Why we fined AIT, Channels, Arise N3m each — NBC

THE National Broadcasting Commission, NBC has cleared the air on why it sanctioned three major broadcasting stations in the country.

Naija Times had reported yesterday that NBC fined Channels Television, African Independent Television and Arise TV N3m each.

The decision was announced today by the acting Director General of the Commission, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, at a press briefing in Abuja.

According to Idachaba, the affected stations were guilty of playing a part in the escalation of the violence across Nigeria and therefore fined in line with the provisions of section 5.6.9 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which states that; “the broadcaster shall be held liable for any breach of the Code emanating from the use of material from User Generated Sources”.

For him, the sanction is to serve as a deterrent to broadcasters who deliberately refused to verify stories before they broadcast them.

The NBC boss said the Commission was pained about what he called the unprofessional conduct of some broadcasting stations in the past couple of days, saying that though the broadcast media discharged their roles professionally and displayed patriotism in confronting the challenge of #Covid-19 Crisis, the same cannot be said of the coverage of the recent #EndSARS campaign.

He specifically accused Channels Television, Arise TV and AIT of continuous transmission of footage obtained from “unverified and unauthenticated social media sources” which according to him ,stimulated anger and heightened the violence that was witnessed during the crisis.

He stressed that reports available to the Commission indicated that the broadcast industry largely gave a Fair and Balanced coverage to the issues at the early stages of the conflict but the trend became completely reversed when violence, wanton destruction and looting became the order of the day.

His words: ‘‘The National Broadcasting Commission is concerned about the professional misdemeanour of some broadcasting stations in the past couple of days.

Whereas it can be said that the media especially the broadcast media discharged its role professionally and most patriotic in confronting the challenge of #Covid-19 Crisis, the same cannot be said of the coverage of the recent #Endsars campaign. ‘‘Monitoring reports available to the Commission indicate that indeed at the early stages of the conflict the broadcast industry largely gave a fair and balanced coverage to the issues.

“This trend became completely reversed when violence, wanton destruction and looting were added to the dimensions.

‘‘Perhaps in the eagerness to break News and be pacesetters stations engaged in the very unprofessional attitude of speculative and unverifiable broadcast.

This is in spite of the following provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code which provides as follows; “5.6.1: In Contemporary times, the impact of modern technology has significantly enabled Citizen’s contribution to journalism, which are beneficial to broadcasting.

In this genre of citizens reportage, deplores such facilities as ‘User Generated Content’ UGC, providing instantaneous eye-witness account of events. 

‘‘We believe that the whole country has now seen why the spurious claims and recklessness on the Social Media must not be patronised by the mainstream traditional media.

“Broadcasters who therefore dogmatically patronise the Social Media must bury their heads in shame.’’

He, however, condemned in strong terms the assault and intimidation of media houses during the period describing the burning of TVC Lagos and the brief closure of Channels TV Lagos as “worrisome”.

He said the invidents are indicators of mob treat to the freedom of the press, adding that no nation can grow when the citizens muzzle and intimidate its Press.