Prof Audrey Gadzekpo CV
AUDREY GADZEKPO
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
P.O. BOX 53
LEGON, GHANA
Tel: 233-302-500693(Wk.) 233-302-500213(Hm.) 0244-462652(Cell)
Email: agadzekpo@ug.edu.gh/audreygadzekpo@gmail.com/
Qualifications:
- More than 27 years of university teaching and research at a major university in Ghana
- Eperience in University-level Administration
- Consultant in media, governance and social development
- Experience designing college/university-level curricula
- Experience designing and conducting media/communication training courses
- Experience in qualitative research approaches to the investigation of social issues
- More than 30 years as a journalist; experience as magazine publisher, editor, columnist and talk show host.
- Experience in media, gender and governance activism work, including election monitoring, anti-corruption campaigns and initiatives, and empowerment of women campaigns and initiatives.
EDUCATION:
- Ph.D., West African Studies, University of Birmingham, U.K., July 2002.
- M.A. Communications, Brigham Young University, Utah, USA, 1986.
- B.A. English, University of Ghana, 1984.
WORK EXPERIENCE:
• August 1, 2015 to July 31, 2021 – Dean, School of Information and Communication Studies, College ofEducation, University of Ghana.
• May 1993 – Present: Department/School of Communications Studies, University of Ghana:
- Currently Professor
- Head of Department September 2014-July 2015;
- Ag. Director, Sept. 2006-July 2010; April 1996 -Sept.1997
- January-April, 2012: Guest Researcher, Nordic Africa Institute, African Guest Researchers Programme 2012, Research Cluster ‘Conflict, Security and Democratic Transformation’
- Sept 2006-July 2010, Acting Director, School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana.
- September-December 2005, Visiting Scholar, Program of African Studies, Northwestern University, U.S.
- 2004-Present, Adjunct Professor, New York University in Ghana
- April 1996 to Sept.1997, Acting Director, School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana
- March 1993 to 1997, Publisher/Editor, AWO Magazine. I co-founded and edited this women’s magazine.
- June 1990 to September 1992, Managing Editor, The Indianapolis Recorder, Indiana, USA, a weekly community newspaper with a circulation of 40,000.
- October 1989 to June 1990, Arts/Entertainment Editor and General assignment reporter.
- December 1988 to August 1989, Project Assistant, Academy for Educational Development, Washington, DC.
RESEARCH
My research interests can be clustered around three principal areas – media, democracy and governance; media and gender; media and developmental challenges (e.g. conflict, climate change, marginalisation & participation, health).
TEACHING
I teach (or have taught) several courses, including: print journalism; media and gender; media ethics; media culture and society, communicating climate change; communicating public policy; international communication; health communication; qualitative research methods in communication studies; political communication.
PUBLICATIONS
Books and Monographs
Ansu-Kyeremeh, K, Gadzekpo A & Amoakohene, M. A. (2015) (Eds). Communication Research and Practice in Ghana: A Critical Appraisal. University of Ghana Reader Series. Accra: Digibooks. University of Ghana Reader Series. Accra: Digibooks.
Gadzekpo, A. (2008), When the Watchman Slips: Media Accountability and Democratic Reform in Ghana, Critical Perspectives No. 22, Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
Newell, S. and Gadzekpo, A. (eds.) (2004), Selected Writings of a Pioneer West African Feminist: Mabel Dove, Nottingham: Trent Editions.
Gadzekpo, A. (1998), “Is There a Place for State Media in a Constitutional Democracy?” Occasional Paper, No. 17, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
Denkabe, A. and Gadzekpo, A. (1996), “What's Fit to Print: Language of the Press in Ghana,” Friedrich Ebert Stiftung-Ghana.
Gadzekpo, A., Yankah, K. and Karikari, K. (1996), Going to Town: The writings of PAV Ansah. Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
Journal Articles
Gadzekpo, A. (2021). Tuning in to his-story: An account of radio in Ghana through the experience of B.S. Gadzekpo. Africa, 91 (2), 177-194. doi:10.1017/S0001972021000012
Haider N, Osman AY, Gadzekpo A, et al. Lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 in nine sub-Saharan African countries. BMJ Global Health 2020;5:e003319. doi:10.1136/ bmjgh-2020-003319
Akrofi-Quarcoo, S. and Gadzekpo, A. (2020). Indigenizing radio in Ghana. Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, Volume 18, Number 1, pp. 95-112, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/rjao_00018_1
Gadzekpo, A. Gardner P., Steeves, H. L. (2020). Emerging Gender, Media and Technology Scholarship in Africa Opportunities and Conundrums: African Women’s Navigating Digital Media, Ada 16https://fembotcollective.manifoldapp.org/projects/ada-16-05ea0df0-6162-412e-b557-b79f5c37b5ee
Gadzekpo, A. Yeboah-Banin, A and Akrofi-Quarcoo, S. (2020). ‘A case of double standards? Audience attitudes to professional norms on local and English language radio news programmes in Ghana’, Journal of African Media Studies, 12:1, pp. 3–22 https://doi.org/10.1386/jams_00008 1
Gadzekpo, A. (2018). Glocalising Radio during Empire, Obsidian (Literature and Arts in the Diaspora) Vol. 44 issue 2, 164-181
Gadzekpo A , Tietaah G. & Segtub, M. (2018). Mediating the Climate Change Message: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of Media Practitioners in Ghana, African Journalism Studies, 39:3, 1-23: DOI: 10.1080/23743670.2018.1467838
Patterson, C., Gadzekpo A. & Wasserman, H. (2018). Journalism and Foreign Aid in Africa, African Journalism Studies, 39:2, 1-8, DOI: 10.1080/23743670.2018.1474121
Midttun, A., Coulter, P., Gadzekpo, A and Wang, J. (2015). Comparing media framings of climate change in developed, rapid growth and developing countries: Findings from Norway, China and Ghana, Energy & Environment, Vol. 26, No.8, 1271-1292
Gadzekpo, A. (2013). Why We Gender in Media Studies. Africa Media Review Volume 21, Numbers 1&2, Gender and Media.
Gadzekpo, A. (2011). ‘Battling old ghosts in gender and African media research,’ African Communication Research4(3), 389-410.
Gadzekpo, A. (2013). Book Review: Peacemaking in Ghana: Lessons Learnt, Options for the Future. LEJIAD, Vol. 7 No.1. 110-116.
Gadzekpo, A. (2010). “Global Warning or Global Warming? The Framing of Climate Change Discourses in Ghanaian newspapers,” Ghana Social Science Journal. Vol. 7. No.1 72-86
Gadzekpo, A. (2008), “Missing Links: African Media Studies and Feminist Concerns,” Journal of African Media Studies. JAMS Vol. 1. No.1, pp. 69-80.
Gadzekpo, A. (2007). “Fifty Years of the Media’s Struggle for Democracy in Ghana: Legacies and Encumbrances,” Ghana Studies Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 89-106.
Gadzekpo, A. (2005). “Ghana: Media Complicity in Human Rights Violations,” Ecquid Novi, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 33-45.
Gadzekpo, A. (2004). “Domination or Self-Marginalization? Entering the Dialogue on Africa’s Lack of Presence in Global Media,” SYN OG SEGN, Vol. 3, pp. 101-109.
Gadzekpo, A. (2001). “Gender Discourses and Representational Practices in Gold Coast Newspapers,” Jenda: Journal of Culture and African Women Studies, Vol. 1 (2).
Gadzekpo, A. (2001). “Reflections on Ghana’s Recent Elections,” Review of African Political Economy, 88, 267-273.
Gadzekpo, A. (1997). “Communication Policies in Civilian and Military Regimes: The Case of Ghana,” African Media Review, Vol. 11 No.2, pp. 31-50.
Book Chapters
Gadzekpo, A. and Smith, M. Gender and Media. (2020). in Naples, N. (ed), Companion to Women’s and Gender Studies. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, pp. 253-269
Waldman, L., Gadzekpo, A. and MacGregor, H. (2016). Responding to Uncertainty: Bats and the Construction of Disease Risk in Ghana in Bardosh, K. (Ed), One Health: Science, politics and zoonotic disease in Africa.London: Routledge, pp. 139-155
Gadzekpo, A. (2015). Journalism in Ghana’s Democratic Governance: An Appraisal, in Ansu-Kyeremeh, K., Gadzekpo A. and Amoakohene, M. (Eds, Communication Research and Practice in Ghana: A Critical Appraisal. University of Ghana Reader Series. Accra: Digibooks.
