PRESS STATEMENT BY MR. GEORGE S. KHORYAMA, CHAIRMAN OF THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA COMMISSION (IMC), AT THE PRESS CONFEERENCE ON THE SUSPENSION OF MEDIA HOUSES ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 AT THE COMMISSION’S HEADQUARTERS.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, may I on behalf of the commissioners and staff of the Independent Media Commission (IMC) take this opportunity to welcome you to our second press conference since we took office. We are here this afternoon to confirm the rumours that had pervaded the gossip space of your discussions concerning the suspension of those media houses that had been found wanting in the discharge of their professional responsibilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have been in office for about nine months now and we hit the ground running with optimism and hope for a bright future for the media in Sierra Leone. Among the many signs of hope, we are grateful to His Excellency the President Rtd. Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, for the commitment he has made to repeal Part 5 of the Criminal Libel Law, his pledge to give subvention to the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and also to support the Independent Media Commission. We are further thankful to the President for the caliber of commissioners he appointed to run the affairs of the IMC.
Brothers and sisters of the Fourth Estate, as the commission charged with the responsibility of creating the enabling environment for journalists to practice their trade professionally, we cannot help but to draw your attention to the fact that in as much as we promote a climate of freedom of the press, it should not be taken for granted that freedom is always responsibly used by journalists. More than that, this right is abused and it turns out to be a tyranny on the lives of the people whose interests should be sought and promoted. And if the Commission charged with the responsibility for regulating the media fails to discharge that responsibility enshrined in the IMC Act 2000 including amendments of 2006 and 2007, we will be disappointing His Excellency the President who had confided that confidence in us, as well as the public that looks to us with great expectations.
As part of our mandate to professionalize the media, we concluded a nationwide exercise of seminars for the staff of the IMC and then for station mangers and newspaper editors right across the country including Western area in the month of May 2019. The theme was: MANAGING THE MEDIA EFFECTIVELY AND PROFESSIONALLY.
At the in-house seminar for the IMC, 26 members of staff and 8 Commissioners participated. The provincial tour and seminars in Makeni, Bo and Kenema trained 46, 58, and 55 station managers respectively. A total of 227 Station Managers, Editors and others were trained countrywide on managing the media.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, our mandate among other things is to ensure that media houses achieve the highest level of efficiency in the provision of media services; to protect the interests of both the public and journalists against exploitation and/or abuse by the very public and media houses themselves. Hence the suspension of media houses that have violated with impunity the ethics, rules and regulations of the IMC 2000 Act and that of the Media Code of Practice.
For your information out of the 19 media houses that were brought before the complaint committee, 3 of the complaints were thrown out because they lacked substance; another media house was warned by the complaint committee, 2 media houses were found wanting and asked to retract their stories and apologize, 13 were fined and asked to retract their stories and write letters of apology.
Up to the time of writing our suspension letters on Friday last week July 26, 2019, 8 newspapers have paid up their fines to the Commission, retracted their stories and wrote letters of apology; 5 have refused to pay accordingly. Two newspapers were asked to retract and apologize but failed to do so and as a result they are included in the suspension list. It remains to remind those that have not paid in full however that they remain suspended until their full amounts are being paid. They are warned not to publish. And for those that have not complied with the payment of their fines and renewal of their licenses and have been suspended and who continue to publish are also warned to stop publication forthwith otherwise we will effect an injunction against them leading to the closure of their newspapers, radio and television stations as our mandate dictates.
And now the statistics: Out of 86 registered and active newspapers, 76 have paid up to 2019 and not in arrears; 69 radio stations have done same, and 9 television stations have also paid in full. We also have 124 newspapers in arrears to the Commission; 55 radio and 15 television stations in arrears respectively.
There are 85 newspapers that have failed to renew their yearly licenses and are suspended. There are 226 registered newspapers including magazines both active and dormant nationwide; 31 TV stations including DTH, and 169 radio stations.
For your information ladies and gentlemen, some of the newspapers and radio stations registered with the IMC have remained elusive and we cannot trace their where about but remain on our trajectory; they are not publishing anyway.
As a regulatory authority and partners in the development of the media profession in the country, it is incumbent on us to reason with media houses that play foul with our mandates; the reason why it took us close to four months trying to encourage defaulting media houses to comply with the rules of the game but to no avail. We had written letters after letters reminding these media houses about their obligations to the Commission, followed by personal engagements between our Media Monitors and them, all in an effort for them to see reason and comply and yet no cooperation was forthcoming. We are therefore constrained to do what is mandatorily necessary for us to do.
I thank you.
JANUARY- JULY 2019
*A. MEDIA HOUSES WHOSE COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN CONCLUDED*
1. Prime Times Newspaper
2. Peak Newspaper
3. Radio Tempo
4. Africa Young Voices Newspaper
5. Future Newspaper
6. Health Newspaper
7. Times SL Newspaper
8. The Voice Newspaper
9. Nationalist Newspaper
10. Sierra Express Media
11. Comment Newspaper
12. Eastern Radio–Kono
13. VOPAD Radio
14. Culture Radio
15. Metro Newspaper
16. The New Storm Newspaper
17. The Independent Observer Newspaper
18. Eagle Radio F.M 91.3
19. Awareness Times Newspaper
*B. MEDIA HOUSES FINED, ORDERED TO RETRACT AND APOLOGISE TO COMPLAINANTS*
1. Prime Times Newspaper
2. Peak Newspaper
3. Radio Tempo
4. Africa Young Voices Newspaper
5. Future Newspaper
6. Health Newspaper
7. Times SL Newspaper
8. The Voice Newspaper
9. The Nationalist Newspaper
10. Sierra Express Newspaper
11. Independent Observer
12. Eagle Radio F.M 91.3
*C. MEDIA HOUSES SUSPENDED FOR FAILURE TO PAY FINES, RETRACT AND APOLIGIZE TO COMPLAINANTS*
1. Radio Tempo
2. Future Newspaper
3. Times SL Newspaper
4. Eagle Radio FM 91.3
5. Eastern Radio
6. Culture Radio
*D. MEDIA HOUSES ORDERED TO RETRACT AND APOLIGIZE TO COMPLAINANTS*
1. Eastern Radio-Kono
2. Culture Radio
*E. MEDIA HOUSES WHOSE MATTERS WERE DISMISSED FOR LACK OF SUBSTANCE*
1. Metro Newspaper
2. New Storm Newspaper
3. VOPAD Radio
*F. MEDIA HOUSE THAT RECEIVED WARNING*
Comment Newspaper
*G. MEDIA HOUSES THAT HAVE COMPLIED WITH RULINGS*
1. Prime Times Newspaper
2. Peak Newspaper
3. Africa Young Voices Newspaper
4. Health Newspaper
5. The Voice Newspaper
6. Nationalist Newspaper
7. Independent Observer Newspaper
8. Awareness Times Newspaper
9. Sierra Express Media
