Literature There are a number of concerns about the political bias in the mass media especially with regards to their roles and responsibilities at the time of election (Semetko, Blumler, Gurevitch, Weave and Barkin, 2013) write. Political parties monitor media coverage cautiously to complain when they are accorded less time, less prominence, or less favorable coverage as compared to their opposition. Semetko et al. (2013) further write that if reporting is not balanced on parties and candidates, it conflicts with journalistic principle of objectivity which drives story selection. Semetko et al. (2013) assertions are not out of place since it is a known truth that through the . theory of gate keeping, all news that sees the light of day are subjective to the gate keepers discretion. Editors are "to select from a range of stories and that selection is systematically biased which most often is caused by audience interests, new and organizational factors" (Soroka, 2012:514). Soroka (2012) further believes that the outcome of the news is stories that are sensational, conflictual and or geographical proximate. The (Electoral Commission of Zambia, 2017) write that the media can also expose the proliferation of defamation and hate speech in campaigns aimed at influencing nationals negatively, in essence campaigning for peace is a crucial part of the media's role during an 20 election process. Baker (2012:5) cites Hardt (1979) as implying that control over the media of dissemination may suggest control over the mind of society. The media regardless whether publicly owned or privately owned owes a duty to its audience during election. And it is very true that most are influenced by the media which makes it the more good reason why it should influence its audience positively to avoid conflict during election . . Bagdikian (1983) asserts that controlling the flow of information is a major hold in controlling a society because giving citizens a say in ideas and information concerning them is as relevant and crucial as giving them a choice in politics. The more the media allows peace messages to flow in the media, the more it drums home the song of peace, and the more likely the audience will heed. Graber (2014:3) strongly believes that news decisions have the potential to influence attitudes and opinions. And this makes this study essential. Luttbeg (1983) after a content analysis of the front pages of more than a hundred (100) newspapers in the early 1980s found out that there presented dissimilarity. This led him to the conclusion that views of the world vary from city to city. In the case of this study, there is the educated guess that the media could actually influence the views of its audience. The content of the media may vary as Luttbeg (1983) has rightly said but this study aims to establish the grounds that even amidst all the varying and conflicting content of the media infonnation during elections, there should a point of convergence where all media come together to campaign for peace. This fact has turned the audience into gatekeepers themselves due to the high level of interactivity. However a look at the waning newspapers skews and limits the audience interactivity with the news makers. They write that the editors are the only gatekeepers since they are far removed and distant from the audience. This assertion establishes and reiterates their role as gate keepers. Shoemaker and Vos (2009) write that though some people are of the believe 21 that the internet represents the death of gate keeping theory, it is quite unfortunate because information units are not completely and entirely created at the moment a blog entry is posted but rather the information has to travel through many gates. In the journal by Sinclair in 1920, the conclusion was that the modem newspaper was an enormous and complex institution that was partial with the whole truth because not everything was passed to the readers, but some very crucial ones were left out. Sinclair's assertion in the Brass Check was not a lie then and it definitely not a lie now. The media become polarized and served as a tool for propaganda to the conflict parties and that the media can be a powerful tool to foster hatred and to mobilize people quickly for violence (Jarstad, 2008). This is certainly true and on the other hand the media could also be a powerful tool to foster unity and a sense of patriotism. The print media excel in conveying factual details and are credited with conveying more knowledge than audiovisual media do, (Graber and Dunaway, 2014) and they further write that the difference between print and broadcast media increasingly is becoming unclear as the print media now broadcast their messages on internet web sites suggesting that government influence on news content should be discouraged. Graber and Dunaway (2014) assert that the print media are able to do a more thorough job than radio and television in pulling together various events and fitting them into a coherent story also the print media have enough staff and room to present background details that make events understandable. With this in mind the print media battles with space problems. In the case of this study we aim to establish the ability of the media to instill, persuade or otherwise inform electorates on the need for peace during elections. 