Re-examining Civil Society in Emerging Sub Sahara African Democracies:The State, the Media, and the Public in Ghana.

African media and civil society scholars have described Sub Saharan Africa as a weak civil society. They also questioned the role African media has played in promoting civil society on the continent (Ronning 1999; Osaghae, 1994; Sachikonye, 1995b). The media, as public service institutions, have traditionally performed a political propagandist and developmental role and served the interest of competing elites (Karikari, 1993; Ansah, 1985a). However, since the mid 1990s, democratic and liberal reforms that swept the Sub Saharan African continent have resulted in the introduction and growth of independent media, particularly private radio, and ended decades of state media monopoly. Consequently, the role of the media, particularly independently owned radio broadcast services, has been changing (Heath 1999; Blankson, 2000).