The New Patriotic Party has been cited as leading in the use of ‘indecent and offensive’ language on radio in a new report that seeks to name and shame those using intemperate language on our airwaves in the run up to the November polls.
The NPP topped the list with 27 instances where its officials and activists used indecent expressions, followed by the National Democratic Congress with 16 cases.
Progressive People’s Party and New Labour Party took the third spot with four cases apiece while the National Democratic Party followed with two cases.
The Convention People’s Party and the People’s National Convention came next with one case apiece.
The report, which is the result of a two-week monitoring exercise by the Media Foundation for West Africa cited “insulting and offensive comments; unsubstantiated allegations, provocative remarks; and expressions promoting divisiveness” as the language used by affiliates of the seven parties indicted.
“The most common of these expressions used by political party affiliates were insulting and offensive comments, and unsubstantiated allegations,” the report pointed out
It also named the NDC as the party that made significant unsubstantiated allegations.
“All the four expressions promoting divisiveness that were recorded in the two-week monitoring period were made by affiliates of the NDC,” the report which was released Monday showed.
The report is based on the monitoring of 516 programmes on 40 radio stations across the country between April 18 and 30, 2016. It named officials of political parties, their affiliates and supporters who used abusive languages during the period.
It also indicted some individuals and radio presenters who used abusive language, as well as the radio stations on which those abusive expressions were used.
Radio stations used
“For the radio stations, 18 out of the 40 monitored, recorded incidents of indecent expressions. Accra-based Montie FM topped the list with 22 incidents followed by Oman FM with 15 incidents, and Adom FM and Diamond FM with seven each. All the incidents of indecent expressions recorded on Adom FM were also recorded on Nsawkaw-based Tain FM,” the report said.
“It is regrettable to have programme presenters not only allowing their platforms to be abused by politicians but also being the abusers themselves,” said Abigail Larbi-Odei, MFWA’sProgramme Manager for Media and Democracy.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter @steviekgh