Who walks the girl out at night?
The Obuasi SHTS case is about one headmaster. The silence around it belongs to all of us: schools, churches, mosques and offices.
Ph.D. Candidate · University of Oregon
Communication and Media Studies, School of Journalism and Communication
I study how news media frame mental illness, and how those frames move audiences toward or away from seeking help. My research connects health and risk communication with media effects, with a focus on Ghana.
Before graduate school, I spent more than a decade as a news editor and national television anchor in Accra, and as the U.S. Embassy's media specialist for PEPFAR. I am currently on the job market and expect to complete my Ph.D. in May 2027.
My dissertation, Framing Psychosis: News Media, Stigma, and the Mechanisms of Public Response in Ghana, pairs a content analysis of ten years of Ghanaian news coverage with an experiment that tests how fear and empathy frames shape stigma and the willingness to recommend help. Related work covers maternal mental health in Accra, contraceptive access across Africa, and depression on short-video platforms.

Data story, Columbia University, 2022

A scrolling map story that walks through the assessment's findings.

Election 2020 coverage, TV3, September 2020
The Obuasi SHTS case is about one headmaster. The silence around it belongs to all of us: schools, churches, mosques and offices.
Summer 2024 and Spring 2026
2016 to 2021
2012 to 2015
2010 to 2012
2007 to 2010
Recognition: TV Male Newscaster of the Year, RTP Awards, 2020. Meritorious Honor Award, U.S. Embassy Accra, 2011.
Email: smanti@uoregon.edu or sma2263@columbia.edu
ORCID · Google Scholar · SOJC profile · CV (PDF)