Advertising guru, Dr Biodun Shobanjo is worried about the state of broadcasting in the country noting that many of the broadcasters of today are not as good as they should be.
Shobanjo, Chairman of Troyka Holdings, Nigeria’s leading marketing communications group, expressed his concern in his contribution to the new book Communication and media in Nigeria: Celebrating Bimbo Oloyede’s contributions to five decades of theory, practice and transformation titled Challenges of placing commercial communication in the media.
“In the days of yore, media owners, particularly electronic media, ensured that those who appeared on their TV screens either as news readers, or presenters of programmes, were not only well versed in the pronunciation of both foreign and local names, it was imperative that they first and foremost have what was called a ‘broadcasting voice.’
“They had to be articulate, good looking, polished, and in all aspects, very presentable. It was sartorial eloquence on show day after day. None of this over-made, grotesqueries projecting poor diction that daily assault our views on a lot of TV stations, especially the privately owned ones these days. I guess one truth most broadcast media managers today find difficult to accept is that not everyone has a microphone voice and even with one, not everyone is fit to be put before the camera!
“TV presenters or anchors today need to be trained in the art of interviewing. Interviews are not inquisitions and must therefore not be conducted like criminal interrogations. The late Larry King, and Christiane Amanpour – who is still presenting today, both of CNN, are examples to follow. It is also important that programme producers, though not necessarily experts in all fields, have the depth of knowledge to be able to produce content that is not only educational, but also relevant to our culture, with global appeal. It is these values that help deliver such large audiences before which advertising practitioners delight in placing their clients’ advertisements.
“Finally, the issue of discipline in programming is key, and must be addressed. How many times these days are we witnesses to programmes that were being promoted to begin at particular times but come on sometimes 5 or 8 minutes behind schedule? No apologies are given and the anchors proceed as if it is the normal thing to expect.”