Gadzekpo, A and Akrofi-Quarcoo, S. (2015). Establishing the Presence of Women in Ghanaian Media History in Ansu-Kyeremeh, K., Gadzekpo A. and Amoakohene, M. (eds.), Communication Research and Practice in Ghana: A Critical Appraisal. University of Ghana Reader Series. Accra: Digibooks.
Gadzekpo, A. (2013). Ghana: Women in Decision-making in the media – New Opportunities, Old Story. In Byerly, C. (Ed.). The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Journalism. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 371-382
Gadzekpo, A. (2011). “Glorifying the Huntress: Writing Women into Ghanaian History” in Lauer, H. and Anyidoho K. (Eds.), Reclaiming the Human Sciences and Humanity through African Perspectives, Volume 1. Ghana: Sub-Saharan Press, pp. 673-682
Fair, J. and Gadzekpo, A. (2011). “Reconciling a nation: Ghanaian journalists and the reporting of human rights.” In B. Musa and J. Domatob (Eds.), Communication, Culture, and Human Rights in Africa. University Press of America, pp. 51-68.
Gadzekpo, A. (2010). “Street News: The Role of Posters in Democratic Participation in Ghana,” in Wasserman, H. (Ed.), Taking it to the Streets: Popular Media, Democracy and Development in Africa. Routledge, pp. 105-122
Gadzekpo, A. (2009). “She Made me Do It! Discursive Frames and Representations of Spousal Murders in the Ghanaian Press.” in Cusack, K. and Manuh, T. (Eds.). The Architecture for Violence against Women in Ghana.Accra: Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, pp 265-285.
Gadzekpo, A, (2009). “Invigorating Activism to End Gender Based Violence” in Cusack, K. and Manuh, T. (Eds.) The Architecture for Violence Against Women in Ghana. Accra: Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, pp. 317-331.
Gadzekpo, A. (2008). “Guardians of Democracy: The Media,” in Agyemang-Duah, B. (Ed.), Ghana: Governance in the Fourth Republic, Accra-Ghana Center for Democratic Development, pp. 195-214.
Gadzekpo, A. (2006). “Public but Private: a Transformational Reading of the Memoir and Newspaper Writings of Mercy Foulkes-Crabbe, in Barber, K.. (Ed.) Africa’s Hidden Histories: Everyday Literacy and Making the Self, Bloomington-Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, pp. 314-377.
Gadzekpo, A. (2005). “The Hidden History of Women in Ghanaian Print Culture,” in Oyewumi, O. (ed.), African Gender Studies: A Reader, Palgrave Macmillan, pp.279-295.
Gadzekpo, A. (2003). “The State of Broadcast Regulations on Children in Ghana.” In von Feilitzen, Cecilia and Carlsson Ulla (Eds.) Promote or Protect? Perspectives on Media Literacy and Media Regulations. The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media: Yearbook, pp. 221-230. NORDICOM. Göteborg University.
Asante, C. and Gadzekpo, A. (2000). “The Media & Politics in Ghana,” in Mbayo, R., Onwumechili, C, & Nwanko, R. (Eds.), Press and Politics in Africa. The Edwin Mellon Press Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter, pp. 235-267.
Gadzekpo, A. (2000). “Legal Manoeuvres: the Attitude of Editors Towards the Law,” in Karikari, K & Kumado, K. (Eds.), The Law and the Media in Ghana, School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, pp. 187-201.
Gadzekpo, A. (1999). “Societal Attitudes to Violence Against Women and Children,” in Coker Appiah, D & Cussack, K (Eds.), Violence Against Women and Children in Ghana, Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, Accra Ghana, pp. 72-83.
Gadzekpo, A. (1999). “Women’s and Children’s Experience and Understanding of Violence,” in Coker Appiah, D & Cussack, K (Eds.), Violence against Women and Children in Ghana, Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, Accra Ghana, pp. 120-137.
