115 Final Project Draft
On October 11th of, 2022, the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica banned anything on TV, radio, or cable that had to do with or mentions or encourages any sort of illegal activities, profanities, things about getting money or getting wealthy, and other phrases or actions of that sort. That was promoting this new policy by saying that these new banns and changes would keep their airways clean. The goal of the broadcasting commission is to monitor and regulate free-air television, radio, and cable. Because that this does not have cost, however, this is the media that is accessible and most widely available to Jamaican consumers, especially in a country with so much poverty things that are free are likely to be a very widely used form of media overall. The minister of information Robert Morgan claimed that this is not a restriction on free speech because it is not banning the artists or entertainers and individuals, just preventing what is going on in public media spaces.
People seem to be confused and mixed about this ban. Both artists and citizens have opinions on this ban. Some people want music to go back to just being fun, and some believe that this is like banning freedom of speech and that it is important for these stories to be able to be heard. Many people in charge of these decisions are making entertainers who make this music that will have banned content on public airwaves as a moral issue due to the threat it promotes and how it could harm society. The driving force behind this decision is the hope that reducing music publicly heard seen or media consumed with violence promotes along with other illegal activities will help with the crime rate in jamaica. The Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica believes that music or videos on public airways to reduce the consumption of this type of media with these images and messages, especially to youth who are more susceptible to glorifying and following these messages in their eyes. With all of this, the main goal of banning this type of media is to try to reduce the violent crime rate.
Violent crime is a large issue in Jamaica and has been for years. However, many argue that a ban like this will have no effect on the high violent crime rate in Jamaica and actually perpetuates and misplaces blame on the issues going on in the country. Jamaica actually has the highest murder rate in Latin America and the Caribbean as of recently, so it is an issue to be addressed, but the content consumed by the artists and many everyday people is not believed to be the root of the issue but instead is reflecting what is happening in Jamaican society. Among these, Jamaica also has major issues with gun violence as a whole as well as gang activity. Many criticize that this ban is simply an easy scapegoat that will not do anything to decrease the high crime rates. In addition to many younger audiences using apps such as Spotify for their music, for example, or youtube for videos and media, which still allow this banned content, it also undermines and oversimplifies the issue of violent crime rates overall. This has long been a problem between the poverty in the country, lack of care for people in different areas of the country, victim blaming, and all the issues that have only been expedited and worsened by huge economic issues because of the pandemic. This issue is much more complex than a ban on certain media and potentially crossing boundaries of what qualifies as free speech as well as sparking a global and local debate on the matter and its long-term effects and implications.
Initial Sources on Ban
Will banning music glorifying violence from the airwaves reduce Jamaica's crime rate?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/13/jamaica-broadcasting-commission-regulator-bans-music-tv-deemed-to-glorify-crime
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/jamaica-bans-broadcasts-deemed-glorify-drugs-crime-rcna52042
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-63247151