Magazine

“The Romans had an interesting view towards marriage – ‘matrimonia debent esse libera’ or ‘marriage ought to be free.’” By this, one could opt out of marriage whenever he/she desires. In contrast to this, is the view shared by “Victorian England” -- couples must stay together for “better or for worst.” Currently, both views exist globally depending largely on one’s culture and the society in which one is nurtured (Panse, 2007). In Ghana, divorce is frowned upon and seen as an element of culture diffusion; no ethnic group has been found to be in favor of divorce. Despite this, divorce cases in Ghana are very high. According to the 15th January, 2008 edition of “Public Agenda,” six hundred and eighteen (618) customary marriages were dissolved as against a thousand five hundred and eleven marriages registered. The causes of these marriage dissolutions has been enumerated as infertility, financial problems, physical or emotional abuse, infidelity, and even alcoholism. With a critical look at the effects of divorces, will these causes really merit a divorce? This essay takes a look at the negative effects of divorce on the most affected: the woman, children and the society at large.
The first and perhaps the most noticeable effect resulting from most divorces in Ghana is the dramatic change in the standard of living of women. Studies done in developed countries showed that divorced women face roughly a thirty percent (30%) decline in the standard of living they enjoyed while married. The decline rate is even higher in the Ghanaian society where a significant number of women are housewives. Also Ghanaian women who work tend to earn less in terms of salary than Ghanaian men. In spite of these, the women usually retain custody of children after divorce. Thus, the children’s school fees, medical bills and pocket money are catered for by their mothers. This sudden burden of responsibility puts women in undue hardships. Also child-support from fathers is insignificant and at times totally absent in this part of our world.
Another effect of marriage dissolution is the difficulty faced by women in their effort to re-marry. In the Ghanaian society, women are expected to marry men who are older than them. This makes it difficult for divorced women to find new partners since these women are normally above the age of thirty-five. Also, some Christians believe that a divorced woman cannot get married until her divorced husband dies -- “For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.” (Romans 7: 2 & 3)
The third effect is the plight of the children. The children become the most vulnerable after divorce. The family which serves as a primary agent of socialization exists no more. This circumstance makes nurturing of children difficult. Prostitutes, armed robbers and other social misfits are normally found to be children from broken homes. The situation becomes worst when children shuttle between both parents’ homes; a parent always believes the child is with the other parent even when the child is elsewhere.
Divorce also has a negative effect on society. Broken homes increase the number of school drop-outs and eventually street children. Children from dissolved marriages often drop out of school and become hawkers with the notion of assisting a parent or younger siblings. These children learn to steal, defraud, cheat, and even bully people from the streets. The existence of these street children serves as a threat to members of society. This makes members of society insecure; hence they invest in sophisticated security gadgets.
Should parents consider all these negative effects of divorce, I believe the rate of divorce in Ghana will reduce drastically. Couples must endeavor to solve all marital problems and must not see divorce as a solution. However should all resolutions fail and dissolution becomes the order of the day, couples should come together to think of the welfare of their children.




References

Amankwah, A. (2008). Ghana: A.M.A Records High Divorce Cases And Low Marriage

Registrations. Public Agenda. Retrieved May 15th, 2009, from

allafrica.com/stories/200801150685.html


Electronic Bible Rk (Evaluasion Version 2.6). Retrieved May 10th, 2009, from

www.rksoft.com.br



How Would Divorce Affect Me? (2001). "The Economic Costs of Marital Disruption for Young

Women”. Retrieved May 26th, 2009, from

www.troubledwith.com/Relationships/A000000830.cfm?topic=relationships%3A%20divorce

Panse, S. (2007). Common Causes and Reasons for Divorce. Retrieved May 15th,
2009, from www.buzzle.com/articles/common-causes-and-reasons-for-
divorce.html



NAME: JOHN TOGBA JNR LEVEL 100

INDEX NUMBER: BACS10123724

Background

During the latter years of the nineteenth (19th) century, the media, which was mainly newspapers, competed with each other to increase circulation and readership. In order to achieve these goals (to increase circulation and readership), some media houses resulted to publishing defamatory and sensational stories. This style of journalism was termed Yellow Journalism (“Newspaper,” 2006). However, not all media houses were content with these developments. In the twentieth century, a group of journalists embarked on a crusade to “clean” the media. These crusaders who insisted on accuracy and objectivity realized the need to have theories that will guide the media in executing its duties. Their (crusaders) ideas led to the formation of the normative theories of the press.
Normative theory as defined by Baron & Davis (2003) is “a type of theory that describe an ideal way for a media system to be structured and operated.” Thus to say, Normative theories do not describe things as “they are” but rather how they “should be.” This write up take a critical look at the four main theories of the press: the Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility and Soviet Theories.


Authoritarian Theory
Authoritarian theory refers “to an idea that placed all forms of communications under the control of a governing elites or authorities.” This means that journalism should always be subordinate to the interest of the state in maintaining social order or achieving political goals (Siebert, Peterson & Schramm, 1956). Harold Lasswell and Walter Lippmann argued that media practitioners cannot be trusted to communicate responsibly or to use the media to serve public needs (Baron & Davies, 2003). They based their argument on the threat posed by propagandism. The media in an authoritarian system are not permitted to print or broadcast anything which can undermine the established authority (Skjerdal, 1993). Under an authoritarian regime, the press is allowed limited freedom as long as they are not seen as a threat to the governing elites. Authoritarianism is often likened to Totalitarianism but with Authoritarianism citizens are not require to stick to a consistent national culture. The media system that existed in Ghana during the latter reign of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah can be said to be authoritarianism.

