I was not in my teens when the airwaves were liberalised. Freedom of speech saw a rise in media houses; radio, television, newspapers and Internet portals.
It was a clear departure from the monologue we stressed ourselves to listen to, from the national broadcaster. At the time, it was as though all radio presenters had the same voice and reason. Then came newspapers like ‘Free Press’, though the print was not gregarious, it always had a way of causing controversy. I was young so didn’t bother to understand the issues.
Where we are
It has been 23 years since the liberalisation of the airwaves. We have been abused, encouraged, scandalised, motivated and insulted by what is said and not said on our media platforms. The noise, clutter, utter nonsense and naivety are a daily display in the ears and eyes of children and adults alike.
The pride with which we hang our clothes and pens to say we have one of the most vibrant media landscape in the world is lost on us any time we say those words.
The mere fact that you are free does not give you license to go on a rampage and disturb your neighbour. Freedom is known to several men but even those who are very free ask for regulation, so they do not fall prey to ‘freedom’ sharks. A cursory look at media houses shows a clear programming structure.
In recent times, the media in Ghana can be grouped into those targeting the masses (semi-illiterates and illiterates), those targeting the youth and the ones targeting middle to upper class demographic groups, usually the literate publics. In terms of programming, the major difference between the youth-oriented media and the other two is the fact that they report or discuss no or very little politics.
When you take the youth-oriented media houses, they seldom have programming which are geared towards education and development. Most of their programming and content are entertainment biased.
They tend to be early adopters of technology, entertainment and lingua but nothing to do with changing negative perceptions and encouraging the youth to develop or discussing critical issues. Maybe the only somewhat critical issue discussed is youthful heartbreaks and fantasies in relationships.
The other two media groups, that is those media houses targeting illiterates and semi-illiterates or the masses and those targeting the middle to upper class, hinge their content on politics. Close to 60-70 per cent of their prime time broadcast and front pages are oftentimes dedicated to political issues.
Suffice to say that having political content is not the sad issue, rather the mockery, ridicule and nonsense which become a daily spectacle.
If the discussions were devoid of street knowledge and hard facts, research backing them and directing listeners to key learnings then these would have been productive adventures. Rather, it is usually a bombardment of negativity, politicisation and lies, and tends to be destructive to the masses.
In the scheme of things, the media is supposed to be a powerful force which shapes thinking and courses of action.
Oftentimes, Africans blame western media for showcasing our bad side, but the truth is, even when we have the chance to tell our story and dictate the scenario, we shy away from showing the bright side.
In several discussions with media personalities in the country, they usually say Ghanaians like to read and listen to political news, especially the bad, so that is what they feed them.
But my argument is, if you constantly feed a child with candy, how would you expect him/her to have appetite for vegetables?
The Idea
The media commission should actively be involved in directing, regulating and endorsing content in media houses. Not all information or for that matter content is good for a fragile country like Ghana. Even, the biggest democracies in the world like the United States, Britain and France regulate their media. Censorship is key to the development of a nation and its use is not an infringement on freedom of speech, it is only an appreciation of the fact that not all men are equal in understanding and that the vulnerable ought to be protected by the state.
Also, journalism like law should be made a 2nd degree course. You should be very mature to be given the opportunity to influence society.
Case studies
In 2013, the metro trains in Australia launched a campaign called ‘dumb ways to die.’ The concept was basically to educate Australian kids in Melbourne on things not to do when they were at the train station.
The campaign was the most awarded in the history of the Cannes lions, winning five grand prix lions, 18 gold lions, three silver lions and two bronze lions, by April 2014, the video had been viewed 77 million times on you tube. An online game created reached top 1000 in 148 countries.
However, Russia banned the advert and its vestiges because the Russian government reasoned that Russian kids would be more prone to taking the content, lyrics and ideas literally and commit suicide.
Brian Williams, an American broadcaster for 34 years, was in February 2015 asked to step down because he lied about an incident involving his helicopter during the Iraq war. Brian had inaccurately recounted that the helicopter he was riding in during the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 was hit by a rocket propel grenade (RPG), rather it was another helicopter.
It took a flight engineer riding in another helicopter to discount Brian’s story and within two weeks, the 10 million USD annual salary earner’s career came wobbling down.
Fareed Zakaria is one of the finest Indian-American journalists. He is a Yale and Harvard graduate with a Ph.D. in Government. Zakaria was one-time Newsweek international editor, has his own show on CNN, called Fareed Zakaria GPS, which reaches 200 million homes weekly. In August 2012 Zakaria was suspended for a week by Time and CNN for plagiarism.
Brief
Journalism is an influential job not meant for small minds. It is not also a place of mockery, jokes and amateur display of microphone skills. The least we require in our current dispensation is to have a series of experiments done on us by people who care the least in directing and protecting the vulnerable.
More than 60 per cent of the revenues made by media houses are from the private sector, if for anything at all, these are the people who are changing the lives of the everyday Ghanaian. The least media houses can do is to project, shape, direct and motivate these businesses by allowing them to share the ‘FREE’ prime time they give politicians.
Conclusion
The mere fact that we have democracy and freedom of speech does not oblige us to say, show and write anything and everything which comes to mind. Intelligent censorship is important. These censors should be directed at promoting the overarching values, ideals and standards of the country. GB
