When Journalists Speak: Media Framing and Accountability in Gender Representation Policies in Ghana

Journalists play a role in shaping public perception, especially by holding political figures accountable for their promises. Drawing on critical discourse analysis and framing theory, the qualitative case study analyzes a purposively selected corpus of 14 news articles and one video from diverse Ghanaian media platforms to assess how media narratives challenge political leadership or reinforce existing power structures. Specifically, this study examines how selected Ghanaian media outlets framed discourse surrounding the President’s promise to ensure 30% representation of women in cabinet and ministerial positions. It highlights how, in this case, journalists in Ghana subtly advocated by quoting civil society actors, political figures, and legal references while appearing to maintain objectivity. The paper interrogates the media’s selective attention to gender-related political promises, contributing to scholarship on journalistic role conception, gender politics, and media accountability in emerging democracies.