NCA charged to promote broadcasting standards

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has been urged to promote broadcasting standards through the award of spectrums, in a bid to ensure that content broadcast to consumers is of good quality.

In an interview with journalists at a stakeholders engagement and launch of a research report by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD) in Accra, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, highlighted that raising the bar of standards would ensure accountability from media platform owners which would in turn encourage good and responsible content.

“What we have currently in the media space as a country is a secondary market because the standards for operating a media platform are low,” he said.

He acknowledged that even though a media platform does not need a licence to operate, it would be encouraging if spectrums are made premium and certain rules and regulations established when authorising media outlets to operate.

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, on his part, reiterated government’s commitment to tackling misinformation and disinformation in the media space, citing the Broadcasting Bill which is yet to be passed by parliament.

Explaining the delay in passing the bill, he said the last draft needs some reconsideration and amendments.

Mr. Nkrumah hinted that the bill, when passed, would deal with media literacy where the public would be heavily educated on how to use media tools, especially how to fact check information by journalists.

He added that the bill is considering a public broadcasting fund which will support media houses that are doing public broadcasting.

Speaking on the current expansive network of media houses, the sector minister said that it is good for democracy while still economically viable. He urged media outlets to consider mergers and acquisitions in order to reduce cost of operations.

He noted that mergers and acquisition of networks would encourage sustainability of media houses, adding: “But this is up to the media houses to consider and examine how to go about it”.

The event, themed ‘Ensuring Accountability in the Governance of Media and the Internet’, saw the launch of a report on Ghana’s changing media landscape, the influence of rapid growth of the Internet and social media on the business model of traditional media, the threat disinformation and misinformation poses to democracy, and the possible infringement of digital rights and free speech by state and non-state actors in tackling possible dangers.