Gadzekpo, A. (1997). “Media Coverage of Elections” in Afriyie-Badu, K. and Larvie, J. (Eds.), Elections 1996, Ghana: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Denkabe A, Gadzekpo, A. & Ahadzie, S. (1997). “Extra-Linguistic Factors in the Use of Language in the Ghanaian Press,” in Kropp Dakubu, M.E. (Ed.) English in Ghana, Ghana English Studies Association.
Gadzekpo, A. (1995). “We've Come a Long Way, Maybe: Women in the Media,” In Afriyie-Badu, K. and Blay-Amihere, K. (Eds.), State of the Media in Ghana: 1994 –1995. Ghana: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Encyclopaedia
Gadzekpo, A. (2016). Media and Gender Socialization. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118663219.wbegss213
Journal Editorship:
Co Guest Editor (with Gardner, P., Lothian, A & Steeves, L). (2020) Special Issue Ada 16: Emerging Gender, Media and Technology Scholarship in Africa https://fembotcollective.manifoldapp.org/projects/ada-16-05ea0df0-6162-412e-b557-b79f5c37b5ee
Co Guest Editor (with Patterson, C., & Wasserman, H.) (2018). Special Issue African Journalism Studies, 39: Journalism and Foreign Aid in Africa, DOI: 10.1080/23743670.2018.1474121
Guest Editor, (2013). Special Issue Africa Media Review Volume 21, Numbers 1&2, 2013: Gender and Media
Guest Editor, (2011). Special Issue African Communication Research 4(3): The image of women in African media
Co-Editor, Africa Media Review 2008-2016
Research/Technical Papers
Conflict-Sensitive Coverage: A Manual for Journalists Reporting Conflict in West Africa (Ed.). School of Information and Communication Studies, University of Ghana/African Peacebuilding Network (APN), 2017.
STAR-Ghana Scoping Study on Media, October, 2016.
Different Hymn Sheet; Same Tune: Assessing the Relationship between CSOs and Media in Peacebuilding, African Peace Network (APN) Research Report, January, 2015
Waldman, L., Macgregor, H. & Gadzekpo, A. Responding to Uncertainty: Bats and the Construction of Disease Risk in Ghana. Step Centre Working Paper, January, 2015
Assessing Coverage of STAR-Ghana Thematic Areas: A Baseline Study of Selected Grant Partners. Study Conducted for STAR Ghana, August, 2014
Media Monitoring Report: Ghana Elections 2013. Prepared for the National Media Commission
Mwananchi Project Case Study Reviews: Radio Ada. Results of Overseas Development Institute (ODI) research presented for discussion and critical comment on the impact of Media Civil Society, Mwananchi Ghana Project, 2013.
Ghana country contributions to Handbook on Professional, Fair and Balanced Election Reporting produced by Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), 2012
Journalism in Practice: A Study of Newspaper and Radio Content in Ghana. Qualitative Study Conducted for the Ghana Media Standards Improvement Project, a Ghana Journalists Association/Media Foundation for West Africa Project supported by Danida, 2010.
Climate Change Discourses in Ghanaian Newspapers: Sloganeering or Real Commitment?” in Coulter, P & Midtun, A. (Eds.). Escaping Climate Change – Climate Change in the Media: North & South Perspectives, Ceres 21 Report nr. 1, 2009. Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo.
Media Coverage on Corruption, Transparency & Accountability. Study. Commissioned by Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), 2009.
Women, Media and ICTs in Ghana (with one other). Technical Paper Prepared for Netright for the United Nations Status of Women Report, 2006.
Environmental Considerations in the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy: Ghana Country Report, in Environment, Politics, and Poverty: Lessons from a Review of PRSP Stakeholder Perspectives (with one other). A study initiated under the Poverty Environment Partnership (PEP), and jointly funded and managed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Department for International Development (DFID) and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), 2005.
Manual on Financial and Economic Reporting, Ghana Journalists Association/USAID, 2005
Gadzekpo, A. (2005), Headnotes on “Satire from the Women’s Corner, in Sutherland-Addy, E. & Diaw, Aminata (eds.), Women Writing Africa: West Africa and the Sahel. New York-The Feminist Press, pp. 174-178.
Media Complicity/Resistance under Unconstitutional Rule in Ghana (with one other). Report submitted to the National Reconciliation Commission, September 2003.
Governance, Democracy and Development in Africa: Developing a Cultural Approach (with two others). U.N African Institute for Economic Development and Planning, 2002.
Post-Election Reporting: A Content Analysis of the Daily Graphic Newspaper in the Years 1997 and 2002 (with two others). Daily Graphic/School of Communication Studies (2002).
Mid-Term Governance Record of the Kufuor/NPP Administration, in Briefing Paper, Vol. 4 No. 4, December 2002, Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
Women’s Engagement with Gold Coast Print Culture: from 1857-1957. Ph.D. Thesis, Birmingham University, 2001.
Leadership in Africa. Qualitative study of 60 leaders and their contributions to the success of transition politics in Ghana (with others). United Nations/Ghana Center for Democratic Development, 2000.
Gadzekpo, A. & Koomson, B. (1996) “A Manual of Business and Economic Reporting for Journalists.” Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana /Friedrich Naumann Stiftung-Ghana, 1996.
Gadzekpo, A., Karikari, K & Yankah, K. (Eds.) (1996), Going to Town: The Writings of P.A.V. Ansah, Ghana Universities Press.
Gadzekpo, A. (1996). “Media: The Case for a Vigorous Watchdog in Africa,” in Problems and Prospects of Democratic Governance in Africa. Proceedings of a Symposium organized by Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, 3-5 June, 1996, pp. 9-20.
Who Reads the Newspapers and Why? A Ghanaian Readership Survey (with on other). European Union Ghanaian Newspapers Assessment Project, 1996.
Gadzekpo, A. (1994), “Boundaries of Privacy and Public Interest: A Journalist's Perspective,” in Proceedings of Seminar, The Boundaries of Privacy and Public Interest, Accra, October 10-12, 1994, Ghana Journalist Association, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung-Ghana.
The Role of the Press in Development in Ghana: A Comparative Study of the Performance of the Press under Military and Civilian Governments, M.A. Thesis, Department of Communications, Brigham Young University, 1987.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
I teach or have taught and co-taught various media-related undergraduate and graduate level courses, primarily at the University of Ghana where I hold a position, and also at other institutions on a part-time basis. I have also supervised several graduate theses and dissertations at the Masters and Doctoral level. I am currently supervising four Ph.D. students from the Departments of Communication Studies and the Institute of African Studies.
Courses I have taught or currently teach include:
- Print Journalism – Introductory and advanced levels
- Mass Media, Culture and Society
- Media Ethics
- Political Communication
- Communicating Policy
- Gender and Communication
- Media Management
- Qualitative Research Methods in Communication Studies
- International Communication
- Health Communication
- Research, Policy and Public Interface – a course co-designed with others for the Master of Research and Public Policy (MRPP) Programme
- Journalism in the Context of Africa – A course designed and taught to New York University exchange students
- Communicating Climate Change – A course designed and introduced as part of electives for new University of Ghana Masters programme on Climate Change
- Gender, communication and women’s rights in Africa – A course designed and taught to students at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), Fall semester, 2005
- Introduction to Gender – As part of University of Ghana African Studies Foundation Course for Level 200 students
- Effective Communication Skills – Designed for students in the Economic Management Policy Programme
- Engaging the Media in Peacekeeping Operations – Designed and taught to African international peacekeepers at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (Accra, Ghana, 2010).
Graduate Supervision
PhD: Supervised to completion 2 PhDs; currently supervising 4 students
M.A. and Mphil: Since 1994, I have supervised and continue to supervise many graduate students primarily in the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana.
PhD Thesis Examinations
- Thesis on traditional protocols of news-sharing and modern media in Ghana, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana , 2018
- Thesis on community radio, community participation and democratisation, Deakin University, Australia, 2017
- Thesis on media regulation in Africa, Tampere, Finland, October 29, 2012.
OTHER ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
Research Fellowship, Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOX), University of Oxford, UK, 5 July-6 September, 2019.
