By Kenneth Thompson
Deputy minister of information and communications has called on Sierra Leoneans to take media business very seriously if they must catch up with international standards.
Theo-Nicol was addressing the validation process of policies regarding foreign and multi-national corporate ownership of media and cross media ownership in Sierra Leone in Freetown, when he observed that “the media landscape should be free so that more investors could come to invest in the industry”.
“I see nothing wrong with any foreigner owning any number of media establishments in the country. Let everybody who can invest in the media come here and invest”, he urged.
He also noted that opening the media ownership rule would bring more investors, which would mean more jobs, and a significant improvement to the country’s economy.
He called on the Independent Media Commission, IMC, to “validate a policy that will institute a limited restriction for cross media ownership and also a policy that will encourage more media investors to come into the country”.
Chairperson IMC, Rod Mac Johnson, reminded the gathering that his institution’s vision was to “ensure that media institutions achieve the highest level of efficiency in the provision of media services and to promote technological research and the development of adequate human resources for the advancement of the media industry throughout the country”.
Johnson thanked the policy committee for putting together what he said was a strong policy that would, while instituting limitations for both cross media ownership and multi-national and foreign ownership at the same time, open the media landscape for future improvement and development.
The validated policy on cross-media ownership and foreign and multi-national corporate ownership stipulated that “no one individual can own more than three media outlets in the country as each media has been given a point range of not more than twenty”, adding that the telecommunications companies were given a maximum point range of fifty five, while internet service providers carried five points”.
With regards foreign and multi-national ownership, the media policy stipulated that “no media institution shall be granted broadcasting license if more than 40% of its shareholding is foreign owned. Programme content for all broadcasting institutions should reflect the country’s social, political and cultural realities”.
It also required that local contents should form at least 50% of programming.
(C) Politico 28/11/13