22 Frere (2009:327) writes that in 1993, some Burundese newspapers were described as "hate media" and a year later Radio Television Mille Collines (RTLM) in Rwanda was described as "death media", both aided in both the preparation and implementation of the genocide. In the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1998, certain newspapers incited ethnic hatred and violence towards some Congolese. This is what the study aims to investigate, whether the newspaper campaigned for peace and cautioned against conflict and violence. Frere (2009) further writes that the media cannot be overlooked; it has an essential role to play in helping to prepare and calm the minds of the audience as well as teach and promote the essence of peace and benefit of peaceful coexistence. Frere (2009:348) accounts that "three and a half million dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than a million in Rwanda, 300,000 in Burundi 1993-2003" Frere (2009) admits that the toll on these countries was severe and each of these conflicts were worsened by the media. Ojwang (2009) uses the Kenya as a case study. Ojwang's analysis of the messages of peace and conflict in the utterances of the key political players as reported by the mainstream newspapers; The Daily Nation, The Standard and their weekend editions Sunday Nation and Sunday Standard. In his analysis he claims the descriptions of Kenya as a burning place evoked a sense . of helplessness and self-destruction that could scare away investors and tourist, since no one would be interested in entering a burning house. He further emphasizes that the Kenyan media cannot be said to be fully independent, free and democratic. They have been known to take sides during political campaigns and sometimes play to the whims of the powers that be. The Kenyan press is not clean either because it has also been accused by politicians of being anti-peace for highlighting the bickering in the grand coalition government, the ever present 23 plight of Internally displaced Persons (IDP), the failure to promote national healing and failure to restart the reform agenda and the constitution review process (Ojwang, 2009). The print media used negative adjectives to heighten tension among the audience. Ojwang (2009) reported that they used adjectives like "bungled, stolen, marred, chaotic, sham, discredited, infamous, bloody, divisive, disgraceful and contentious" to describe the Kenyan elections. He also reported that words like "doctoring, heavily rigged, stage-managed, daylight robbery and full of falsity and contradictions" were used to describe the vote tallying. The study . at hand aims to see how peace campaigns were propagated by the print media to see if they campaigned to calm the audience or incite hatred and enmity. The Sunday Standard published: ... the displaced have not known peace because, like elephants locked in a permanent struggle for supremacy, the two principals (Raila and Kibaki) have trampled on the rights of the displaced and condemned them to embarrassing landlessness and destination (Wamwere, 2009:11). The same media portrayed Raila as pro-peace and concluded that he had conceded too much, Raila struck a conciliating tone and told the press that his faction was committed to the success of the negotiation talks and " ... were doing all to ensure that the ground was stable for talks and that Kinaki also ought to have approached mediation in good faith (Sunday Standard, February 3, 2008:3). In all the Kenyan media shifted its focus periodically between promoting conflict and peace. This backwards and forward movement of the media between conflict and peace is dangerous and could keep the audience's social reality muddled. Or even worse it could breed two factions, those who would want peace to prevail using peaceful means and those who would want peace to prevail using conflict. 24 Moyse (2009:49) reports that the "main daily and Sunday newspapers of the Zimbabwe Newspapers Group have their editorial content directly controlled by the Department of Information since the turn of the millennium to disseminate hate messages, often racist, threatening and insulting, against those considered to be enemies of the state". He further accuses the publicly owned media in Zimbabwe for not only failing to live up to its duty but also used to "misinform and confuse the public especially during election campaigns". On the other hand Moyse (2009:50) reports that the "privately owned media did significantly better than the government-controlled media in informing the public about their electoral issues, especially in collaboration with civic organizations" however after it was banned in September 2003, there was no alternative to the dominant government-controlled media and that was a loss to the Zimbabwean society". Protess and McCombs (2016) suggest in their work that when audience evaluates the president or any personality or issue they do so partially with the function of the agenda set by the news programs. This goes to emphasize the idea that the premise for our thought is established by the media. This suggestion goes to emphasize what McCombs (2013) report on what Will Rogers an American humorist usually says about the print media, Rogers says all he knows is what he reads in the newspapers." Rogers is quite right because for most people, they know what the media . informs or tells them. This is certainly true because most of what we know is not known through personal experience but rather the craftiness of media or the source in feeding us with the information. McCombs (2013) asserts that majority of the knowledge and information that we think we know are not all amenable to direct personal experience. Protess and McCombs (2016) actually confess that the effect of agenda setting can be seen and felt with as minimum as a week's media content from immediately prior to the situation at hand. 25 A study in America on the influence of agenda setting was conducted using the New York Times due to its national prestige. It was thought that the coverage would be indicative of national media coverage and also be an enough estimate of media content (Protess & McCombs, 2016). In Ghana the Daily Graphic is a public newspaper and in the eyes of many, the prestigious too. This is why the study selected it as a population worthy of investigating. Television is no exception to the agenda setting impact, however newspapers have a greater impact in their ability to cover both issues and non-issues and show greater stability in agenda-setting influence over time (Protess & McCombs, 2016:83-85). . As it were, there will be no agenda setting if the audience members are not exposed to that information. For this reason how the information is communicated is