Media coverage of COVID-19 vaccines: sources of information, and verification practices of journalists in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Background:

Research on vaccines confirms the crucial role media play in framing discourses and mobilizing public support for successful immunization campaigns. What journalists cover on vaccination issues and their diligence in producing stories can influence attitudes to and uptake of vaccines. This paper contributes to emerging discussions on the role of the media in pandemics and in vaccination programs by interrogating the information seeking and verification practices of journalists reporting on COVID-19 vaccines in Ghana.

Methods:

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among journalists from June to July 2021 through self-administered questionnaires by means of Google forms. The opinions of 300 respondents, randomly drawn from members of the Ghana Journalists’ Association, were solicited and a response rate of 73% obtained.

Results:

Majority of journalists surveyed relied on official health sources for their information on COVID-19 vaccines (61.5%) and were confident the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks (70%). While journalists relied on a variety of expert sources, social media platforms served as important sources of information also, with respondents stating a preference for Facebook (48.3%), and WhatsApp (44%). Journalists stated they were guided by sound practices such as source credibility and relevance, but betrayed weaknesses in their verification practices with a third of them admitting to sharing unsolicited information from social media.

Conclusions:

Journalists in Ghana generally display a positive attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines and regularly search for information from official sources to inform their work, thus making them vital allies in overcoming vaccine hesitancy. Laxity in verification practices, however, makes them inadvertent agents of misinformation.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• vaccine
• vaccine hesitancy
• pandemic
• media
• journalists
• sources
• risk communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for sharing the list of their members with us. This was helpful in the random selection of respondents for the study. The information we gathered from journalists formed the basis for the data upon which the findings were derived. Audrey Gadzekpo conceived the idea, designed the study, and contributed to the drafting and finalization of the manuscript. Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin and Gilbert Tietaah conducted the statistical analysis of the data and contributed to the drafting of the manuscript. Daniel Kwame Ampofo Adjei facilitated data collection, drafting of the literature section, and formatting of the manuscript. All authors reviewed the literature and the statistical analyses. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the authors upon reasonable request and with the permission of the Ghana Journalists Association.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded with the kind support of the Pan-African Network for Rapid Research, Response, Relief, and Preparedness for Infectious Diseases Epidemics (Pandora ID-Net) consortium [Grant agreement is RIA2016E-1609-Pandora-ID-Net].

Notes on contributors

Audrey Gadzekpo

Audrey Gadzekpo is a professor at the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana and author of several scholarly works focusing mainly on the nexus between media and subjects such as gender, health, climate change, conflict and governance. She was lead consultant on Ghana’s National Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategy for COVID-19.

Gilbert Kuuim Muobom Tietaah

Gilbert Tietaah is a senior lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana. He has authored and edited several scholarly articles and applied research reports in the fields of: communication for policy and social change, health communication, communicating climate change, media pluralism and regulation, among others.

Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin

Abena Yeboah-Banin is a senior lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana. Her research includes exploring issues relating to the media’s role in expanding opportunities for public health education, and advertising of herbal medicines and their implications for public safety.

Daniel Kwame Ampofo Adjei

Daniel Adjei is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana. He has managed projects to support vulnerable communities to overcome communication barriers using digital platforms to improve participatory governance in Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria.