SECTOR 1 in recent times, and “if not properly looked at, the manner in which it is applied may affect the progress that has been made to date”. Another perceived threat which emerged during Ghana’s historic presidential election challenge in the Supreme Court was the situation where comments made outside the court were deemed as scandalising the court. This led to a 10day jail sentence for those responsible for the comments, including a newspaper editor and a political party activist. They were convicted of “criminal contempt”. There is an ongoing debate over a proposal for a Contempt of Court Act to be passed to specify acts of contempt in order to avoid the use of this power of the court to cow journalists, in ways similar to the period of military rule which is usually referred to as “the era of the culture of silence”. Given the guarantees of freedom within the constitution, as well as Article 162(3) provision that: “There shall be no impediments to the establishment of private press or media”, the Ghanaian media is very liberal, to the extent that some panellists believed that media practitioners enjoy too much freedom. “While we are enjoying this freedom, we need to take into account the loopholes within this provision.” Through the Constitution, however, the National Media Commission (NMC) is empowered to set regulations for entry into the journalism profession. Further, the National Communication Authority (NCA) has powers within its enabling law as it pertains to social media. Since the AMB Ghana 2011, no new laws have been enacted to promote media freedom or freedom of expression, but the Broadcasting Bill and the Right to Information (RTI) Bill, which have been long in the making, are still awaiting passage in Parliament. Other pieces of legislation that seek to promote and support freedom of expression include the NMC Act and the Whistleblowers Act 2006. An example of a clause in the Whistleblowers Act that promotes freedom of expression is one that nullifies any contract or clause that impedes an individual from being able to blow the whistle on corruption or the misuse of public funds. Additionally, there is an urban/rural divide in the sense that “folks in the rural settings still haven’t come to terms with understanding that the constitution gives them the right or freedom to say what they want to say”, while in urban areas, people do not shy away from speaking their minds. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2013 13