The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) is working to ensure that an acceptable standard of broadcast is delivered to the public, Chairman Leonard Craig said last week.
“…The Board wishes to protect the morals of our younger generation and is restricting broadcasting of certain television ratings in keeping with good practices and international standards,” he said during a press conference.
Reading from a prepared statement, Craig said the current Board, on assuming office in November 2015, inherited a Broadcasting Authority with no effective managerial, monitoring, enforcing, or regulatory procedures as stipulated in the Broadcasting Act No 17 of 2011.
He said the Board held numerous meetings to address these deficiencies and is “working assiduously through its four committees with a view to creating a broadcast environment where there is a level playing field, sound broadcasting practices, effective competition and a basis for fostering good relations with Broadcasters, the Authority and the public.”
He said the philosophy of the new Board lies in regulating all broadcasting in the public interest, and within the context of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
According to Craig, the Board has therefore made decisions in a number of areas with a view to improving the broadcasting landscape, ranging from restructuring of broadcasting fees and licensing requirements, modifying the conditions for application with respect to new and existing licences; introducing new guidelines for retraining of monitoring personnel and monitoring of broadcast programming and identifying equipment to facilitate the better monitoring of broadcast programming.
He said this Board feels that in order to guarantee acceptable standards, all licensees must deliver a good signal with enough power and signal quality for the convenience of viewers.
The Board, he said has also recommended the introduction of a system of television ratings, based on the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) TV Ratings System, aimed primarily at protecting our children and young people. Therefore, only programmes rated TV-G and TV-PG will be allowed to be aired during the day. TV-PG13 rated materials will only be allowed after 8 pm and TV-PG17 after 10 pm. TV-M, TV-R and TV-X will not be allowed for broadcasting.
With regard to on-air commercials, broadcasters will be cautioned not to air more than 15 minutes of advertising per hour as such practices will incur sanctions, he said. In addition, the Authority will be closely monitoring the practice of interrupting canned programmes in an attempt to place local advertisements as this often affects the smooth continuity of these programmes much to the annoyance of viewers. The practice of stringing together one commercial after another that cuts into programme content, will also be discouraged, he said.
In an effort to encourage local content and the development of quality local programming, stations will be required to reach a target of 20% local programming within the first year of broadcast, taking into account, newscasts, public service announcements, local music, local drama and documentaries, Craig stated.
Asked to define what is meant by “canned programmes,” Director Victor Insanally said it simply means “programmes which you pull down in their entirety… It is the bulk of what is happening.”
He said that while the Authority wants to encourage local production it will take time. “It is the aim of this Authority to really raise enough money to start using funds to help the local broadcasters to move in that direction.”
Director Anthony Vieira, speaking on this issue, said Guyana is dealing with programming coming from the United States via satellite. He said that during the programing the US advertising starts. He said what is happening is the replacement of that US advertising with local advertising, but when the programming returns the local ads are still playing and this is what the Authority is looking at.
Asked about applying a rule to an illegal act – the playing of ads during the broadcasting of pirated programmes, Vieira said the Authority’s job is to regulate in the public’s interest. “We don’t have a mandate based on the Act… to do anything with the broadcast of copyright of any programme in and out of Guyana and therefore the most we can do is to regulate in the public’s interest the fact that you are interrupting this programme,” he said adding that until the Act is re-written and copyright legislation is introduced, the Authority does not have a mandate based on the law in place to do anything.
Craig added that one also has to look at the evolution of television in Guyana. Using Suriname as an example he said that a similar situation to Guyana’s is occurring there. “To just come at this time and cut the foreign canned programmes will put the whole country in a difficulty and so it has to be a phased system over a number of years. So we don’t think it is wise at this point to start regulating for that, even though we feel that the Broadcast Act is not ideal and at some point if it is rewritten it may have to include that,” he said.
Director and Attorney at law Abiola Wong-Inniss responding to questions about non-G rated programmes being aired in the middle of the day, said that part of the Authority’s functions is to regulate, supervise and develop the National Broadcasting System. She said that if it is found that certain policy guidelines are breached, “We are empowered by the Act to deal with those breaches… some of which would be providing for fines and possibly in some instances suspension among others remedies that are available to us.”
She stressed that the Authority is not without remedy in the event of breaches of the Act.
Asked if a person pleaded innocent and claimed to be unaware that the film/programme was non-G rated, she said that one is innocent until proven guilty. “We cannot arbitrarily implement any sanction without giving that person an opportunity to be heard,” she said.
The other directors present at the press conference were Jocelyne Josiah and Ameena Gafoor.
