Limit number of frequencies assigned to an individual or media entity– Dr Abena Yeboah-Banin urges NCA

The Head of Communications Studies Department at the University of Ghana, Dr. Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin, is urging authorities at the National Communications Authority (NCA) to limit the number of frequencies assigned to an individual in a media entity.

According to her, looking at the number of media channels in Ghana shows that there is media pluralism, but some work done shows otherwise.

Ghana’s current media landscape, presented on paper, shows plurality, but in the real sense, most of these media outlets are part of a bigger conglomerate, she revealed.

This practice, according to the Head of the Communications Studies Department at the University of Ghana, makes it easy for someone’s agenda to be pushed across all media, thereby distorting the idea of diversity.

“I think we are at the point where we need to cap how many frequencies are going into the hands of one person or business,” she added.

Contributing to a discussion on the topic: “Media and Development: Premise, Promise, and Practice” at the Joy Change-Speakers Series V on ‘Newsfile’, a current affairs program on Joy News TV, she disclosed that a discovery her department made whilst putting together the State of the Ghanaian report showed that only a few individuals or media entities owned most of the frequencies.

“Another example is that we saw that if I have been awarded a license by the NCA and I decide that I no longer have interest in or will not be able to use it, I transfer it and I notify the NCA.

That being the case, the person who already owns, say, 30 platforms or channels is in a position to be able to acquire the 31st platform rather than it going into another hand so that there is more diversity,” Dr. Yeboah-Banin explained.

On the back of this, she called for an amendment in the operation of the NCA to enable them to cap the current trend of individuals who build empires out of the media.

Dr. Yeboah-Banin again called on the NCA to publish openly the list of individuals and media outlets who owned frequencies across the country.

“If you know who is behind media A or B, if the identities of those who own media are being published openly, then again, we can also take an interest in helping the regulator to make sure that not too many platforms are awarded to one person.

We should all take interest in capping how many frequencies go to each person so there is more diversity in the space,” she noted.

Dr. Yeboah-Banin argued that the NCA can address the problem if they take a keen interest in the individual licences assigned, adding that these checks will prevent one person from owning more than 30 media outlets.