NMC mustn’t waver in dealing with indecent content

The National Media Commission (NMC) last Saturday, October 26, 2024, announced that 44 television stations in the country were broadcasting unethical, indecent and offensive content.

It, therefore, summoned the owners to a meeting on Thursday, October 31, 2024.

According to the Executive Secretary of the NMC, George Sarpong, a final warning was going to be issued to the owners at the meeting, following which the NMC would use all measures to stop them from continuous broadcast of indecent content.

This action is an addition to the NMC’s regulation of the media to check hate speech and inciteful language.

According to Mr Sarpong, this category of infraction comes with greater punishment.

The NMC says by this action, it is using its own inherent powers and the laws of the National Communications Authority (NCA) to ensure sanity on the airwaves and the media generally.

We cannot close our eyes as a country to the fact that as we inch towards the 2024 Elections, incendiary and inciteful speech would be rife on the airwaves. It is therefore, important that state institutions clothed with the responsibility of ensuring responsible broadcasting and publications, strengthen their supervisory and monitoring role to ensure a responsible media space.

We commend the two institutions for this effort, particularly in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling of 2016, where certain regulations in the Content Standards Regulations 2015 (LI 2224), were said to amount to censorship and a contravention of Article 162 Clause 4 of the 1992 Constitution.

Perhaps the decision of the Ghana  Broadcasters Association (GIBA) to take that aspect of the law to the apex court,  resulting in that decision, has created some gaps in content regulation on our air waves and television stations. The collaboration between the two organisations to deal with the challenge thus is welcoming.

The Daily Graphic, however, charges the two institutions not to limit this exercise to the period of elections. This type of monitoring must be done all year round to make Ghana a safe and peaceful country.

The Daily Graphic minces no words in saying that Ghana's media landscape has reached a critical juncture. This is so especially when the NMC's Executive Secretary, Mr Sarpong, emphasises that this category of offences differs from hate speech, which warrants harsher punishment. 

It is apt that the commission has issued a final warning to the offending stations, cautioning that failure to comply will result in severe consequences, potentially including licence revocation.

Indeed, we advocate that there is no other way to go since the unwholesome content plaguing our media landscape can have detrimental effects on society. 

We recall a recent incident that happened around Kasoa, where two teenagers, one of whom has already been sentenced to life imprisonment, murdered a friend ostensibly for money rituals.

The accused then were reported to have claimed that they saw the act on television and decided to get a human being for money. 

The NMC's actions are thus a step in the right direction but more needs to be done. Other countries have successfully enacted legislation to regulate media content while protecting freedom of expression.

We want to drum home to the TV stations involved in these broadcasts that such exposure to indecent content can harm children's emotional and psychological well-being and perpetuate harmful social norms and behaviours.

As we advise parents to try and supervise their children to regulate the contents they watch on TV, we demand that broadcasters must prioritise responsible content that educates, informs and entertains.

Certainly, we can clean up the airwaves when we strengthen regulations by updating the laws to reflect contemporary media challenges while safeguarding freedom of expression.

We also encourage the NMC and the NCA to continue their joint monitoring efforts to identify and address indecent content, while they engage broadcasters, producers and stakeholders to promote responsible content creation.

The NMC's crackdown on indecent content marks a significant turning point in Ghana's media landscape. 

By working together, we can create a safer, more responsible media environment that benefits all Ghanaians.