Ghana Journalists Association calls for broadcasting law now!
In view of the “disturbing developments on our broadcast media landscape” the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is urging the government and all stakeholders including the National Media Commission to start a dialogue as soon as practicable to build consensus quickly on the passage of a broadcasting law in Ghana.
In a news release issued Thursday April 19, 2012 and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the GJA says Ghana needs to pass that law without any further delay in conformity with best practice, to among other things alert operators of radio and television stations to their gate-keeping responsibility, requiring that they do not permit the use of abusive, threatening, hate speech or otherwise provocative language on the airwaves.
According to the GJA, a broadcasting law would provide Ghana with the legal framework to regulate the broadcast industry through the demand for operators of radio and television stations to adhere to stringent regulations in addition to ethics.
” It would place the onus on radio and television stations to carry out their gate-keeping role more diligently and thereby protect democracy and promote peace, especially, in our political discourse which is essential in an election year,” the group says, adding that, “A broadcast legislation would infuse greater responsibility in terms of civility, decorum and circumspection in our broadcast industry and strengthen the hands of the National Media Commission to both regulate and monitor the content of the industry and apply appropriate sanctions.”
The GJA believes that the gate-keeping role of the media has become very critical during the period of the preparations towards election 2012. There is therefore the need to balance the freedom and independence of the media with the high obligation of social responsibility.
“The GJA gives every encouragement to the media to promote free expression and healthy political discourse. But we urge journalists never to relax in their gate-keeping role by ensuring that ethnic and divisive utterances, similar to the one recently made on radio by the Assin North Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyepong, which has contributed to heightening political tension are not allowed on our airwaves,” it says.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi