Digital migration without policy on airwaves problematic - GIBA
The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has warned of dire consequences if Ghana fails to formulate a policy to regulate the airwaves before its digital migration early next year.
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With a few months to go for the implementation of the country’s digital migration, GIBA is still persuading the government to put in place the proper regulatory measures to prevent a situation where the country will be flooded with many uncontrolled foreign programmes.
The President of GIBA, Mr Akwasi Owusu Agyeman, sounded the caution at a media brainstorming session on sanitising the media landscape and setting new standards held in Kumasi last Thursday.
The day’s programme, which was attended by some senior journalists in the Ashanti Region, was sponsored by Vodafone Ghana.
Digital migration
Terrestrial television stations such as GTV, TV3, TV Africa, Crystal TV, Metro TV, Viasat1, Net-2 TV, e-tv Ghana, Coastal TV, GhOne, Top TV and all other stations with similar licences are expected to migrate their transmissions from analogue to a digital platform early next year, in accordance with the Geneva 2006 (GE06) Agreement of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Digital broadcasting uses frequencies more efficiently and produces better quality video and audio than analogue broadcasting.
Several television stations can be carried on the same frequency bandwidth that carries only one analogue TV station.
The result is brighter, sharper picture images, better sound quality and more programmes.
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Proper structures
Mr Agyeman, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), observed that the rush to implement the digital migration without the proper structures was dangerous for Ghana and could lead to job losses and the introduction of foreign media programmes which might be at variance with our local cultural values.
Benchmarks
Touching on a number of benchmarks to reform and rebrand the Ghanaian media, Mr Agyeman said key to the new proposal were truth, fairness, goodwill and balanced presentation of news.
He said it was time the GIBA, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and other stakeholders came out with a requirement for who qualified to be a journalist and issued them with licences which could be revoked when professional ethics were breached.
Vodafone
The Vodafone Foundation and Sustainability Manager, Ms Afriyie Ofori-Koree, announced that the company had begun sponsoring 100 female senior high school students to pursue technology, science and mathematics-related courses to bridge the gap in men-dominated programmes, including engineering.
This year’s interview to select beneficiary students across the country, she said, had begun to encourage more females to pursue the sciences and build their confidence.
Mrs Ofori-Koree said the company’s helpline programme, which provided free surgery to people with complicated ailments and free treatment for all kinds of sicknesses, was being enhanced.