THE LOCAL BROACASTING INDUSTRY AND THE BLISTER OF POLITICS, GOVERNMENT-SUBSIDIZED MEDIA HOUSES AND THE INTERNET by ROYDEN JAMES
The commercial local broadcast industry, radio and television stations, is critically important to Guyanese economy as a whole and to local economies in particular. Local radio and television’s key role in the dissemination of entertainment and local programming is well established. Its important value to the national economy is often overlooked, and in many ways taken for granted. The broadcasting industry, as a business industry in Guyana, has been growing rapidly over the years, so much so that the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) was forced to establish a separate unit to monitor the day-to day activities of the broadcasting industry here. Speaking to the Guyana Inc. Magazine on Business and the Broadcasting Industry is a man who has been in the industry for as long as most Guyanese could remember, Mr. Francis Quamina Farrier. For him, getting into broadcasting is a lot of work, “But once you get into the business with a prepared mind, then no doubt you will succeed in the industry,” Mr. Farrier told Guyana Inc. Magazine over the phone from Maryland, USA. Uncle Francis, as he is popularly called, said that while the industry has been a profit making one over the years, “Government-run media entities, which are heavily subsidized, seem to be giving the little, private men a run for their money,” he observed. Communication THE LOCAL BROACASTING INDUSTRY AND THE BLISTER OF POLITICS, GOVERNMENT-SUBSIDIZED MEDIA HOUSES AND THE INTERNET “You see, the Government-run media houses receive subsidies from the Government, and before you know it, these same media houses are competing with the others, forcing the small man to drop his rates for certain broadcasting services. That is a real problem, and that has been the problem private broadcasters had to face over the years, and if you ask me, I think that is unfair.” Mr. Farrier further noted that the industry seems to be one now which is largely controlled by politicians, in and out of power. This too, he said, is not too good for business. “Let me tell you what I mean. You turn on the TV, the news is dominated by what politicians said or what politicians promised. You’re listening to your radio, not much difference… My humble view is that broadcasters lose money like this. Not all businesses want to get into the political mix-up and so once you as a broadcaster take that route, you will find some business persons holding back on you,” he said. Additionally, it is the opinion of the veteran broadcaster, that social media news is now having an impact on traditional news, from a ‘news’ point of view as well as from a ‘business’ point of view. “The advent of Internet television programming is forcing changes in the business model of the broadcast industry. Television networks can no longer be content to air creative content at fixed times throughout the week and expect viewership to watch faithfully. The shifts in the broadcast business model may have greater financial impact on networks that are slow to take advantage of new digital viewing platforms.” Mr. Farrier observed that major television stations bring in large sums of revenue from advertisers paying for ad slots on popular TV programs. Moving to digital television platforms, including digital recording devices, allows consumers to bypass these commercials, he said. Further, he said that websites which are approved to host TV programs on the web also have smaller commercial breaks, which means fewer ad slots. This trend could cause TV networks to lose millions of dollars in advertising revenues each year. Over time, this could cause broadcast companies to scale back program offerings and reduce the number of new shows available each year. In August 2017, the National Assembly passed the Broadcast Amendment Bill aimed at shaking up the industry here, which the Government said was handed out to friends and cronies of the previous administration. The Broadcast (Amendment) Bill 2017 was piloted by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who has ministerial responsibility for public information. The 2011 Act was introduced by the then PPP Government. Section 18 (1) (i) of the Act states that the Guyana Broadcasting Authority, which regulates local broadcasting, shall require operators to carry public service announcements free of charge. The Act further states that the Broadcasting Authority shall: “Require licensees to carry a certain percentage of public service broadcast or development support broadcasts as public information deems appropriate as a public service at no cost.” The Act did not put a cap on how long or how frequently such announcements were to be aired. This was left up to the discretion of the Government. However, one of the amendments seeks to rectify this by putting a daily cap of up to one hour on the broadcast time for public service announcements. This has since been rejected by several private operators who contend that it is an imposition on their air time. The core direct impact of local television and radio broadcasting includes the number of jobs affected directly in local television and radio as well as the number of jobs in advertising and programming. It is estimated that local television and radio broadcasting and advertising and programming alone account for just over a thousand jobs in Guyana. In addition, other industries are impacted by local television and radio broadcasting because they provide goods and services used in creating local television and radio broadcasting and advertising. Industries as varied as telecommunications, public utilities, manufacturing, transportation and retail trade provide inputs into the production of local television and radio broadcasting. When measured with a technical input-output analysis, thousands of other jobs are supported in other industries because of the goods and services requirements of local television and radio broadcast stations. The Guyana Revenue Authority had said that the income earned by workers in jobs directly related to local television and radio broadcasting helps to create additional economic activity. The outlook for growth in the commercial local broadcast industry, television and radio stations, is strong. The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) had predicted that both television and radio local broadcast revenues will grow through the year 2018 because of the new broadcasting fees