Broadcasting Commissioner urges parents to be more vigilant
April 8, 2011The Full Story
MANDEVILLE — Broadcasting Commission member, Claude Robinson, wants parents to monitor the electronic media too and ensure proper supervision of what their children are exposed to.
Speaking at a forum at the Vesalles Hotel, May Pen, Clarendon, Wednesday April 6, Mr. Robinson said that, while the Commission will enforce regulations to ensure that adult entertainment is not pass on during hours when children are listening, parents must play their part and be aware of what their children watch and listen to.
“As citizens, parents, you have to take greater responsibility of what you see and hear. You have to choose what your children watch. If you make a subscription for cable, you have to insist that you get the devices to monitor the channels, so that adult channels are adult channels. The children are smart, but you have to act as parents,” Commissioner Robinson said.
He also outlined that the Commission has put up for discussion, and legislation is to be drafted, to penalize persons engaged in collecting payment from artistes and record producers to play their music on radio (payola).
“It is corruption and if something is corrupted and we do nothing about it, then what does that mean? It means that we are condoning it. So, for those two reasons, it is distorting the development of the industry and the fact that it is a corrupted practice. We have signalled that we want to do something about it, and the proposal for discussions is to make it a criminal offence punishable by fines as high as five million dollars,” he stated.
He said that, due to the number of complaints from persons in the music industry, the Commission wants to make the act of paying to have one’s music played on the air a criminal offence, with big fines for the receiver as well as the owner of the broadcast entity.
The Commission is holding public consultations outlining broadcasting standards, digital television switch-over and proposed legislative changes for the media.
By GARFIELD L. ANGUS, JIS Reporter