Coordinator, Media and Information Literacy Workshops, School of Information and Communication Studies, University of Ghana. August 2017-Ongoing
Chair of Review Committee reviewing National Media Commission (NMC) guidelines for political journalism and fair and equitable coverage of political parties by state-owned media, 2011-2012
Editor, Media Monitor, a quarterly media review magazine published by the School of Communication, University of Ghana, for the National Media Commission (NMC) December 2003-September 2005.
Member, Ghana Team, Women Writing Africa Ghana Project. A Feminist Press, City University of New York, Project aimed at collection of written and oral narratives to be published in six regional anthologies.
Selected Consultancies
Consultant/Workshop Facilitator, International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) support to media to better cover transitional justice processes in the Gambia, September 2018, July 1-2, 2019.
Consultant, Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) Communication Strategy, African Union, 2017
Consultant, Workshop and Development of Manual on Conflict Reporting in West Africa, African Peacebuilding Network, 2016
Consultant/Trainer, Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR): Part of the team responsible for developing curricula for a Masters in Research and Public Policy (MRPP) Programme which was rolled out in 12 African universities. Also co-designed and taught modules to African faculty in various disciplines on how to communicate with non-academic audiences (2015-2017).
Consultant, Thematic Lead-Communications, STAR-Ghana Programme, supported by DFID, December 2010-2015
Governance Expert-Ghana, Mwananchi action learning programme on strengthening citizen engagement with governments in seven African countries, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK, October 2010-2013
Consultant, Two-Day Training Workshop for National Election Commission (NEC) – Liberia, for the Public Information Unit, United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), April 15-16, 2011.
Consultant, Media in Peace Support Operations Pilot Course, November, 2010, co-designed and taught two modules at Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Ghana
Consultant, Training Workshop for Journalists Reporting on Culture, course designed and conducted over a three-year period (2008-2010) for the European Union-sponsored Cultural Initiative Support Programme (CISP).
Consultant/Researcher, Media Reportage on Transparency & Accountability Study and Media Training, commissioned by Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, July-August 2009
Consultant, Training Workshop for Journalists in Covering the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Public Information Unit, United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), January 11, 2008.
Consultant, USAID/Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Program to Strengthen Parliamentary Process, June 2006-February 2008.
Consultant, Communication in preparation for High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF3), Conference held in September 2-4, 2008, Accra.
Consultant, “PRSPs and Social Movements in Ghana: Giving Voice to Local Impact and Citizen Responses to Globalisation,’’ Project. Commissioned by PANOS-West Africa to evaluate reports from three participating community radio stations and four newspapers, 2006 and 2007.
Consultant/Researcher, Audit of the Radio Broadcasting Sector and the Place of Community Broadcasting in Ghana. Commissioned by AMARC Africa, August 2005.
Consultant, Anti-Corruption Training Program in Sierra Leone. Organized by National Accountability Group of Sierra Leone, September, 2004 and June 2005.
Consultant/ Researcher, Information Assessment Survey on the Civil/Public Service Sector (with one other). Public Sector Reform Programme. (2004).
Consultant/ Researcher on Media and National Reconciliation Process in Ghana, 2002-2003.
Consultant/ Researcher, State of the Ghanaian Media. Report prepared for Private Newspaper Publishers Association/Friedrich Ebert Foundation (2002).
Consultant, Media Monitoring Project, March-December, 2000. Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
Consultant/ Researcher, Violence against Women Study. Nation-wide study on violence co-ordinated by the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, Accra Ghana, October, 1998-June 1999.
Consultant, School of Communication Studies/Abura Printing Works/Friedrich Ebert Foundation Project to Revamp Pioneer Newspaper, 1995-1997.
Editorial Consultant, Produced the UNICEF-Ghana Country Kit, 1995
Recent Presentations at Major Academic Workshops & Conferences
“A Case of Double Standards? Audience Attitudes to Professional Norms on Local and English Language Radio News Programs in Ghana.” Presented at the IAMCR Annual Conference, Eugene, Oregon, June 20-24, 2018.
“Reinvigorating the academic agenda for democratic consolidation in Africa,” Keynote Address delivered at International Communication Association (ICA) Africa Regional Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, October 19-21, 2016.
“Battles at the Microphone: Reconstructing the Role of Ghanaian Radio in World War II from an Unpublished Manuscript,” paper presented at the IAMCR 2016 Conference, Leicester, UK, July 27-31, 2016.
