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Social media disruption comes to radio doorstep
Odoobo Charles Bichachi
What you need to know:
Telling us that the two individuals lost their lives would have been enough.
Last week, this column focused on the content of many FM radios in the country, particularly radios broadcasting in English from Kampala. It was a response to a listener that had asked why morning radio talk-shows feature adult content at a time parents are driving their children to school or are at home having breakfast.
We did learn from Uganda Communication Commission (UCC), the government agency that regulates broadcast media, about what in programming is referred to as “watershed period”. Apparently, the watershed period means the period of time during which programmes that might be unsuitable for children or contain adult content may be broadcast. In Uganda, the watershed period is the time between 10pm and 5am.
I had spoken to two renowned radio critics Joel Isabirye and Timothy Kalyegira who both have a background in radio programming. It was clear from their observations that such titillating content has worked for Uganda’s commercial radio stations since the airwaves were liberalised in the early 1990s – and probably still works for them. I nonetheless give the two gentlemen the last word on the sustainability of this approach to broadcast content and how else it can be done.
Joel Isabirye: “Certainly such content may cause switch-off in family like situations. Parents may opt not to tune in to avoid the embarrassing moments of listening to this content with their children. Yes, it cannot be that sex and relationships should be the only content even if it does create mass appeal. Effort must be made to vary content to ensure that it is educative and entertaining. However, because many stations do not have the capacity or resources to do so, then they leave it at that.”
Timothy Kalyegira: “It has to change. As I have been pointing out to some radio managers, today social media provides all the silliness, gossip and sexual innuendo one can ever need. So radio has no choice, even from a marketing point of view, to position itself as a serious medium. It can’t beat social media at gossipy content, but can beat it at serious content. Same thing with print newspapers. In an era of 24-hour silliness and light chatter on social media in much higher volumes, newspapers have no choice on focusing more on substance and leaving social gossip to social media.”
The long and short is that like it is with other legacy media, particularly newspapers, the social media disruption is at the doorstep of radio and only new thinking will stop them [FM stations] sounding like a broken record, so to speak!
*****
Reacting to a Daily Monitor social media post on December 9 that read, “…traffic had been paralysed near Kireka market on the Kampala-Jinja road after a trailer truck crashed two men that were riding on a boda-boda motorcycle beyond recognition.”
Kathy Ayoma commented thus: “Reckless journalism. Must you disclose such gory details? Have some empathy for families. RIP to the departed souls”.
She was supported by Patrick Ojangole who posted thus: “…my thoughts as well. Very unprofessional! Telling us that the two individuals lost their lives would have been enough. Ugandan journalists always show lack of empathy with their sensationalist reporting.” Other readers, notably Anthony Kasagga and Fredricks B. Edwards, disagreed, saying there was no problem with the Daily Monitor social media post as he wanted news reported exactly as it happened. So who of the readers is right or wrong? The NMG Editorial Policy Guidelines have a provision on covering such grim news under the sub-head, “Intrusion into grief or shock.” It states that “In cases involving personal grief or shock, enquiries should be carried out and approaches made with sympathy, empathy and discretion.”
Indeed, while the post was accurate as enjoined by the journalism code of ethics, it lacked empathy and, therefore, went into unnecessary gory detail about the accident. Understandably, this was breaking news and there was scanty information about the circumstances of the accident which would have been more useful information.
Many times, journalists walk a tight rope balancing what is right or appropriate.
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