Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng discussing media-related issues on MTN Bright Conversation
Veteran journalist; Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng has blamed poor media content in Ghana on poor media regulation.
The former Chair of the National Media Commission who was speaking on MTN’s Bright Conversations was responding to a question on his thoughts on the news of the Kasoa boy who was murdered for rituals by two teenage boys.
He cited the outdated constitutions guiding the practice and the fact that they were put together in the context of the situation of the late 80s and early 90s as a cause and explained that the situation has changed drastically since then and that there is the need for the nation to “come together and decide the kind of media we want”.
“We are a democracy and have to do things by law. There is a broadcasting law which has been languishing for over 20 years. There is no broadcasting law. GBC law and the law governing the GNA are old and still has references to the prime minister etc; things he believes have to change.
He also mentioned challenges facing the National Media Commission as part of the reasons for the ongoing mediocrity in the media space. He revealed that there were part-timers and institutions which have outlived their usefulness on the commission. He mentioned one of such institutions as the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT). He suggested that resources be made available to the NMC to facilitate their work. He also suggested the duty of assigning frequencies to media houses be given to the NMC; a decision he believes will empower the NMC and help them monitor the media better. “Frequency distribution should go to the media regulator and not the National Communication Authority (NMC). The current system is like one teacher teaching and another teacher coming to conduct the examination without knowing what has been taught” he explained.
Meanwhile, he believes there are some immediate steps that can be announced immediately and enforced to curb the airing of inappropriate content. He mentioned the pushing of certain content late into the night as one of the immediate steps that can be taken. He believes it will help shield many especially children from these inappropriate programming.
He was speaking on the theme; Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng @70; Reflections on the media as a lived experience.
