Turn Malawi Broadcasting Corporation( MBC) to public broadcaster

Malawi's daily newspaper, The Daily Times has told newly instated president Joyce Banda to change the status of Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) from being a state broadcaster to a public broadcaster.

 

"We would like to appeal to the current administration to take a step further by turning the state broadcaster into a public broadcaster," commented The Daily Times late last week.

The newspaper, while reacting to president Banda 's guidance to the newly sworn in Minister of Information and Civic Education, Moses Kunkuyu, took advantage of the ceremony to declare 'Let MBC become a public broadcaster.'

Public broadcaster vs state broadcaster

"It is easy for MBC to migrate to public broadcasting since it is funded by the public through tax and what needs to be done is to let it be controlled by the public through parliament," stated the newspaper, before laying out arguments that suggests how advantageous a public broadcaster is over a state broadcaster.

"The advantage of [public] broadcasting is its inclusiveness through accessibility to all. Unlike state broadcasting, which serves the interest of the executive and here in Malawi, politicians of the ruling party, public broadcasting is ideal because it serves the government and the public well," it says.

The Daily Times says because public broadcasters are accessible to all and they place emphasis on quality, balance and impartiality, commitment to education of the public and independence from political and commercial interference, it believes time is ripe that MBC should change its status of being a state broadcaster to a public broadcaster.

 

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(Source : Biz Community, Cape Town)