Siege on electronic media

Predictably, as the dust of political contestation is gradually being kicked up, strange things start to occur. This is even when the gladiators are warming up and rehearsing. As of now, consultations are going on. So are negotiations. The real battle is around the corner. The hustings will start in the next two weeks with, most times, their unsavory accompaniments. Tension will be heightened. Much as this column will not want to be drawn into endless political discourse because its objective is to point to a higher and sublime goal than politics and the economy, for the sake of relevance and topicality and to know what is going on around us, I get dragged into it. This column is not the source of what emanates from this page, but draws from that knowledge which gives a comprehensive conspectus of all life, the manual of Creation which is available to all mankind.

Progress lies in when we as human beings have reservations about life and begin to ask questions: Who am I? Why am I here on earth, particularly at this time? It is he who seeks that finds. Politics and political trends, important and all pervading as they may be, are not more than an aspect of life available only here on earth and in the dark regions of the Beyond, practised by those seized by a propensity for power and influence which they carry deep in their souls from this earth into unseen world.

Media is a tool of interactions and relationship in the modern world. It can be quiet through the printed word or loud through radio and television. While the print media has the pulling power, radio has the power of immediacy. Television has both the visual power as well as power of immediacy. Journalism brings back memories and it also records history in the making and files it away for future guidance when it would be called up to refresh memories. Those of us in the practice of it have onerous responsibilities. Every word rises against its author in the fullness of time when like any other seed it has gone through maturation process and brings forth fruits. So when we are told that we cannot be too careful, we are being done a world of good. It is so that we do not do harm to ourselves and to others that there are checks and balances; there are regulations. The print media is self-regulating in the civilized world. The electronic–radio and television– is regulated by an Act of Parliament. In the United States, the regulatory authority is called Federal Communication Commission; in Nigeria it is called National Broadcasting Commission while in Britain it is called Independent Television Commission (ITC). Predictably, the most liberal in the thinking that set up these organs is the United States.

The US constitution forbids the Congress from making laws to abridge freedom of speech: “Congress shall make no law to abridge freedom of speech.” Nigeria has a similar constitutional provision which states: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.” In the United Kingdom, the Broadcast Act of 1966 provides for “the broadcasting in digital form of television and sound programme services and the broadcasting in that form on television or radio frequencies of other services.” In the UK, private television and radio are regulated, respectively, by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and Radio Authority (RA) both provided for in the Broadcast Act. All broadcasters, that is, broadcasting organizations, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Broadcasting Standard Commission, now replaced by Ofcom after it closed in 2003.

In addition to freedom of expression without interference, the provision of the Nigerian constitution states as follows: “Without prejudice to the generality of sub-section (1) of this section, every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions.” But then, wait for the catch, or so the Nigerian authorities believe—sub-section (2): “Provided that no person other than the Government of the Federation or a State or any other person or body authorized by the president on the fulfillment of conditions laid down by an Act of National Assembly, shall own, establish or operate a television or wireless broadcasting station for any purpose whatsoever.” Section (3): Nothing in this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonable justifiable in a democratic society.”

I believe it is Section (3) that empowers the Legislature to countenance the setting up of the Nigerian Broadcast Commission which was first set up in 1992 but brought to speed by an amendment by a decree in 1999. Even then, its existence cannot obliterate the provision of freedom of expression without interference. The all-encompassing Section 22 even prevents interference as it does not permit any act inhibitive to the said freedom. It specifically gives the media responsibility. The Section states: “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.” How can an institution over which a sword of Damocles is brandished uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people? The broad mandate of Ofcom, formerly Broadcasting Standards Commission in Britain, includes developing codes of conduct and entertaining complaints from members of the public. It is to ensure that broadcast programmes appeal to tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society; appeal through media content to the tastes and interests of older children and youths and they should show “examples of distinctiveness.” While the regulatory authorities in the advanced countries have broad powers of sanction, including through suspension or revocation of licences, in very extreme situations, in practice the spirit of freedom permeates broadcast practice and not the letter of the law.

According to studies by Innocent Pascal Ihedu and Dr. Uzoma Chukwuemeka Okugo both of the Department of Mass Communications, Abia State University, Uturu, like similar regulatory bodies, the Nigerian Broadcast Commission’s mandate include upholding the principles of equity and fairness in broadcasting; intervening and arbitrating in conflicts in the broadcasting industry; establishing and disseminating national broadcasting code and setting standards with regards to contents and quality. The mandate permits it to determine and apply sanctions including revocation of licences of defaulting stations. It is in this last mandate you can trust Nigerian officials to flex muscle and intimidate. Imagine the Nigerian Broadcast commission clamping down on 53 broadcast stations, including state government-owned stations– in one fell swoop!

Legal framework applies in the United States and other advanced democracies. The ubiquitous BBC enjoys the status of “a public service broadcaster” and so, is not subject to licensing and ancillary fees. NTA belongs in this category. It is curious that state broadcasting corporations owned by semi-autonomous and semi-sovereign entities in the Federation do not enjoy similar status. Why should they fall under the hammer of the NBC to renew their licences? The states and the federal are co-ordinates. Public communication and citizens’ right to information in a democracy is sacrosanct and critical to the health of a democratic process whether it concerns the Federal or the states. Put differently, the citizen’s rights in a democratic order should trump regulatory acts through licensing sanctions. No broadcast regulator in a democracy will embark on NBC’s unconscionable hard line approach because of licensing fees. The point cannot be over-emphasized that Nigeria is a Federation. Nigeria’s founding fathers knew what they are doing. We are a plural society with varied cultures and world views. The governors are to blame. Many of them, lily-livered seek political correctness from Abuja which is the road to subjugation. Freedom is inherent in all human beings. Nothing should be done to inhibit the free exercise of freewill which is a property of the human spirit and an inalienable instrument of inner maturity and ennoblement through rays emanations from life experiences friction. In these lies the pathway to fulfillment of life’s purpose on earth.

