A Supreme Court Judge, Justice Vida Akoto Bamfo, has challenged the National Media Commission (NMC) to device measures to tame the ills of social media.
Some of the vices are revenge pornography, vile religious indoctrination and sophisticated cross border crimes.
“The National Media Commission should be interested in this relatively new area of mass communication and find ways to curb the dangers they pose to the cohesion of society,” she urged at the swearing-in ceremony of two members of the commission in Accra yesterday.
The two members, Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, the Member of Parliament for Asante-Akim Central and Mr Edward Elorm Desewu, were nominated by Parliament and the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) respectively.
Justice Akoto Bamfo observed that the NMC had had its work cut out at a time of exponential expansion in the media space.
“New media in this digital age have expanded the frontiers of mass communications to lengths previously unimaginable. While this development is most welcome, it comes with the chief danger of anonymity and hence the opportunity for individuals to indulge in unsavoury and often detestable past times,” she noted.
Responsibility
Turning her attention to the new members of the NMC, Justice Akoto Bamfo reminded them that their appointment was an honour which came with great responsibility.
“My plea is for you to help shape media practice in the country as we collectively seek to brand Ghana as an attractive investment and tourist destination.
“Do not disappoint your constituents who nominated you to represent them on the commission. Always remember that you will be assessed as the commissioners based on your performance as media regulators,” she counselled.
Challenges
The Chairman of the NMC, Nana Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, commented on the challenges confronting the commission saying, apart from the number game, the media terrain had changed completely.
He attributed this to the existence of technology, different political and constitutional dispensation and different sets of political economic considerations.
According to the NMC, the country currently has more than 400 radio stations, 40 newspapers and over 70 free to air television stations.
Nana Apenteng tasked both old and new members of the commission to execute their mandate and take their job description seriously, as spelt out by the Constitution.
“We know we are busy people but we need to factor in the work of the NMC in our daily tasks.
“We must not treat the work of the commission as some kind of an optional afterthought,” he stated.
Standards
Nana Gyan Apenteng mentioned that the NMC had started stakeholder consultations with the Ghana Independent Broadcasting Association in order to agree on principles that would underline the new laws on standards.
He explained that the principles would ensure the democratic regulation of the media space and the contents they produced.
In response, Mr Kwame Anyimadu –Antwi, promised that they would work together as a team with the other members and also deliver as expected .
He was also hopeful that the Right to Information Bill which had been in Parliament for some time now would be passed.
Source: Daily Graphic
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