“Why Reporting Conflict is Important,” address delivered at two-day regional workshop on ‘Improving Media Coverage of Conflict and Peacebuilding in West Africa, Accra, March 30-31, 2016.
“Conceptual Perspectives about Gender and How They Inform Good Governance and the Fight against Corruption”, Keynote address delivered at 3rd National Gender Conference, 2015, Gender Development Institute, Ghana, 21st – 22nd October, 2015.
“Media the Mouthpiece of the Creative Arts,” paper delivered at workshop on ‘Nkrumah, the Fugu and the Creative Industry: The Creative Industry An overview of 60 years,’ World Bank, September 18, 2015
“Ghana Muntie; London is Calling: Historicising Cultural Production from a Radio Memoir,” Keynote Address, Culture Stream, African Studies Association Biennial Conference, University of Sussex, September 9-11, 2014.
“Wartime programming and literary production in the formative years of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation”, Keynote paper delivered at ‘Long Waves and Global Frequencies: World Literature and Broadcast Culture at the End of Empire,’ Conference hosted by the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies, University of Warwick, UK, September 4-5, 2014.
“Voices and Accountability: Contextualizing Media and Information Literacy in Africa’s Transformation and Sustainable Development,” UNESCO, ‘Promoting Media and Information Literacy as a Means to Cultural diversity’ conference, Abuja, Nigeria, June 26-28, 2013.
TRAINING & EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Media Resource Person for numerous seminars, workshops, lectures for organisations such as: the Ghana Journalists Association, Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana, Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), UNICEF, World Bank, Ghana Institute of Consultants, Ghana Media Standards Improvement Project, Institute of Economic Affairs, the Center for Democratic Development, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, European Union, Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Rotary Club of Ghana, National Institutional Renewal Programme.
Communications/Media Consultant and Trainer for a variety of private and public sector organisations, including Newmont-Ghana, Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Enterprise Group, Ghana Police Service, The Ghana Electoral Commission, Trades Union Congress, of Ghana, Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana, STAR-Ghana.
Regular Guest Lecturer: Police Staff and Command College, Ghana Armed Forces Staff College and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, since 2001.
Chair, National Steering Committee, Mwananchi Ghana Project, aimed at enhancing the access, understanding and application of information and communication as a basic resource, process and strategy for good governance, Overseas Development Institute, January 2010-2013
Member, Steering Committee “Ghana Media Standards Improvement Project” (Media Foundation for West Africa/Ghana Journalists Association Project ), aimed at strengthening the capacity of Ghanaian media to be more effective in their work through undertaking assessment research, training and engagement with media practitioners, , June 2009-2012
Member, Advisory Board, “Audiencescapes,” (Undertaken by Intermedia, Washington, DC.), audience research on media use and communication behavior in Ghana and other African countries May, 2009
Resource Person, CDD-Ghana Media Literacy Project to enhance the policy content of media publications/presentations in the run up to the 2008 elections, July-August, 2008.
Member of Committee of Elders who drafted the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Guidelines on Election Coverage, June-July 2008.
Team member, Abuse of Incumbency Project undertaken by CDD-Ghana, 2004/2005.
Member, the Ghana Advocacy Steering Committee for a National Broadcast Law, 2004
Election Observer, ECOWAS Election Observer Team to Benin, March, 2006; Commonwealth Election Observer Team to Mozambique, December 2004; Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), for 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 elections in Ghana.
Member, Reference Group on Social Accountability, coordinated by Institute of Policy Alternatives (IPA), August 2005-August, 2007
Talk Show Host, “Talking Point,” a current affairs discussion programme aired on the state-owned television network, GTV, January 2004 to March, 2005
Co-ordinator, World Bank Institute, Information, Governance and Media Distance Learning Course, April 19 to May 19, 2004.
Co-ordinator, COMED Ghana National Media Workshop on Communication for Education, September 22 & 26, 2003
Participant, Salzburg Seminar fellow for Seminar Session 383, “Mass Media in the Age of Globalization.” October 11-18, 2000
Co-ordinator, World Bank Media Capacity Enhancement Program, 2003-2005
Co-ordinator, World Bank Institute, Investigative Journalism Distance Learning Course, March 18 -May 27, 2003 and Information, Governance & Media Distance Learning Course, April 19 – May 26, 2004
Chair, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards Committee, 2002/2003.
