Article: Mary Ankrah
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| Chairman of the NMC, Mr. Kwesi Gyan-Appenteng |
The National Media Commission (NMC) is a
government of Ghana agency mandated with the responsibility of registering,
regulating and monitoring the activities of media houses in Ghana; taking all measures to ensure the establishment and
maintenance of the highest journalistic standards on mass media, including investigation, mediation and settlement of
complaints made against or by the press or
other mass media and ensure the independence and freedom of the media.
In recent times, there has been proliferation of media outfits and
media practitioners across the country. Since the media industry has become
more competitive, innovate and commercial, and has experienced rapid growth
over the years, it is expected that the NMC will be more vibrant in regulating
and monitoring media activities and performances across the country. However,
the delivery of the NMC mandate by itself is not enough.
Over the years, the NMC administrative body and office has been in
the country’s capital-Accra, making its operations less felt in other regions.
For the NMC to perform its constitutional role
effectively, naturally and strongly serve as a watch-dog over the activities of
the mass media across the country, it is necessary for the NMC to decentralise
it operations.
It is important to note that decentralisation of the NMC will
help reinforce the Commission representation in other regions, provide better
monitoring of the mass media activities, a better internal co-ordination and
collaboration of mass media operators and deepened positive media presentation
and training.
First and foremost, devolution of the NMC will require the
Commission to establish regional supervisory body and offices across the
country to enable it guide media practice more effectively. Although this may
appear to be expensive to materialize, the establishment of regional
supervisory body and offices will facilitate mass media registration processing
so that people outside Accra who want to establish media outfit would not have
to visit Accra before they can do so. This will help fish out media practitioners
who do not work in consonance with the media regulations and law. Also, the
Commission would not need to travel across the country unremittingly to
supervise media activities.
In that light, the Commission regional supervisory body will be
empowered to settle issues that come up from the mass media except issues that
are beyond the region can be channel to the Commission headquarters for redress
as well as ensure the freedom and independence of the media. This will reduce
the pressure on the NMC.
Furthermore, decentralisation will help promote effective
monitoring of the mass media in the various regions and help operationalize and
implement the media Act 1993, Act 449 in
pursuit of the provisions of Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution across
the nation. The regional monitoring
exercise will help forms part of the overall strategy of the Commission to
develop the right interventions for improvement of citizen’s access to
information, enhance media quality and professional standards as well as reshape
the nation’s discourse towards a development dialogue and enhance prompt and
appropriate redress of grievances connected to the media.
The National Media Commission primary target should be the
readership practitioners. The decentralisation of the regulatory body will be
to the advantage of the citizens and as such they will have the privilege to
relate with the various regional offices in the country in the event where
citizens rights are grossly abused or even when they feel aggrieved about any
unfair publication to seek redress from the supervising umbrella body promptly
without necessarily travelling to Accra. Those who may have one reason or the
other to make enquiries about the principles and guidelines
regulating the practices of journalism and publishing can conveniently book
appointments to meet with the supervising officers of NMC in the region.
It appears that the readership and the masses, even if not the
primarily target group for this policy change of decentralisation of the
National Media Commission may turn out to be one of the chief beneficiaries. As
it is believed that the closeness of the NMC supervisory body will help to
check publishers local tabloids most of which publish falsehood and sensational
news to increase their market share by undermining the principle of journalism
to inform, teach and entertain, all of which must be based on
truth. This can only be achieved when the NMC are located at regions
as some of such publishers does not have offices in Accra. The NMC as an influential
body in the country must not only decentralise physical administrative
structures but sensitize the general public through advertorials.
Therefore the presence of the NMC in such areas will create reader
confidence and encourage a feedback system that will keep the Commission
regularly informed about abnormal practices. On the other hand, it will
regulate officials and journalist activities to conform to the rules and
relevant laws about their profession.
For greater impact in achieving high journalistic standard in the
country, decentralisation of the NMC will help form better coordination of
media practitioners to properly understand the profession and work in
accordance with the law.
To improve knowledge and familiarise with the various code of
ethics of the mass media in compliance with professional standards that would
help to improve the state of professionalism in the media, decentralisation
will embolden many mass media practitioners to actively participate in periodic
training and workshop of the NMC. This will enable the regional
coordinators/ supervisory body to organize periodic training for the national
union of Journalist and membership in their jurisdiction which will be easier
for their members, media practitioners and publishers to participate. Such
training could be paid for or provide free and jointly sponsored by the
government and corporate bodies in the country.
In conclusion, the National Media Commission while ensuring the
freedom and independence of the mass media, must hold all agencies of the mass
media at all times to uphold the principles, provisions and objectives of the
media Act and compliance with the Constitution as well as ensure they are more
responsible and diligent in their work to be accountability to the people of
Ghana.