essential to realization of the aim agenda setting; the space allocated and where and how the information is positioned says a lot if the intended aim is to influence public opinion. Protess and McCombs (2016:115) write that "effective coverage is important" when it comes to attention given to news especially if it wants to set "agenda for community discussion". McCombs (2013) after conducting a research on the Charlotte Observer a respected newspaper in North Carolina, it was realized that some stories would begin the day prominently displayed on the front page and then move down in prominence in subsequent editions, sometimes it moved entirely off the page. This study is no different from concluding that the value of news diminishes, however during an election season in Africa is a peak season for series of peace campaigns which to the western world might seem unnecessary. The urge to maintain peace after an election is the basis for this study to investigate if the print media set an agenda to promote peace during the election. 26 In 1968 during the US presidential election, a systematic analysis was done on the content of the news media aired major issues of the election. The underlining was that undecided voters who were interested in the elections were vulnerable to media influence. This research was the Chapel Hill study which later came to be known as the origin of agenda setting theory (McCombs, 20 13).According to Walter Lippman as cited by McCombs (2013) that the world that we have to deal with politically is out of reach and out of sight and out of mind. This is mostly because in the past the daily newspaper was the principal source of information about public affairs but presently available communication technologies have made news have a different dimension but the central point is the same (McCombs, 2013). McCombs (2013) writes that journalists construct and structure the reality by reporting these events and situations and the daily news prompts us to the newest events and changes in the larger environment beyond our surrounding experience. As McCombs (2013) suggests that the ability to influence the important and crucial of topics on the public agenda is called the agenda setting of the news media but journalist deny having any hand in influencing the public but rather agenda setting describes the mass media's crucial and sometimes controversial role in determining and identifying which topics are at the core of public attention and scrutiny (McCombs, 2013). According to Meraz (2009) agenda setting has aimed to document the effects of mass media on the audience's cognition by creating "a shared, national pseudo-environment, mass media fulfill the important function of building public consensus on the important issues of the day" (Lippmann, 1994; McCombs,1997; McCombs,2004). According to McCombs and Reynolds (2002) as cited by Bryant and Oliver (2009) the media is used by the public to help sort through relevant issues before they vote on issues however 27 beyond or prior to the decision of casting their votes what role does the media play in putting at ease the minds of voters and how are their cognition psyched against perpetuating acts of violence? Do the media playa role in that too? These are the rhetoric's that need thought. According to McCombs and Reynolds (2002) as cited by Mishra (2013) that establishing salience and importance among the public so that an issue becomes a focus of public attention by exerting significant amount of influence on our perceptions thus establishing the salience issues of the day. The media is used by many if not be everybody in a country; social media, newspapers, television, radio and so on. One way or the other audiences are being influenced day in day out, however the question remains to seek what direction they are being influenced, be it . in the direction towards peace or conflict. People will still acquire information from media outlets even if it will not influence their decisions and that is a reality, however the media through its agenda setting gimmicks focuses on the undecided audiences and with the hopes that in doing this opinions of the others might be swayed. During the 1976 presidential elections in the US, voters in three different settings-Lebanon, New Hampshire; Indianapolis, Indiana and Evanston were interviewed nine times between February and December. Weaver, Graber, McCombs and Eyal (1981) simultaneously content analyzed election coverage by the three national network and local newspapers in the three cities. Bryant and Oliver (2009) concluded that "In all the agenda setting's influence on both television and newspapers was greater during the spring primaries". In Ghana the media brings to the citizens social, political and business issues of the day worth debating. However the world over, the independence of the media is questioned, and to what extent the media might be in bed with an opposition always keeps the media under the public 28 . microscope especially the print media. In Africa the democratic conditions of electing a suitable candidate to man the affairs of a country is a do or die affair. And the media is most often dragged in the mud. The media in Africa should understand their immunity to any political influence and their role as watch dogs and guardians of liberty. The media and their content are sources of influence among other potential sources, with this perspective, communication process is looked at from the focal point of the "individual communicator rather than from that of the undue influence of the medium" (Rubin, 2009: 149). Klapper (1963) argued as cited by Rubin (2009:149) that a number of elements including "individual predispositions, selective perception, and interpersonal dissemination of messages". The audience is diverse during an election, different ideologies, principles and personalities. . These could interrupt message and response to an extent that media messages intended to persuade the audience most often than not would not but rather "reinforce people's attitudes and behavior" this reinforcement could be positive or negative. (Rubin, 2009:149) writes that Klapper (1963) gave two reasons for such to happen; firstly because the media alone are most often not necessary or sufficient causes of effects and secondly a medium of communication might be an important sources but it is only one source but of influence in our environment (klapper, 1963). And the media should make issues look appealing to the audience enough to make them fixated in that direction. Rubin (2009: 149) believes that individuals will always "select and use communication vehicles to satisfy their felt needs or desires". These needs vary from one individual to the other it "filters behavior socially and psychologically constrain mediated communication" (Rubin, 2009: 149). 