Radio stations in Ghana may soon be required to pay royalties for the use of newspaper material in their programmes. This governmental proposal has been greatly anticipated by newspapers from around the country, as many newspapers attribute revenue loss to these types of radio programmes. Due to these programmes, people receive for free what they would otherwise have to pay for from the news stands. Not all members of the media, however, are in agreement with the proposal.
RAP 21 explores both sides of the debate with two professionals on opposing sides of the issue; Ibrahim Wiredu, editor-in-chief of Radio Ghana, the state-owned national radio, and Ben Epson, managing editor of the "the Daily Dispatch" a privately-owned newspaper based in Accra.
Epson believes the implications of radio review programmes are quite serious: "Most of the independent press in the country rely on sales for revenue. Around 80 per cent of the Dispatch’s revenues comes from sales. Very little revenue actually comes directly from advertising, approximately only 10-15 per cent." This means the newspapers need to sell to survive.
Wiredu dismisses the need for compensation to be made to newspapers: "Material that appears on-air, following publication, is public property. In the journalistic profession, what goes into the public domain is effectively open to all news outlets."
The Ghanaian government is going to work in conjunction with the Ghana Independent Broadcasting Association (GIBA) to help implement the plan. Financial compensation will be channelled through the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), and distributed to various member newspapers of the organisation.
Adding fuel to the debate is the fact that newspaper review programmes do not always damage a newspaper’s profitability. Wiredu is convinced that newspapers can actually benefit from review programmes on radio stations: "We believe we are actually selling these newspapers by the publicity we give them - ten years ago, many people wouldn’t have heard of these papers".
This is a point that "the Daily Dispatch" editor concedes, for although he believes newspapers are hurt by the loss of revenue from these newspaper review programmes, he also sees some positive outcomes from the shows: "Sometimes they can work to encourage people to buy newspapers." He cites an example of when the review programme discusses a feature article that can in turn encourage people to buy the newspaper for a more in-depth account. The review programmes can also serve as a time-saving device: "When short on time in the morning, you can listen to the radio for highlights, instead of having to wait until the evening when you’ve come home from work to know what is going on," he said. This however, is a double-edged sword, as every day, the programmes run between the hours of 6 and 10 a.m. - the time when most people would be buying and reading a newspaper, according to Epson.
Although the plan has not yet been implemented, both Epson and Wiredu have clear ideas about the success rate of the proposed compensation scheme. Epson believes the initiative will not be difficult to implement, citing only "a few bumps along the road" on issues like determining costs and timing as the greatest obstacles to the plan’s success. He also believes there are strong factors propelling the initiative forward: "The Ghanaian private press is a very strong body, and so is the Ghana Journalists Association," he said.
Wiredu, however, insists the government will have to tread lightly to bring this proposal into effect. He also believes it will not have the success that some might imagine: "Speaking as a journalist at a state radio station, I think we would stop reviewing the private papers. Our radio station would review state papers in lieu of private ones." He is also not convinced all private newspapers would be as eager to follow the proposed regulations: "Not all will go through with this because we are selling their papers, I do not think they will all go along with PRINPAG."
According to newspaper reports, the government has pledged to work with the Ghana Independent Broadcasting Association. As reported in the Ghanaian Chronicle on 25 July, Deputy Minister of Information, Andrew Awani, claimed that the government would do everything possible to help the private newspaper industry grow. His comments were made at the inauguration of an executive council of PRINPAG in Accra on 23 July. The newspaper also reported that Fred Oware, President of the Broadcasting Association, said negotiations were under way to ensure the PRINPAG gets its fair share in the newspaper review programme in the radio stations.
RAP 21 will be monitoring the situation in Ghana over the next few months and wants to hear your view. If you would like to join the debate, contact RAP 21 at RAP21@wan.asso.fr with your comments or personal experiences.