NCC threatens to sanction journalists over unruly TV guests.

The NCC president sounded the warning in a press release signed on July 9.

 In the document, the NCC boss regretted the “recurrent trend in hateful and violent discourse, widespread abuse of language and uncultured views”.

Such, he said, have been directed at individuals, private and public institutions. 

This, the NCC boss added, sometimes lead to inciting sedition, stigmatisation or segregation.

According to the NCC president, “these behaviours do not correspond” with the media’s role of informing, educating and entertaining the audience. 

He also stressed that the rise in hateful pronouncements during TV programs could point to media professionals having fallen short of ethical standards.

“The NCC reminds media professionals, especially the host of talk-shows and interactive programmes, that they shall be held accountable for any behaviours or statements made by their guests on sets,” the NCC president warned.

He further called “on various actors of media organs to make it an overbearing duty to ensure a wise and informed choice of panelists, including a better professional moderation of their programmes”. 

This, Chebongkeng Kalabubsu wrote, "will avert the spread of inappropriate verbal joust and other uncivil behaviours, which are media breaches and seriously impinge upon public order”.

The NCC is doubling down on its warning after the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, did same during the governors’ conference in Yaounde.

He had during the meeting, urged the media to be on the watch out, especially during interactive programmes .

Such programs, the minister had   warned, "have become a kind of one-man show, where people exhibit their ignorance and where hate speech and defying State authority have become the order of the day”. 

He had also firmly warned that: “Any attempt to disrupt the electoral process today or tomorrow, shall be dealt with squarely”.

By Nadege Dzilamonyuy Limnyuy (Journalism student on internship)

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3172 of Thursday July 18, 2024