NMC has failed to live up to its constitutional mandate – Prof Gadzekpo

NMC is a dog with a bark but no bite – Prof Gadzekpo

Ghana’s lack of broadcast legislation a glaring lacuna to the broadcast space – Audrey Gadzekpo

NMC has no sanctioning power of its own – Communications expert

A Professor at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Ghana,

Read full articleProfessor Audrey Gadzepko, has bemoaned the inability of the National Media Commission to execute its constitutional mandate, describing it as a dog with a bark but no bite.

According to her, the commission has failed to live up to the purpose for which it was established.

“Largely perceived as a dog with a bark but no bite, the NMC, of which I have served on two different occasions, has struggled to truly live up to its constitutional mandate of taking all appropriate measures to ensure the establishment and maintenance of the highest journalistic standards in the mass media,” she bemoaned.

She added that “the commission has no sanctioning powers of its own to keep errant journalist or media organisations in check,” hence just arbitrating grievances against the media.

She made these assertions while delivering an inaugural lecture at the Great Hall of Ghana’s premier university under the theme, “Taking the Gown to Town: Reflections of a Scholar-Activist on Media in Ghana’s Democratic Journey”.

Citing the incidence of the gruesome murder of an 11-year-old boy in Kasoa, who is reported to have been killed by his friends for ritual purposes under the influence of content on television, she demanded that contents on television screens needed to be regulated hence the need for broadcast legislation.

“The incident calls for renewed calls for stronger regulation of broadcast content with the government responding by reactivating a draft broadcast bill which has been shelved for years and promising to immediately put the bill before parliament.”

She added that the lack of broadcast legislation is “a glaring lacuna” to the media space and the country as a whole.

Professor Audrey Gadzepko has more than 25 years of experience in teaching, research, and advocacy on media, gender, and governance.