GNBA reports high incidence of broadcast violations this year
THE Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has recorded high infringements for the period January to March 2019.
“We recorded a total of 39 infringements in January, 40 in February, and 49 in March,” said GNBA Board Director, Jocelyn Josiah, as she delivered remarks during the authority’s third stakeholder engagement exercise at Herdmanston Lodge on Friday. The infringements included profanity in movies; inaccurate reporting; graphic details; smoking and alcohol advertisements; irresponsible programme hosting; and irresponsible reporting of persons under distress. The number of infringements went down in April to 22, and so far, for May only 15 infringements have been recorded. GNBA manually scrutinizes all broadcast content, taking note of every infringement which it comes across.
“The decrease, however, is a clear indication that the special investigative committee’s engagements with broadcasters are bearing fruit and we understand the importance of cleaning the airways,” said Josiah.
Although the monitoring system has been working, GNBA is in the process of reviewing the overall system to cover every aspect of monitoring. “We are never out of work…We are at the crawling stage, (and) there is a lot of work to do…We remain bound by the existing legislation,” she said. GNBA made it clear that it monitors content to guide and not to censor. This was contrary to what was reported in some sections of the media in the past. Josiah believes that the authority is monitoring broadcasters to set standards since it is constantly in search of the most efficient and effective ways of monitoring.
“We have mechanisms in place whereby once we spot these infractions we get in touch with broadcasters, and there is a system with warnings and when they do not adhere there are fines,” she said.
Josiah, however, said it is a pity that the regulatory body (GNBA) has to be behind broadcasters “with a big stick,” although the broadcasters have the same documents and guidelines as the authority. Despite all the efforts to create stability, she believes that there will always be accords and disagreement between regulators and those being regulated.
“It is our ability to sit and discuss these in a forward looking manner that will bring us to the common goal of professionalism,” she said. There are 19 registered television stations, of which 14 are in Georgetown. Additionally, there are 20 registered radio stations.
Source: Guyana Chronicle
