Sen. Wesseh proposes media commission

River Gee County Senator Conmany Wesseh, has proposed for the establishment of a media commission in Liberia.

He said the Commission is necessary because it will be entrusted with the task to regulate and monitor activities of media houses across the country.

Senator Wesseh made the proposal over the weekend on the main campus of the University of Liberia in Monrovia during the opening ceremony of the Press Union of Liberia or PUL annual congress. 

Senator Wesseh, who chairs the Senate Committee on Information and Broadcasting, believes that when the proposed media commission is established, it would prevent cases against journalists going to court.

“People will have confidence in the media commission to hear complaints against journalists for redress on ethical transgressions more freely than the Press Union of Liberia because the PUL was established to protect and seek the welfare of its members,” the senator stressed.

He said besides, unlike the PUL, the media commission will, among other things, regulate and monitor the activities of the media and institute measures against media houses and journalists engaging in ethical breaches.

Senator Wesseh urged to the Press Union of Liberia to collaborate his office at the Senate to ensure that all formalities leading to the establishment of such commission are finalized for legislation.

In her Annual Message before the Joint Chambers of the Liberian Legislature in January, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf disclosed plan by her administration to legislate the decriminalization of media- related offenses in keeping with the Table Mountain Declaration to which Liberia is a signatory.

“This repeal law will advance our democratic aspirations and foster unhindered public debates. We are hopeful that it will improve rather than retard the growing media landscape of the country, and again testify to our continued commitment to an opened society ably supported by a responsible and independent press,” the Liberian leader noted.

By Ben P. Wesee