29 People choose among the varying communication or functional alternatives and make choices based on their "wants, interests and expectations and these choices affect the process and forms of communication" (Katz, Gurevitch and Haas 1973; Rubin, 2002) as cited by (Rubin, 2009:149). Rosengren (1974) states as cited by Rubin (2009:149) that to "understand the outcomes of communication process, there is a need to understand people's background, motives, and involvement" in the case of this study, to really know the impact of the media outcomes, there is a need to know how passionate the audience was about the electoral process. And also the role of interpersonal communication cannot be overlooked. Others regardless of the message in the media still prefer to know what other individuals are saying. In a study conducted by Berelson (1949), Rubin (2009:149) write that five motives for reading newspapers were identified: to be informed and to interpret public affairs, as a tool for daily living, for relief and escape from personal problems, for social prestige, and to feel connected to people in the news. Presently the situation is different due to the many and varying means one can access information, it could be for prestigious reason for others yet it never defeat the purpose of wanting to know the distance in the now, and wanting to know what is approximately near us yet individuals cannot get to it. The media is expected to present to the audience what other nations have guarded against and what they have embraced in their effort to maintain peace before and after elections and how it worked for them. As Galtung (1969) asserts nobody can ever openly be against peace. According to Reilly (2003: 12) as cited by Teshome (2009:85) that elections has three functions; first to serve as a means for people to choose their representatives, second a means of choosing governments and third elections give legitimacy to the political systems. 30 Teshome (2009:94) reports on how prior to the 2005 election in Ethiopia, the state owned radio and television announced they would dedicate 54% of their airtime to election coverage to both opposition parties and candidates although scholars confirm that these vows were not acted upon as promised. Teshome (2009:85) reports that after a team of Graduate School of Journalism and Communications in Addis Ababa University conducted a survey and prepared a report entitled "Monitoring the Media Coverage of the 2005 Parliamentary and Regional Council Elections in Ethiopia". The team evaluated the media coverage of the state controlled Television and Radio station (Ethiopia Television, Radio Ethiopia, RadioFana), Radio "Fm" and the independent print media during the election. Teshome (2009:96) further writes that the range of newspaper circulation as reported by the team was between 700% and 2500% (Mail & Guardian 23 May 2005). TamratGiorgis, the editor of the Fortune Newspaper is reported by Teshome (2009:96) to have said that "the growth of newspaper circulation is not only because of their accuracy and consistency but because of the public's curiosity to know the results of their vote in the election (Mail &Guardian 23 May 2005). Teshome (2009:96) further reports that a weekly newspaper in Amharic "Ethiop" claimed that it printed 2500% more from its previous usual print of 5000. On the other hand the two state-controlled newspapers "Addis Zemen" and "The Ethiopian Herald" were almost the same as before and remained at 5000 to 7000. Teshome (2009:96) writes that during the post-election in Ethiopia, independent media journalists were accused of exceeding their limit given to them by the government. The government blamed them for publishing sensitive national security issues and army issues. 31 According to Ethiopian government allegations "some of these journalists working for newspapers owned by political parties have been calling for an insurrection and engaged in outrageous propaganda which could endanger public safety" (Sudan Tribune 2 June 2005). Teshome (2009:96) writes that the Voice of America (VOA) and Deutsche Welle reporters were accused by the Ethiopian Information Minister, BerhanHailu as working to destabilize the peace and stability of the country and working as the mouthpiece for the opposition party (VOA 03 November 2005) while the state media were also accused of pro-government bias by the opposition parties. According to Teshome (2009:96) the European Union (EU) observer's team criticized the state media of bias against the opposition parties, (The Reporter 28 May 2005). The EU observers' team also criticized the state media of reporting to the public of only favourable or positive EU statements towards the ruling parties (BBC 2005-05-25). Katz et al. (1973) as cited by Rubin (2009:149) argues that "people take the initiative for using the media to satisfy their cognitive needs, affective needs ... " Also Lasswell (1948) as cited by Rubin (2009: 149) suggested that the media are functional for people and societies because they "perform discrete activities: surveillance of the environment and transmission of our heritage". As cited by Teshome (2009:97), Norris and Merloe (2002:3) "television, radio and newspapers owned or controlled by the state should be held to the highest standards of accuracy and fairness, objectivity and balance". 32 2.3 Review of Theoretical Literature Haven identified the functions of the media, it is imperative to justify the role of media in informing and educating the electorates on the relevance of peace during election process. These theories below will analyze into detail to buttress the crucial role the media plays in creating awareness about the need for peace before, during and after election. 2.3.1 Functionalist Approach In mass communication, this means examining the uses the audience make as a result of their interactions with the mass media (Dominick, 2002). Wei (2002:37) writes that "media functionalist theorists hold that the media serves a variety of needs such as communication, cohesion, social control, and cultural continuity in a society (Laswell, 1960; Merton, 1967; Wright, 1986). Wei (2002:37) also writes that at an individual level, the media fulfill audience needs for surveillance, personal guidance, personal relationships, identity formation and diversion, among others (Blumler, 1979; Swanson, 1987). From this perspective, the media has a role to play by exercising their need during elections to the audience or the consumers so that they will be informed on the essence of peace and avoiding any form of confrontations that may lead to conflict or any form of violence. The media does this by engaging in functions including creating awareness, acting as a watchdog, exercising social control and fostering cohesion among the masses. Creating awareness about the essence of having peaceful elections is achieved by the media When they make peace campaigns a priority by making it more pronounced and loud with an amount of prominence given to it in their reportage in the media outlets; newspapers, radio, television and internet. Also the media has a crucial role to play in ensuring that issues related to 33 peaceful election are given considerable time or space in the newspapers, television or radio so as to make the audience attach importance and relevance to the importance of peace. Furthermore, acting as watch dog helps the audience to be fed with the right information and not the massaged version of the truth from the powers that be. This helps the audience to be able to . make informed decisions knowing all the implications of their decisions, be it negative or positive. The media should be able to exercise social to be able to regulate both individual and group behavior towards the desired end which will ultimately lead to conformity and compliance to the rules of the nation. Another function is the fostering of cohe~ion by transmitting values which is beneficial to the entirety of the masses. It is hard to be all out against peace (Galtung, 1969). There are issues the audience might have varying thoughts about and there are other issues that are simply in everyone's interest and those are what the media should play on to foster such unity. It is very crucial that the media presents more of issues related to peace in the media during elections and even effects of violence if necessary to present to the masses the reality of the . issue. To make them understand the cost of violence and its irreparable outcome. Gate keeping is one of the functions of the media. The term gate keeping has been broadly used as a metaphor to describe the process by which selections are made in media work especially decisions regarding which news report passes through the "gates" of news medium (McQuail, 2005). It is the duty of the media; the journalist and editor included to make issues concerning peace related messages loud by not withholding or keeping them behind the "gates" keeping them away from the masses. 34 2.3.2 Agenda Setting Theory First introduced by Dr. Maxwell McCombs and Dr. Donald Shaw in 1972 to describe the idea that what the public thinks is set by the media (study.com). Protess and McCombs (2016) assert that the agenda setting hypothesis demands that viewers adjust and realign their beliefs about the relevance of problems in accordance to the amount of coverage problems receive in the media". . In Ghana it has been realized that newspapers are packed with advertisement and announcement, telling the audience what the prominence is. During election the belief is that priority might shift to campaigning for a peaceful election and that is what the study aims to examine. M. Sanchez Spring in an article in 2002 writes about the mass media, writing that Mass Culture defines agenda setting as the process whereby the media determine what we think and worry about. McCombs and Reynolds (2002) write that the mass media may not be successful in telling us what to think about, but they are stunningly successful and influential in telling us what to think about (McCombs & Shaw, 1972). McCombs (2002) noted that the power of the news media to seta nation's agenda can never be underestimated. This he believes is because people acquire factual information about public affairs and readers and viewers learn how much importance they should attach to a topic on the basis of the emphasis placed on it in the news. McCombs (2002: 1) posits that because the media is capable of setting the agenda for the public's attention on the small issues around us is what influenced Walter Lippman's classic sketch in 1922 "Public Opinion" which begins with a chapter "The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads". McCombs (2002:3) suggests that the most common way to assess public agenda is through pUblic opinion. Because the media influences the step we take in the communication process, our 35 understanding and perspective on issues raised in the news however not all public issues are crucial to the setting of an agenda. The news media influences how we perceive characteristics and traits that describe an object or issue of interest. And this is what McCombs (2002:3) calls "attribute". McCombs (2002) emphasizes that agenda of attributes is another aspect of the agenda setting but of the news . media. The images and perceptions held by the public of political candidates and other public figures are the most obvious examples agenda-setting by the news media (McCombs, 2002). During the 1996 general election in Spain, the description of voters in Navarra of the three major party leaders showed considerable correspondence with the media's presentation of these men (McCombs, 2002) reports. However the information about object and attribute salience provided by the news media are often far from the only determinants of the public agenda. This influence of the media in no way invalidates the basic assumption or premise the people at large have sufficient knowledge of their own to determine right from wrong. "The media set the agenda only when the citizens perceive their news stories as relevant". An examination of US presidential candidates in all five elections between 1980 and 1996 found . exceedingly strong correlations between the pattern of media emphasis which varied widely across these elections, and the number of citizens who expresses ambivalent opinions about the candidates by checking the mid-points of various rating scales. Sweetser, Golan and Wanta (2006) write that once political name their official candidates for the position of president; campaigns have a precise window of time to educate the public about the candidates and issues. This is as it should be but in some countries it has become a norm for such 36 periods to be laced with conflicts, hence the need to lace and invest in such occasions the essence of peace. As stated by Wang (2010), Bichard (2005) asserts that during elections candidates embrace multimedia strategy in an attempt to influence the media agenda and ultimately impact the voting public. Bichard (2005) reports on how public relations tools such as television advertisements and weblogs have been used in the past American presidential elections . . Johnston and Kaid (2002) posit that advertising has been an active part of campaigning since the 1952 presidential elections in America and in their analysis of thirteen (13) presidential election cycles. Johnston and Kaid (2002:281) note two crucial important functions of advertising which are firstly to help candidates define or redefine their images and secondly providing a forum where campaign issues can be explained or developed. Sweester et al. (2008) write that unlike newspapers or television newscasts, the nature of advertising is based on its attempt to shape public discourse and opinion. Roberts, Wanta and Dzwo (2002) after correlating the relationship between online media coverage and electronic bulletin board discussion, found that news media content actually informed discussion on electronic bulletin boards. To examine the role the internet plays in agenda setting process, they . compared the data from telephone interviews which they termed as "public agenda" with traditional news coverage "media agenda" and concluded that internet can be used as a tool to enforce, enhance and inhibit agenda setting effects. Wanta and Cho (2004) write that those who go online longer periods may be self-selecting exposure to issues hence restrain the salience of the media agenda. Also Sweester et al. (2008) are of the opinion that generally campaigns since the 1990s have slowly adopted computer- 37 mediated communicated technology as a means to disseminate campaign messages, interpersonal communication; door-to-door campaign will remain a "staple" in campaigns. 2.3.3 Media Effect According to Perse (2001:3), Rubin (2009:13) "one of the first and most important assumptions of the study of mass communication has been the presumption that media and the content have significant and substantial effects". And that is why the media is seen as a powerful tool. . Rubin (2009: 13) asserts that media effects has to do with "considering the social or psychological changes that occur in consumers of media message systems as a result of being exposed to processing, or acting on those mediated messages". In the case of this study there is quest to find out if really media content could really change behavior and attitude. Rubin (2009: 13) identifies five classes of media effects'on individual which include "behavioural, attitudinal, cognitive, emotional and physiological" Behavioural effects is when the messages from the media causes consumer to perform some action presented through the media, attitudinal effects is when the messages from the media shapes consumers opinions, beliefs and values while cognitive effects is when the messages from the media changes what consumers think or know, emotional effects is when the messages from the media produce certain feeling such as fear, anxiety or euphoria in the audience and also physiological effects are when message sin the media causes changes in arousal or other physical bodily reaction (Rubin, 2009: 13). Perse and Lambe (2016) admit that generally scholars in the field describe media effects as cognitive, behavioural and affective, where cognitive effect are those concern the acquisition of knowledge; what people learn ad how beliefs are structured and or restructured. On the other 38 hand behavioural effect has to do with observable actions that are linked with media exposure and affective effects deals with the formation of positive or negative evaluation about something. Rubin (2009:13) cited Lippman (1922) argUed that "mass media messages created pictures of the world that shaped the images in the minds of audience. Rubin (2009:13) cited Bryant and Thompson (2002) as noting that the media effects may be "cognitive, behavioural, or affective, direct or indirect; short term, long term, or delayed; self-contained or cumulative" this goes to tell that there is always an effect regardless how soon or how late it takes to manifest. McGuire (1986) noted that some of the most commonly mentioned intended media effects include effects of propaganda on ideology, effect of Public Service Announcement (PSAs) on personal behaviour and social improvement, effects of political campaigns on voting, however he noted some common unintended media effects to include effect of media images on the social construction of reality, effects of media violence on aggressive behaviour, effects of campaigns on voting and effect on cognitive activity and style. However recently Perse and Lambe (2016) talk of media effects which lead to diffusion of innovations, impact of perceived media influence, stimulation of fear and other emotional reaction and knowledge gain from educational television. 