In a bold move aimed at cleansing Ghana’s media landscape, the Nation Media Commission (NMC) and the National Communication Authority (NCA) have implemented proactive measures to combat the infiltration of money doublers, ritualists, and charlatans into the nation’s airwaves.
This initiative, part of a comprehensive campaign to improve the quality of broadcast content in the country, was officially unveiled on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
At the core of this effort is the establishment of the Broadcasting Monitoring Center, a specialized facility responsible for overseeing and regulating offensive media content.
Furthermore, a toll-free hotline has been activated to enable vigilant media consumers to promptly report instances of objectionable media content.
Speaking at the launch event, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister for Information, commended the collaborative efforts of the NMC and the NCA in setting up this center.
He praised their effective utilization of national resources and stressed the importance of finding a balance between regulatory functions and the right to freedom of expression.
Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah remarked, “First, I want to congratulate both the NMC and NCA for this collaboration. It is an efficient use of the scarce national resources that we have. In many places, you see an attempt to duplicate, but you have collaborated and you’re saving all of us some money, and I want to congratulate you for that.”
Background:
The decision by the NMC and NCA to tackle the dissemination of objectionable content in the media followed a significant stakeholders’ consultative meeting held in 2021. During this meeting, all participants unanimously agreed that regulatory action was necessary due to the increasing presence of unscrupulous individuals on the airwaves.
Prominent figures from Ghana’s media landscape were present at the launch, including Joe Anokye, Director General of the NCA; Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Chairman of the NMC; George Sarpong, Executive Secretary of the NMC; and Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, President of the Ghana Journalists Association. Representatives from various media umbrella organizations also attended.
Joe Anokye expressed his satisfaction with the establishment of the state-of-the-art center, emphasizing that it will greatly assist regulators in monitoring and swiftly addressing offensive media content, which has been on the rise for some time.
Boadu-Ayeboafoh explained that given the increasing prevalence of objectionable broadcasting content, it was essential to establish standards, and this was the purpose of the NCA and NMC in creating the Monitoring Center.