Justice Anin Yeboah calls for action against media abuse
Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, a Supreme Court Judge, on Monday, urged the National Media Commission and other relevant authorities to enforce the regulations against media excesses and professional misconduct that encourage moral decadence and undermine national ethics.
He also appealed to Parliament to ensure the passage of the Broadcasting and the Right to Information Bills into laws.
Expressing concern about the high rate of advertisement of alcohol, backed by sexually explicit pictures and messages and other appalling media content, the eminent jurist stated: “In this respect, Article 164 of the Constitution, which imposes national security, national morality and public order restrictions on the media, begs for strict enforcement.
“It cannot be overstated that the early passage of the Broadcasting Bill into law will strengthen the content monitoring and regulation of the electronic media.”
Mr Justice Anin Yeboah said these when he swore in four new members of the National Media Commission (NMC), in Accra.
He said the dumping of telenovelas and the decline of standards on television screens deserved urgent attention, pointing out that: “The voice overs in our local languages increase the insidious appeal of such films”.
He warned that the damage those programmes inflicted on the moral centre of the youth, in particular, was incalculable.
The new members include Mr Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh, who is a legal practitioner, a renowned journalist and an academician; and Mr Ken Korankye, a veteran journalist – both nominees of the President.
Mr Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, the Member of Parliament for Adenta is a representative of the Legislature, while Professor Audrey Gadzekpo of the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, represents the National Council on Women and Development.
One Parliamentary representative was, however, not available to be inducted.
Mr Justice Anin Yeboah declared: “It is said that it is better to try and fail than to fail to try. We do recall that the attempt by the NMC to assume more content regulatory powers failed at the Supreme Court.
“This, however, does not and should not hinder the NMC to enforce diligently the regulatory powers with which it is already clothed in order to inject a semblance of sanity and decency in sections of the media.”
“It is indeed, sad to note that these regulations remain paper tigers, while professional excesses and ethical misconduct assume alarming proportions.”
He urged the new NMC members to bring to bear their expertise, knowledge and experience on the operations of the Commission.
The Commissioners should also ensure the enforcement of media regulatory laws and the various guidelines developed by the NMC; which were currently not being adhered to by media practitioners.
Source: GNA