Freelance Reporter: Stringer for DowJones (January-July, 2002), Bridgenews (May 2000-September 2001). I have also contributed to such international publications as West Africa, and World Paper, Boston, USA and Africa Report.
Chair, Jury for the Lorenzo Natali Award for Human Rights Reporting in West Africa, 2001.
Panellist, Media Review Segment of Breakfast Show, GTV, January 2000- 2003 and Media Review Program, Radio Univers, February 2000-2002
Co-interviewer first ever Ghanaian Presidential Debate, September 27, 2000.
Member, Specialised Committee on Culture/Communication, Ghana National Commission for UNESCO, 1997-2000
Co-ordinator & Major Resource Person, European Union/Friedrich Ebert Foundation/School of Communication Studies, Continuing Education for Journalists Project (1996-1997).
Member, Legal and Ethics Network on HIV/AIDS in Ghana, 1995-1997
Member, Education & Research Committee, Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana, 1995-1996
Member, Editorial Board, Wildlife Society of Ghana, 1995-1997
Columnist, Mirror, from January 1995-2000 and the Ghanaian Chronicle, September 1991 - August 1994. Wrote weekly column on various social, economic and political issues pertaining mostly to Ghana.
Publisher/Editor, AWO Magazine. I published and edited this bimonthly women's magazine that reached an estimated 20,000 readers from March 1993-1997. Readership was predominantly in Ghana with a few subscribers in Nigeria, U.S.A., Canada and U.K.
BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
Editorial Boards
- Member Editorial Board, Communication, Culture & Critique, 2014-Present
- Member Editorial Board, African Journalism Studies, 2013-Present
- Co-Editor, Africa Media Review – 2009-2015
- Member, Advisory Board, The Afrobarometer, November, 2005-Present
- Member, Editorial Board, Feminist Media Studies, July, 1999 – Present
External Boards, Councils, Commissions
Current
- Member, Centre for Journalism, Innovation & Development (CJID) formerly Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, (PTCIJ), Nigeria, May, 2019- Present
- Member, STAR-Ghana Steering Committee -? - Present
- Member, Webster University Ghana-Campus Advisory Board, July 2016-Present
- Member, Tema International School (TIS) Board, September, 2015-Present
- Member, West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) Board, April 2015-Present
- Chairperson, Panos West Africa (PIWA) Board, August 2015-Present
- Member, Continental Supervisory Board, Solidaridad, November 2014-Present
- Member, Ghacem Cement Foundation 2001-Present
- Vice-Chairperson, Member, Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) Board, 1997- Present
Past
- Member, National Media Commission, May 2017- December 2018; December 2009-December, 2012
- Chair, Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for Health Promotion (ICC-HP), October, 2015-2019
- Chairperson, Joyce Ababio College of Creative Design (JACCD), January 2013-September, 2018
- Member, Steering Committee of the Evidence for Action Project Campaign to increase maternal survival (Coordinated by Alliance for Reproductive Health), 2012-2016.
- Member, Vodafone Foundation, January 2010-2015
- Member, former Chairperson, Ghana Integrity Initiative (Transparency International Local Chapter), October, 2005-Present; Board Member, 1999-2015
- Member, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, February 2006-March 2009
- Member, Public Agenda Newspaper Board, September, 2005-2012
- Member, Advisory Committee, Public Sector Reform Program, July 2003-March2005.
- Member, Ghana News Agency Board, January 2001-January 2003
- Executive Member, African Council on Communication Education, 1996-2003
- Member, African Literature Centre Board, Kitwe, Zambia, 1997
- Member, Editorial Committee, Media Monitor, 1995-1997
Membership in Associations
African Leadership Institute West Africa (ALIWA) Class of 2010/2011
International Association of Mass Communication Researchers (IAMCR)
International Communication Association (ICA)
African Council for Communication Education (ACCE)
Netright, a network of gender activists
University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG)
Ghana Journalists Association (GJA)
Women's Edition (international group of women editors that met regularly to plan special issues on targeted topics for publication) 1993-1996.