‘Don’t skew the news’
–GNBA calls on broadcasters to be objective in elections media coverage
THE Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) is calling on broadcasters to remember their need to be impartial in news reporting and advertisement allotments to political parties, in light of the impending March 2, 2020 elections.
The Broadcasting Act of 2011 stipulates the GNBA, in its capacity to issue broadcasting licenses, to ensure that “programmes dealing with controversial public policy, or matters of political and industrial controversy, must meet standards of fairness and balance, accuracy, maintaining a proper balance and respect for truth and integrity and always ensuring that opposing views are not misrepresented”
During a press conference on Wednesday, GNBA Chairman, Leslie Sobers, noted that of much concern was the political bias by broadcasters in this season. “Broadcasters… though they may be sympathetic to the policies, plans and projections of a particular political party, their obligation to the Guyanese people is a professional, non-partisan approach to information dissemination, as contemplated by the Broadcasting Act,” Sobers said.
“In this regard the Authority will be paying keen attention to what pertains on the airwaves in the run up to National and Regional Elections.” The GNBA is currently putting much focus on better monitoring of the airwaves during the upcoming elections season, and is in discussions with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) for a tripartite Media Monitoring Unit; the Authority has also met with representatives of the European Union (EU).
The EU’s visit was part of an exploratory and fact finding mission to determine whether they should propose additional monitoring support to Guyana for the upcoming General and Regional Elections.
The GNBA also launched a Citizen Monitoring Programme that will further increase its monitoring capacity overall. Sobers stressed that requesting the broadcasters to act in fairness was by no means a command from the GNBA. “It’s not a case where we can say to any broadcaster that you have to air the advertisement, or representation of any political party. But the act says if it’s going to be done there must be fairness, impartiality and no misrepresentation,” Sobers explained.
“There is a limit to what you can command a person to do. To command persons to do a particular thing would be commanding them to establish an association that they don’t want. All broadcasting agencies, media houses would be expected, if they are preparing a news item, or a commentary, that they do that fairly so you don’t skew your news in such a manner to cast a shadow on what the other side is proposing or doing or talking about. That would be moving the broadcaster out of the realm of nonpartisan activity.”
Sobers reminded that at the heart of journalism and reporting was the need for objectivity. “We know that we advocate that as journalists and broadcasters your news cast, whether straight news or a feature, must be objective. So we expect our broadcasters would do that with fairness and impartiality but when it comes to whether they would carry a political ad that’s entirely up to them,” Sobers noted. GNBA Board member, Jocelyne Josiah, said the GNBA is already observing such partisanship among broadcasters. “We’ve already begun to see some pretty disturbing instances of that. Even in the news story they would insert their own opinions rather than letting the voice of the person speak for itself or giving an accurate summary of what they said. What we are looking at here is the professionalism of the broadcasters and they operate within the tenants of the act. Fair and balance reporting, impartiality on the part of the broadcasters. Station by station,” Jossiah said.
Sober noted that in cases where bias media houses do air ads of political parties they do not agree with, the airing should be fair. “If the broadcaster agrees to air the programme of the political party, it’s that they don’t specifically try to put it at a time when people are not viewing but put it at a time when there is wide coverage,” Sobers said.
Source: Guyana Chronicle
