Television broadcasting stations will now have to comply with standards set out by the subject minister for programme material to be broadcast in order to obtain a broadcasting licence.
Stabroek News
July 12, 2001
This was one of the conditions attached to the granting of television broadcasting licences as published in the Official Gazette (extraordinary) of 27 June, 2001.
Other conditions for the granting of licences include:
* ensuring that nothing is included in programmes which offends against good taste or decency or is likely to encourage or incite racial hatred or incite crime or come to lead to public disorder or to be offensive to public feeling;
* ensuring that any news given (in whatever form) in the programmes of the licensee is presented with due accuracy and impartiality;
* ensuring that due impartiality is preserved by the person providing the service in regard to matters of political or industrial controversy or related to public policy;
* ensuring that due responsibility is exercised with respect to the content of any religious programmes of the licensee and that, in particular, any such programme does not involve any abusive or derogatory treatment of the religious views and beliefs of persons belonging to a particular religion or religious denomination;
* providing reasonable opportunity for the public to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public interest.
The new conditions governing the issuing of licences to television broadcasting stations have been inserted as an amendment to the Principal Regulations made under the Post and Telegraph Act (Cap. 47:01) in the form of regulation 23A.
The schedule to the regulations also requires detailed information such as description of wireless telegraphy apparatus and facilities, transmission line description, transmitter specifications and a range of other data.
One of the television station owners, Omar Farouk of Channel 67, told Stabroek News that he was particularly concerned that the minister should now be responsible for setting standards and wondered why there was this tug-a-war between Prime Minister Sam Hinds, on the one hand, and President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte, on the other. He was referring to the committee which has been set up by the two leaders to address the issue of broadcast legislation and related matters.
In his press release of May 23 announcing that immediate steps would be taken to regulate the use of the airwaves, Prime Minister Hinds had said that a broad-based committee would be empanelled to advise on whether the content of the programmes adhere to the guidelines that had been embedded in the Media Code of Conduct which was drawn up last year. Hinds at a meeting on May 28 with television broadcasters had also said that the initiative to regulate the broadcast spectrum would not supersede the dialogue arrangements set up by President Jagdeo and PNC/R leader Hoyte. But he said that until such time as the government passed broadcast legislation, licences would be issued under the Post and Telegraph Act and the new regulations.
Another broadcaster, Enrico Woolford, commenting in a private capacity, said that it was unfortunate that the amended regulations had to be gazetted at this particular juncture, when efforts were being made to take a comprehensive look at the issue of broadcasting by the committee.
Like Farouk, he expressed reservations about the minister exercising control over the content and standards of broadcasting.
Stabroek News understands that the deadline for owners of television broadcasting stations to apply for licences expires this Saturday.
The amended broadcasting regulations followed an announcement by Prime Minister Hinds a little over a month ago that television broadcasting stations would be required to apply for licences in accordance with the Post and Telegraph Act. (Samuel Mann)