SECTOR 3 3.5 The editorial independence of the state/public broadcaster from political influence is guaranteed by law and practised to ensure balanced and fair news and current affairs programmes. The Constitution guarantees the editorial independence of the state/public media, including the GBC. In fact, Article 167 (c) mandates the NMC to “to insulate the state-owned media from government control”. Despite this, political interference and self-censorship does take place. “If you get a ‘phone call’ and you don’t respect it, you may not stay on the job long enough.” The NCA Act, authorises the minister to issue directives to the NCA. Furthermore, the law states that the president should have access to state media at all times. Given this reality, the full editorial independence of the state broadcaster is debatable. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 3.4 (2006: n/a; 2008: n/a; 2011: n/a) 3.6 The state/public broadcaster is adequately funded in a manner that protects it from political interference through its budget and from commercial pressure. The government is obliged by law to fund the state broadcaster. The GBC receives subventions from government, and its survival without government funding is questionable. Government pays the salaries of GBC workers directly as civil servants, while the internal operations of the corporation are paid for with internally generated funds. Even with these subventions, however, “the public broadcaster is underresourced” and is not adequately funded in a way that protects it from commercial pressure. 50 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2013