2.3.4 Priming Effect . The concept through which the media effects among the people are enhanced by providing basic perception human minds take decisions based on the preconceptions that are already been stored in our memory is in line with Roskos-Ewoldsen (2002) idea that media priming has to do with how media influences people's thoughts, beliefs, judgments and behavior and psychological mechanism by which the media exert their influence. Priming has been particular evaluated during the times of elections while choosing the right candidate. Particularly when it comes to 39 politics, people lack the knowledge concerning political parties. They base their decisions on the information from the media which actually influences their decision making on whom to elect. Roskos-Ewoldsen (2002) defmes priming basically to mean the effect of some preceding stimulus or event or to some subsequent stimulus". However relating to the media, Roskos­ Ewoldsen (2002) sees priming as the influence of the media on people's later behavior or judgments related to a prior content associating the effect with the necessity attached to the media by people makes it primarily a very powerful tool for priming how individuals think and behave. Although there has been considerable debate on the existence of priming by some . scholars, its effect is undeniable. This theory was put forward by Iyengar, Peters and Kender in 1982 and labeled it is the priming effect. Priming is an important concept in media effects. As agenda setting brings out only the importance of the issue, however priming offers explanation on how the information from the media are stored in the human mind and it influences in making decisions. Priming is used to evaluate the media effects among the people. In a study conducted by Josephson (1987) on priming effects of violent media on children's behaviour, a group of young boys were randomly selected and subjected to watch violent television programmed and concluded that violent television viewing "primed boys who were high in trait aggressiveness to act more violently during sports activity especially when violent programming was followed by frustration". . In another study investigating the influence of violent media on the accessibility of aggression­ related concepts, Anderson (1997) chose undergraduates to be the subjects of study and they were randomly assigned to view either movie clips containing violent scenes or movie scenes or movie clips featuring nonviolent content. The subjects were given questionnaires to complete to assess their level of hostility. The subjects were led to a room where they read a hundred and 40 ninety two (192) words that appeared on a computer screen. These words were intended to elicit feelings of aggression, anxiety, escape or control. The time taken to pronounce each word was recorded. Anderson (1997) hypothesized that those who had watched the violent clips would be primed such that the words associated with violence would be more accessible and quickly pronounced than words not associated with violence. Participants who had watched the violent clip rated themselves higher in a state of hostility than the participants who watched the nonviolent clips. The finding was that although participant's aggressive feelings were more accessible after the violent clip, their aggressive thoughts did not appear to be more accessible. It is clear that the media can prime aggressive thoughts and feelings and ultimately actions and . aggressive behaviours (Bushman, 1995). However, the nature of media priming varies from one domain to the other hence there is no uniform front on media priming across the different areas, Roskos-Ewoldsen (2002). Roskos-Ewoldsen, Roskos-Ewoldsen and Carpentier (2002) reports that social psychologists began using priming procedures in the late 1970s to study person perception, stereotyping and attitude activation and this is done by exposing participants to some priming event and then measuring whether the priming event based their interpretation of later ambiguous information". This is what the research seeks to study in order to come out with a confIrmation or refute the hypothesis that the peace campaigns done during the elections had any effect on the way people conducted themselves. In a study conducted Srull and Wyer (1979) they gave participants four words (He, Sally, Hit, Killed) and were asked to use three (3) of the words to construct a sentence, unknowing to the Participants only two (2) sentences can be constructed; "He hit Sally" and "He kicked Sally". In this study the available options are ambiguously negative such that "the negative aspects of the 41 person or event are more explicit than the positive". If the primes are negative, the ambiguously described person will be judged more harshly than if the primes are positive (Srull &Wyer, 1979). Higgins, Bargh and Lombardi (1985) believe that the extent of a prime's effect on a target behaviour or thought is dual function of the intensity and recency; where intensity means the frequency of the prime, and the duration of the prime. Hence the higher the intensity, the larger the priming effects and these effects tend to "dissipate e more slowly that lower intensity primes" Higgins et al. (1985). Recency on the other hand refers to the "time lag between the prime and the target. Recent primes produce larger priming effects than temporally distant primes" Higgins et al. (1985). In tasks involving judgments or evaluation of a social stimulus, Scrull and Wyer (1979) assert that the effect of the prime fades with time, though the effect appears to fade more slowly. However Scrull and Wyer (1979) found evidence of priming effects influencing judgment after twenty four (24) hours. 42 3.1 Introduction CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY This chapter deals with the procedures, sources and research techniques to be used to collect data for the study. This chapter looked into how the data will be analysed, treated and presented as well as the philosophical underpinning informing the choice of the researcher. 3.2 Research Design The choice of this study was informed by the philosophical assumption in positivisim which emphasizes impartiality, objectivity and seeks logic and reasoning. For this study there is a need for absolute objectivity so that the results of the study can be credible and far removed from personal judgement. This is in line with the views of Levin (1991) that positivists believe that reality is stable and can be observed and described from an objective point of view without interfering with the phenomenon being studied. The survey is exclusively used for this study because of the need to collect, analyse and interpret the results of the findings. The need to generalise the result of the findings makes the quantitative design the most appropriate instead of the qualitative design, because unlike the quantitative design the qualitative design digs deep into analysing every aspect of the population which the study does not aim to do in line with Burns and Grove (2001) believe that a research design aids the researcher to strategize and implement the study in a manner which will help the researcher to achieve the proposed results. This research aimed to do a specific and surface study of the popUlation for the purpose of drawing a conclusion worth generalising. A research design being the overall strategy chosen to be used to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way which would serve as the blueprint for the 43 collection, measurement, and analysis of data, the researcher found the quantitative design to be most convenient. 3.3 Research Population The entire student of the Kwarne Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Faculty of Social Sciences is the population for this study. However, the target population is the undergraduates because they attend class during week days unlike the majority of the graduate students who attend class on weekends. This is the chosen popUlation because of their different political orientation, social ideologies and perceptions they might hold about the essence of the topic under study. This population is intellectuals in the field of political science, economics, French, Tourism, Sociology and Social Work, just to mention a few. The researcher counted on their willingness to answer questions unlike the post graduate students who might be busy with their own research work and might not be too willing to help in answering the questionnaires. The accessible population was the undergraduate students of the K warne Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) belonging to the Department of English in their first, second and third year in the university. Students in their fmal year were not focused on as they had to be busy working on their projects and might not be too willing to spare time to answer the questionnaires. 3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques The Non Probability or Non Random Sampling technique specifically the convenience sampling was used to select the desired sample size. This design was used because it was expected that every member of the population is homogeneous and also the fact that the participants are easily accessible. In line with Ilker, Sulaiman, and Rukayya (2016:2) assertion that in convenience 44 sampling, members of the target group are easily accessible, geographically conveniently situated, and are available at a given time and willing to participate. The accessible population was the undergraduate students offering a course in English Language who are in their fIrst, second or third years respectively. The simple random sampling method was used to select a total of a hundred and fIfty (150) students. Questionnaires were administered to the sample and the responses were analyzed. 3.5 Sources of Data and Data Collection Instruments The research made use of both primary data and secondary data which will be collected from both primary sources and secondary sources. Primary data in this research refers to data collected for the fIrst time. The source is the student population of the K wame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Department of English. The Secondary data which is data which has been collected and used by other authors or data relating to the study including books, journals, scholarly articles, reports and publications. 3.5.1 Questionnaire The questionnaire was used to retrieve data because there was a need to get responses from the sample on well spelt out questions in relation to the study. The self-administered questionnaire was used because of the urgency with which data was needed due to the time constraint. However, it presented the diffIculty of the researcher not being around to clarify any misunderstanding on the part of respondents. To elicit responses in line with Donyei and Taguchi (2009, Chap.1) Brown (2001:6) defines questionnaire as "any written instrument that presents respondents with a series of questions or statements to which they are to react either by writing out their answers or selecting from amongst existing answers". For this study close ended questionnaires were used because the 45 researcher knows the options available and as such the respondents needed to be restricted to the known alternatives so as to avoid irrelevant data and long answers which could lead to coding difficulties Donyei and Taguchi (2009: Chap.1) also writes that Gillham (2008:1) posits that good research cannot possibly be built on poorly collected data. Donyei and Taguchi