‘Newsworthy victims’: The killing of Maxwell Mahama and the culture of lynching in Ghana

Felix Odartey-Wellington, Amin Alhassan, Sarah MacRae
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Following the 2017 killing of Maxwell Adam Mahama by a lynch mob in Ghana, this article engages with the subject of lynching in Ghana through a content analysis of newsmedia items relating to the practice. While reactions to Mahama’s killing invite optimism that lynching as a form of instant (in)justice is being problematized in Ghana, this study leads to a less optimistic position. State, media and public responses to Mahama’s killing were compared vis-à-vis similar killings of two police officers ‐ Jerry Wornoo and Richard Owusu-Sekyere ‐ in 1998. Drawing on the relevant literature, this study concluded that a number of factors combined to make Mahama, Wornoo and Owusu-Sekyere ‘newsworthy victims’. In contrast, victims in several lynching cases reported by Ghanaian media between 1999 and May 2017 were not deemed newsworthy, thus attracting less attention. Consequently, there have been missed opportunities following the Wornoo and Owusu-Sekyere killings to make critical systemic interventions in Ghana to prevent lynching. Hence, it is argued, the mere sensationalization of Mahama’s lynching may not trigger the requisite systemic social change. Recommendations are made to harness the momentum from Mahama’s killing to address instant (in)justice.
“有新闻价值的受害者”:麦克斯韦·马哈马之死和加纳私刑文化
继2017年麦克斯韦·亚当·马哈马(Maxwell Adam Mahama)在加纳被一群私刑暴徒杀害之后,本文通过对与该做法相关的新闻媒体项目的内容分析,探讨了加纳私刑的主题。虽然对Mahama被杀的反应令人乐观地认为私刑作为一种即时司法形式在加纳正在成为问题,但这项研究导致了不那么乐观的立场。国家、媒体和公众对Mahama被杀的反应与-à-vis 1998年两名警察——Jerry Wornoo和Richard Owusu-Sekyere——类似的被杀事件进行了比较。根据相关文献,本研究得出结论,许多因素综合起来使Mahama, Wornoo和Owusu-Sekyere成为“有新闻价值的受害者”。相比之下,加纳媒体在1999年至2017年5月期间报道的几起私刑案件中的受害者被认为没有新闻价值,因此引起的关注较少。因此,在Wornoo和Owusu-Sekyere杀人事件之后,加纳错过了采取关键的系统性干预措施以防止私刑的机会。因此,有人认为,仅仅是对马哈马私刑的耸人听闻可能不会引发必要的系统性社会变革。有人建议利用马哈马被杀的势头来解决即时(不)正义问题。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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