Broadcasting stations must undertake a minimum public service broadcasting

Participants at a primary stakeholders meeting on the way forward for public service broadcasting have resolved that the state puts in place a framework that mandated all broadcasting stations in the country to undertake a minimum transmission of public service broadcasting.

A communiqué issued at the end of the two-day meeting and signed by Mr. Affail Monney, Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association, said effective public broadcasting was crucial for the consolidation of democratic culture in Ghana as well as the country's overall development process due to the unique role it played.

It said the public service broadcasting sector was underdeveloped and needed to engage the priority attention of policy makers, regulatory bodies and civil society organization.

The communiqué said whichever funding mechanism was out in place to support public service broadcasting should recognize and reward the contribution of non state broadcasting stations.

It said the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation as the only state-owned organization, should be supported to transform into a true public broadcaster both in its legal mandate and philosophical outlook.

The communiqué said GBC's enabling statute NLCD 226 should be repealed and replaced by a law that defined the public service broadcasting mandate of the corporation in a comprehensive manner.

It said the state should review the roles of the National Media Commission and the National Communications Authority especially in their roles of allocating media frequencies and regulation or supervision of the sector.