NMC, NCA to collaborate in regulating media work

The National Media Commission (NMC) and the National Communications Authority (NCA), have affirmed their resolve to collaborate to ensure effective regulation of the work of the media to ensure sanity and professionalism.

The two institutions said the increased number of newspapers, radio and television stations in the country called for some regulation to promote professionalism and respect for journalistic ethical standards.

The Chairman of the NMC, Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, and the Director-General of the NCA, Mr Parrock VanPercy, made the pledge yesterday at a joint meeting of the two institutions in Accra.

They used the platform to discuss the contents of the Broadcasting Bill, as well as the implications of the country’s migration from analogue to digital technology.

NMC Chairman

Mr Blay-Amihere said in every jurisdiction where the media operated, there was some kind of regulation of the work of the media.

He said now that Ghana had migrated from analog to digital, there was the need for the various media platforms to be regulated.

Therefore, he said, the NMC would collaborate with the NCA to ensure the effective regulation of the media as they performed their duties.

The NMC Chairman charged the media to ensure professionalism and high ethical standards in their work.

“You have to exercise freedom with a high sense of responsibility,” he said. On the functions of the two institutions, Mr Blay-Amihere said at the beginning of 1993, the NMC was assigned the role of regulating the contents of the media, while the NCA was given the mandate to allocate frequencies to radio and television stations.

He said there was the belief among members of the NMC that the NMC should have been assigned the duty of allocating frequencies as pertained in other countries.

He said the NCA had performed the role of frequency allocation effectively.

Mr Blay-Amihere said the Broadcasting Bill and its implication on media regulation required the NMC and the NCA to increase dialogue and map out ways of implementing the Broadcasting Bill when passed into law.

NCA position

Mr VanPercy said the two institutions were going to be strict in enforcing journalistic standards.

He said the aim was to ensure sanity in what gets onto the airwaves.

The Board Chairman of the NCA, Mr Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, said it was instructive that the NCA and NMC, both state agencies, wanted to collaborate to work for the benefit of the country.

He said the overriding interest was how best the two institutions could promote the interest of the country in a progressive manner.