The National Media Commission has resolved a complaint brought against Radio Gold by Tesprom Estates Limited for unilaterally terminating an advertisement contract by refusing to publish the advert as agreed upon.
At the hearing, Mr. Joseph Agyenim Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of the radio station explained that the station runs advertisements at concessionary rates for small-scale enterprises to enable them to reach out to the public.
He said it was under the programme that the contract with Tesprom was signed. However, after airing the adverts for some time, they received complaints from the public and other media houses that the Tesprom project lacked clarity and credibility.
The station accordingly invited the Managing Director of Tesprom to discuss the issue of public complaints against the company. The MD admitted that there were a number of clients who had taken action against the company for lack of understanding of the business model.
The radio station, based on the admission from the MD sought legal advice upon which the contract was suspended, at a time that the company owed them for two months.
After the MD corroborated the submissions of Mr. Agyenim Boateng, the Commission endorsed the position of the radio station. It commended it for putting the public interest above revenue and profit. The Commission further directed Tesprom to pay Radio Gold an outstanding debt of Gh₡ 2000, being the cost of the advertisement published until it received the complaints and stopped further publications.
The Commission, based on the responsible conduct of Radio Gold by putting the public interest above revenue has charged all media houses to ensure that they protect the public from false claims in advertisements. The Commission held that media houses have a duty to ensure that there is clarity and certainty about every advertisement they publish.
