Elections will take place in Ghana this year, and that nation’s version of the FCC is prepared to take action against those who speak indecently on the air – but it doesn’t appear that definition of decency is the same there as it is here.
According to allAfrica.com, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is going to be listening and taking names, particularly in what is thankfully called the unlikely event of the nation being thrown into anarchy in the wake of the election. And anyone caught being indecent will be recorded and the evidence will be used against them, MFWA promises.
According to the report, most of the indecency comes not on some African version of shock jock morning fare, nor is it a collection of f-bombs and similar off-color language.
No, in Ghana it is generally heard on talk programs. And there have been 174 violations already recorded during a three month period monitored by MFWA that were heard on 31 different radio stations. Here is a partial tally by violation type:
* 60 unsubstantiated allegations
* 53 offensive comments
* 15 calls for acts of confrontation or violence
* 15 innuendos
* 12 provocative remarks
RBR-TVBR observation: Wow – half of the political bloviators in America wouldn’t make it though a half hour in Ghana. The main penitentiary in Ghana could have an entire wing dedicated to nothing but radio talkmeisters – and a cacophonous wing it would be!
