The Role of the Media and Political Tolerance in Ghana: Perceptions of University of Cape Coast Students

Abstract

The study investigated the perceptions of University of Cape Coast students about the media as a platform to generate political intolerance in Ghana. It specifically sought to know the nature of political intolerance in Ghana, the causes of political intolerance and appropriate ways of mitigating the problem. The use of questionnaires and interviews were employed as major data collection instruments using purposive and convenient sampling techniques to reach respondents. The analysis revealed that political intolerance in Ghana mainly takes the form of threats of violence and character assassination as a result of ethnocentrism exhibited through the media. It was therefore concluded that, the media should play an effective role by recruiting qualified persons to hold political discussions in the media and by applying high journalistic standards in handling issues in the media.

Keywords: Media, Political, Intolerance, Democracy, Development