National Media Commission (NMC), the media regulator, is planning to embark on legislative reforms that will give it more impetus to sanction unprofessional media behaviours in Ghana, NMC Chairman Kabral Blay-Amihere has said.
Mr. Blay-Amihere hinted at this at the launch of the International Press Freedom Day in Accra on Thursday.
The planned reforms come on the heels of serious breaches of professional code of ethics by some media houses in the country.
The NMC has often been blamed for being too lax on media houses that have overshot their boundaries.
Mr. Blay-Amihere, who was clearly disturbed by the growing spate of incendiary language encouraged by certain media houses, feared if the NMC did not put its foot down, the actions of these media houses would throw the country into a state of chaos.
There have been calls from several quarters for the media to put the cap on its excesses.
Some media analysts said that these acts flourished in the media scene because Ghanaian media were highly polarized along political lines. This polarization is being capitalized upon by politicians to further their interest. Consequently, professional caution often suffers when sections of the media use their platform to target political opponents.
“Today, our media landscape has the appearance of a war-zone,” the NMC boss observed.
The disturbing trend has caused some anti-media sentiments among the general populace, and there might be subtle plans to ‘claw back’ some of the freedoms that the media currently enjoy in Ghana.
“Can’t we see the damage we are doing to ourselves,” an enraged Kabral Amihere fumed.
According to him, the media should not have a false sense of security that their constitutional right could not be tampered with.
“It takes responsibility to protect this freedom,” he told several media stakeholders at the launch of the Press Freedom day.
“Freedom, yes, without freedom, we are digging our own graves,” he said.
Ghanaian constitutional provisions do not allow the NMC to prescribe punitive measures against media houses cited for unprofessional behavior. All the NMC can currently do is to sound cautions.
“If the NMC has not flexed its muscles, it is because the NMC can only act on what the constitution says it must do. It has chosen to operate fully within the parameters of the law,” he explained.
However, given the growing trend, and if it got the needed resources, the NMC would lobby for more sanctioning powers, said Mr. Blay-Amihere.
