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Anonymous ID: 348738 Sept. 4, 2018, 1:30 p.m. No.2876633   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>6641

==FOREWORD

It is the Commission’s pleasure to introduce to you this National Broadcasting Code, a road map on our collective journey to free and responsible broadcasting. Freedom is as exciting as Responsibility is exacting, but one without the other is unthinkable, either professionally or in our historic-cultural circumstances.

From 34 years of an ambiguous love-hate relationship with public broadcasting media, it is necessary for the operators, owners, and the audience to have a general guide to enhance the profession.

Public Service broadcasting was relevant, is relevant and will remain relevant; indeed indispensable in one form or the other, for the protection of our common patrimony.

But the feeling was strong that its potentials were never fully realized because of ownership control; poor financing; aged and obsolete equipment; excessive caution and self censorship. Added to these are inadequate candour about government business; civil service structure and some say, civil service mentally; poor recognition and remuneration of production talents and professionals, urban-centredness and a myriad of other ailments.

Indeed, given the various constrains under which they have operated, our public service broadcasting organizations deserve commendation and continued support for carving out for themselves a place of respect in the international broadcasting industry.

It will either be a patently ignorant or biased not to acknowledge the immense contributions of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Voice of Nigeria (VON), their predecessors, and their state government-owned competitors for demonstrated ingenuity. They have been flying Nigerian’s flag high, and creditably too, in the broadcasting world, in spite of daunting odds and isolated flaws.

Nevertheless, a national clamour for private broadcasting is based on our expectations that it will escape the long-standing afflictions of public service

broadcasting. It may even help release public service broadcasting from the stranglehold of its ailments.

We therefore expect that deregulation of broadcast media will

  • Enable broadcasting play a greater role in ensuring the accountability of government media to the citizens of Nigeria

  • Promote plurality of opinions across age, sex, socio-economic and geo-political barriers; and sustain the country’s democratic structures,

  • Inject massive life-giving capital into the industry

  • Provide a market place for goods, service and ideas

  • Be an honest vehicle for social engineering and the realisation of a

strong united nation

  • Increase and improve career opportunities and job satisfaction for

talents and professionals in the broadcasting industry.

Similarly, the NBC will do all that is necessary to protect the interest of entrepreneurs who invest rare human resources and capital in broadcasting.

Without them too, the national dream of free and responsible broadcasting may never be realised.

Our resolve is to ensure that this dream becomes a living reality.

A. TOM ADABA DIRECTOR-GENERAL November 16, 1993==