THE NATIONAL MEDIA COMMISSION SHOULD BE DECENTRALISED

Article: Mary Ankrah

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.