Mustapha Hamid (left) receiving the petition from James Oberko
Two persons have filed a complaint at the National Media Commission (NMC) against three private television stations that they claimed are showing pornographic movies.
The stations include TV XYZ, Ice TV and Thunder TV and the petitioners are said to be veteran television broadcasters, Tommy Annan Forson and James Kwasi Oberko.
Two broadcasters on Monday, June 12 presented a petition to the NMC and the Ministry of Information against three television stations for showing films with pornographic scenes on their channels.
In addition to the petition, the petitioners also presented an album of compiled photos taken from porn scenes shown across the television stations in question.
According to petitioners, it is against the broadcasting standards for television stations to show porn materials irrespective of what time they are shown.
“We have realised that these TV stations are showing things that are against the Media Commission’s standards and as concerned citizens, we thought it wise to make a complaint to the right authorities, to prompt them to take the necessary actions,” James told the media.
Tommy Annan-Forson, on his part, also said “These things have been going on for quite a while. It started on social media and people started asking questions as to why some television stations would show porn. Some years ago, Cable Gold was doing same, I captured it, reported to the Media Commission and they stopped them.”
Receiving the petition, George Sarpong, the executive secretary of the NMC, congratulated the petitioners for taking such a bold step in the interest of Ghana and assured them of their support.
“I want to thank you for the effort that you put into this and I hope that we will get back to you. In fact, this gesture shows there is a lot of hope for the media landscape,” he stated.
The petitioners also sent a copy of the complaint to the Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid, who also lauded their move.
James Oberko and Tommy Annan-Forson, however, revealed that they would later serve the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Chief Justice and Speaker of Parliament copies of the petition.
Tommy Annan Forson is a doyen of broadcasting with over 40 years experience. He has through his radio school, RABODEF, trained a lot of successful broadcasters in Ghana. James Oberko is also broadcaster of more than 10 years experience, who is currently an administrator at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.