Criticism
1. The governing elites control the media hence their ideas supersede all others.
2. The watchdog role of the media did not exist.
3. Press Freedom is a right vested in the state.


Libertarian Theory
This theory arose in opposition to Authoritarianism. The proponents of libertarianism were of the view that the “laissez-faire” doctrine should be applied to the mass media. Thus the media’s idea should be “traded” freely among people – the correct or best idea will prevail (Baron & Davis, 2003).
Two different perspectives are use in examining the libertarian theory. The first one is the marketplace of ideas. 17th century's thinker John Milton argues that human beings can be expected to choose the best ideas and values at all times. It is base on this assumption that the marketplace of ideas came into being (Siebert, 1999).
The second perspective looks at the media as the “Fourth Estate of the Realm.” By this, the media as an agency has a duty towards society. The media must serve as the watchdog of society to ensure that people who are put in authority give good account of their actions and inactions. Also, the media must serve as gatekeepers to ensure that stories published have positive impact on society.
On a whole, the libertarian system permits “attacks” on political policies and resists all forms of restrictions impose on the media. Moreover, journalists have autonomy over the media organisations. It is difficult to find a libertarian system in place these days, however, the media in the United State is closer to this.

Criticism
1. It ignores the problems posed by conflicting freedoms (free press versus personal privacy).
2. It puts too much trust in the private media.
3. It unconsciously likens media content to more tangible consumer products.


Social Responsibility Theory
Our basic belief that the media ought to be free on one hand and our desire to create a humane society where everyone can live peacefully on the other hand led to the emergence of the social responsibility theory. The social responsibility theory emphasizes the need for an independent press that observes other social institutions and provides objective and accurate news report. The media’s obligations under the social responsibility theory are expressed in the words "informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity, and balance" (Skjerdal, 1993). According to Siebert “the goal of the social responsibility system is that media as a whole is pluralized, indicating ‘a reflection of the diversity of society as well as access to various points of view’” (ibid.). Under this system, the journalist is accountable to his audience as well as to the government.
Most media systems the worlds over today come close to the social responsibility theory.

Criticism
1. It’s over optimistic about media willingness to meet responsibility.
2. It underrates the power of profit motivation and competition.
3. It’s over confident about individual responsibility


The Soviet Theory
The Soviet theory as the name suggests is closely tied to the Union of Soviet Socialist that came into being after the Russian Revolution of 1917 based on the postulates of Marx and Engels (Colton, 2007). The media under this system was not privately owned. It was to serve the interests of the working class.

Glavlit, the official censorship organ of the Soviet Union, was decentralize to ensure total control of information (Berlin, 2007). The Soviet theory though similar to the authoritarian in terms of government – media relationship, displays much freedom in relation to messages content. Thus, the media is self-regulatory in regard to its message content.
Currently, the clearest example of the Soviet media theory is how the media functions in China, where TV, radio, and newspapers are controlled by the communist government.


Criticism
1. media contents are censor.



McQuail's Addition

McQuail added two theories to the existing four. The first of these theories is the Democratic-Participant Media Theory. This is a combination of the libertarian, soviet, and social responsibility. This theory does not include the relevant aspect of the authoritarian theory. The second theory which is the also referred to as the developmental media theory. this theory look more artificial than the others. the theory advoctes media's support for existing political regimes & their efforts to bring about national deevelopment.



Observations

Though these theories represent different political systems, none of them can be said to be better than the other. Each and every one of these theories contains something relevant to the media at all times.

Proponents of the authoritarian theory believe that the media must be “subordinate to the interest of the state.” This is very relevant to the existence of the state. The media works within a state and must ensure order and development of the state by seeing the interest of state soar above all other interest.

The libertarian theory also suggests that the media should be seen as the “Fourth Estate of the Realm.” This function of the media is essential to the survival of the state. If people in authority are given a “blank check” to operate what will become of our economy?
The social responsibility also proposes “fairness in media reportage”. Thus, the journalist must be “accountable to society and government.” The media must insist on reporting the truth at all times and must desist from damaging people’s hard earn reputation.
The soviet theory also ensured that the media served the working class. Though there were guidelines to put everyone in check, the content/message of the media was “censored free.”
These characteristics as enumerated above are very important to the survival of the media and the state as a whole. Hence the summation of these theories into one, what I would call “The Germane-Mixed Theory,” will provide a better way of looking at the media.

References




Baron, J.S., & Davies, K.D. ( 2003). Mass Communication Theory: Foundation,

ferment andFuture (3rd ed.): Holly J. Allen.

"Newspaper." Microsoft Encarta 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2006.


Skjerdal, T.S (1993). Siebert’s Four Theories of the Press: A critique. Retrieved 18th May,

2009 from www.geocities.com/capitolhill/2152/siebert.htm - 31k

Our mothers have been very supportive in our up - bringing. Some mothers have toiled to educate, feed and shelter their children. But is Mothers’ Day celebration sending the right signals to our children?
Personally, I see Mothers’ Day as a feminist thing. It portrays women as sole custodians of children. On such a day, women enumerate their struggles in bringing up their children . No doubt about this, but what about men who are also much dedicated to their children? Look at the way we celebrate Mother’s Day as against Father’s Day celebrations. Are we not telling our fathers that child - care is the responsibility of the woman and as such her (the woman) toil in caring for the children is normal. Do we need to copy everything done by the western world? In advance countries, men understand their responsibilities and know the essence of parenthood. However, the opposite can be said of African countries and other less developed countries where men already think children are the responsibility of the woman. Why don’t we have a Parents’ Day to honour couples who have contributed significantly to raise their children: then, we will be telling the younger generations that child – care is the responsibility of both parents.