Towards reasonable and equitable coverage of all political parties
The regulator of Ghana’s media landscape, the National Media Commission (NMC), stated during a visit to the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) that the provision that required state-owned media to provide equal opportunities for all presidential candidates had to be reviewed.
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Although that statement by the Chairman of the NMC, Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, was prompted by a call from the Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, to the NMC to have a relook at that provision, we see the submission as very apt and timely.
Managers of the GCGL and other state-owned media, such as the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the New Times Corporation (NTC) and the Ghana News Agency (GNA), often come under attack from especially minority political parties for not giving them equal coverage and publicity as the media give to the major parties.
But, as stated by the NMC Chairman, in the face of current realities, the provision of equal opportunities for all political parties cannot continue to be a static principle.
This is basically because conditions have changed and the number of presidential candidates contesting this year’s election has soared, with 23 presidential aspirants having already picked forms for the December 7 polls.
Given the high number of presidential candidates, not to talk about aspiring Members of Parliament (MPs), it is impossible to deploy reporters to cover the activities of all of them, with the view to giving them equal opportunities as stipulated.
An attempt to cover all the activities of the contesting candidates will not only be daunting but also put stress and undue financial burden on the state-owned media.
With the suggestion for a review of the fair coverage provision coming from the NMC, which is the regulator of the media, we believe that one major hurdle has already been surmounted.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, urges the NMC to hasten its proposed meeting with the chief executives of the state-owned media to reappraise the provision to make it reasonable, equitable and doable.
It is a little over two months to Election Day and most parties have already hit the campaign trail. To make the review worthwhile, we ask the NMC to take swift action to arrive at a decision that can be implemented before it is too late.
At best, the Daily Graphic believes that, as is practised elsewhere, we could employ proportionate methods in handling the coverage of political parties as they traverse the length and breadth of the country with their campaign messages.
Perhaps, as was suggested by Mr Ashigbey, some form of support could be provided the media with allocations from the Consolidated Fund to aid their election coverage.
The Daily Graphic urges the NMC to assist the state-owned media to provide equitable coverage for the parties and individuals in the race for the Flagstaff House and Parliament House.
That, indeed, is what will give meaning to the policy to entrench media freedom in the country and make all contestants feel a part of the elections.