The NBC sought to close down the broadcast stations, private and government- owned within 24 hours. Their crime is that they have been unable to renew their licences. In the United Kingdom, sanctions are applied when Ofcom considers that a “broadcaster has seriously, deliberately, repeatedly or recklessly breached a relevant requirement.” The regulation requires Ofcom to write to the broadcast house when it considers that a sanction may be appropriate; in some cases a meeting is held by the broadcaster and the regulatory authority with a legal representation in the team. In the letter, Ofcom is expected to give details of the breach and invite comments on any issue raised by the broadcaster that may be material to the case; it is to give cases of antecedents and details of such relevant cases which Ofcom had handled. Ofcom is even required to advise the culprit of its preliminary view that a sanction may be on the way and details of the type and level of the sanction being considered appropriate. As far as Ofcom is concerned public interest is paramount even where it finds a licensee is unfit and cannot be trusted to hold a licence, the rule of law must prevail. The organization will still be given an opportunity to make representation on Ofcom’s proposal.

I had thought the hammer was being wielded over broadcast content as was the case in 2004 when AIT was shut down and the licence of Adaba FM was suspended for failure to pay a fine. In the case of AIT it broke the news about the crash of Bellview aircraft! I was later to discover it was renewal of licence fees payment default.
It is hardly realised what it costs to run a broadcast organization, especially television. First, it depends on electricity 24 hours and all of the seven days in a week, that is 24/7. Previously the price of diesel oil to power their generator was N250 a litre: at present it is N790. How many litres do they require in a day? Is that part of their budget? No one needs to go far to know that this is bound to eat into the budget which includes servicing licences. If a broadcast house based in Lagos is sending a correspondent to Abuja, air ticket I am informed is now N200, 000. And if the broadcaster does not send a correspondent it will be regarded as enemy action. Political campaigns are opening in two weeks time, how are these to be covered? To maintain their independence, no broadcaster would agree to be funded by a political party or candidates. What of maintenance of equipment? What of security for reporters in a land seized by fear of ravaging insecurity. What of maintenance of the company fleet on standby for assignments?

Because of unceasing power outage, viewership of television programmes and newscast has gone down considerably This has pronounced negative effects in advertisement traffic as no one would put his product in what may turn out to be what in the industry is called media wastage. Thin advert traffic or none at all means heavy loss of revenue for the media organization. In the print media, when there is a web break, it could take between 30 and 45 minutes to reweb. With restarting the machine wastes of no fewer than 1,500 copies may be generated as quality control will not allow bad copies to go to the market. It is in the process of waiting for the machine to stabilize and the inking to provide the right tonal value that wastes are generated. It is after achieving this that printers release clean copies rolling out and which are considered fit for the market. One can imagine how many web breaks a newspaper house can experience in their many press operations relying on public electricity supply. And this is In the economic circumstances in which a litre of diesel costs N790! Regulators in their comfort zones do not understand what manufacturing industries; print and broadcast houses go through daily.

It is oppressive imposing fine on Trust TV, an arm of respectable and professional Daily Trust newspaper which has replaced Adamu Ciroma- Mamman Daura-Turi Muhammed New Nigerian of old in terms of authoritativeness and prestige. Their offence was that they ran a documentary on an encounter with a bandit leader lurking in the forest which BBC had broadcast. The bandit was located and interviewed in his hide out. In the judgment of NBC, the airing of the documentary by Trust TV was inimical to security. NBC and its apologists claim it glamorized the activities of terrorists. It was, therefore, considered a breach of broadcast code.

There is what is called Cheque Book Journalism which any serious newspaper or broadcast house embarks upon. A special vote is set aside for it in the company budget. When a society is bedeviled by intractable, high level crime and criminality, a crack reporter on crime beat noses around to crack the nut. If it would mean following the criminals on their operations, hang out with them with a view to understanding their mind-set, their boastfulness and their weaponry as well as connections, it is done. The less said about the mode of the relationship the better for security reasons for reporters on such beat. The Trust TV ought to be praised for its courage, not pilloried or crucified. The objective of cheque book journalism is to help track criminals. That is what BBC has done. It is in the national interest that such daringness is undertaken by the media. What the media is not allowed to do is to publish movements of troops, the position of troops, their drills or even gathering of the police in battle gear armed to the teeth in readiness for crucial and critical operations. The nature of the equipment of the troops, their numerical strength; such information about security forces that can compromise national or regional security is forbidden. The Daily Times of old had first class investigative team of reporters among them Segun Osoba, now Aremo and former governor; Idowu Sobowale, now an emeritus Professor of Mass Communication and Chinaka Fyne Country to mention only a few who are in public glare or just well known.

That decision to shut down broadcast houses must be rescinded. It is siege on the media. It is unacceptable. No broadcast regulator in a democracy would embark on NBC’s unconscionable hard line posture and approach because of licensing fees. There are better ways of addressing payment defaults including rescheduling through repayment plans. The government itself presses for repayment rescheduling of its external debts. Banks renegotiate debt repayment plans practically every day. Broadcast houses cannot be held responsible for failure of public services they grapple with every day, key among which is supply of electricity, for example, arising from or resulting in the collapse of the economy which has escalated the cost of production and operations generally. Coupled with insecurity, media houses, like other industries, are operating in a very hostile business environment. It is a hard struggle; NBC should not compound it.