National Media Commission to hold anniversary lecture
The National Media Commission (NMC) is organising a public lecture on Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre in Accra as part of activities marking its 20th anniversary.
A press release signed by Mr Alex Bannerman, Deputy Secretary of the Commission and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday said the lecture, which would be on the topic: “Press Freedom and Media Responsibility in a Democracy”, would be delivered by Mr Desmond Browne QC, a distinguished British legal luminary.
Mr Browne was a former Chairman of the Council of the Bar of England and Wales, and an expert in media law who had handled many libel cases involving high profile celebrities in the United Kingdom, it added.
The Lecture which will also be broadcast live will be under the Chairmanship of Mr Justice V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe, Ghana’s Statute Law Review Commissioner, the release said, adding that it was the Commission’s intention to use the lecture to kick-start a national debate on the state of media freedom and responsibility in Ghana.
The statement recounted that in 1992, when the current constitution was promulgated, there was very little that could be described as private media, indicating further that the nation had gone through turbulent times culminating in what came to be known as the “culture of silence”.
The Constitution restored media freedom, proscribed censorship and established the National Media Commission to ensure the entrenchment of a free, responsible and pluralistic media to support the nation’s search for peace and development, it further indicated.
“Twenty years on, there is concern whether the media has lived up to public expectation. While some members of the public believe the media have contributed to good governance and transparency, others express worry that the media have become wayward and need to be reined in.”
It expressed the hope that the lecture would lead to a national debate on the future of media freedom and regulation in Ghana.
Source: GNA