Time to Go
Kick Out
Rogue Radio Journalists
Some careers were not designed for pretenders. I mean
the people who go and squat at the workplace and let someone else do the work
as they wait for salary at the end month. They do not encourage masqueraders.
You’ve got to do your assignment and its impact be felt or better still be
seen. Such is what modern journalism is.
Sadly, the noble call to public interest service is
not devoid of half baked, unbaked and undeserving practitioners. The only other
career which I know that tolerates this kind of in and out movement is
teaching. Where job-seekers cool their tarmacking soles thinking about fresher
pastures ahead.
You know journalism and teaching are cursed. The
rightful professionals are crowded out when the HR Managers adopt stop-gap
measures. And all this is selfishness. Tell me why media houses will hire
drop-outs, jokers and pretenders without a clue about the basic journalistic
codes of conduct. Having a voice and looks is never enough to be a media practitioner.
Parents and children are embarrassed by pornographic breakfast shows when the
untrained media personalities take to the studios.
I will tell you two reasons which I think are the
major factors for the continued stay of comedian journalists in our airwaves.
First, it is because they have influence. They sway the audience. They are
wanted by media managers so that they can attract listeners. When the requisite
numbers are reached, the media houses sell the audience to advertisers. No
wonder that such personalities secure plum endorsement deals with companies. In
return, they are paid well by both advertisers and their employers.
But this comes at a cost. A heavy cost indeed. There
are obscene portrayals of women, glorifying cheating escapades and utter
disregard of what media professionalism stands for. You cannot listen to such
morning shows with your mother. Unfortunately, there are mothers making premium
calls to these broadcasters. This begs the question, surely who are these
ladies really? Are they the same who do not want to imagine what their
daughters do while they are away? What about the millions of men who sustain
these illicit bedroom romps? Do they have families? The stakes cannot go
higher. It is a delicate dilemma. Mobile service providers have no qualms
charging stratospheric call rates to their loyal clients. They think they are
the Caesar who must receive tax at whatever cost.
Then there are these sweeping interjections, pauses
and unsolicited advice. Since the broadcasters target young adults like the
single youths, the latter are misadvised by backstreet journalists. “Marriage
does not work. He cheats so she does too. Virgins don’t exist. Road test is a
must before I put a ring on that finger. His money is ours but my money is mine
only. It is God’s command for men to provide.”
The above utterances are convenient for the proponent.
They hurt the other party. They encourage discrimination, sexism, gender
inequality and infidelity.
True, the society is patriarchal and no man can stop
the worldwide awakening of women. But where is the moderation? Why go overboard
and wash your dirty linen in public? Don’t you have any other forum to solve
your personal issues privately?
Still on the RiverRoad journalists: They profess
knowledge of anything and everything controversial. They imagine they know
everything and are ready to offer help to desperate listeners. They are not
psychologists but will guide and counsel stressed spouses on air. They are not
doctors but will prescribe medicine for the listener’s loneliness. Poor ear!
Methinks you cannot rule out stage-managed plays colluded by the media and listeners
in a bid to manufacture content. Are listeners coached to answer appropriately
to questions? Is it just hot air or
there is a genuine problem that will erupt to suicide, homicide or genocide if
not arrested? Is it a ticking time bomb that will explode anyway?
Genuine media graduates cannot find jobs because of foul
mouths that are reckless, careless and blunt who camp at radio stations. Doctors,
psychologist, gynecologists, police officers, teachers, parents and preachers
are rendered redundant. They are complaining that they have nothing to do.
These rogue actors must swallow a humble pie and realize that they cannot know
all. They ought to enlist professional advice to the woes facing their
audiences.
How about reprogramming the shows to air during
afterhours rather than breakfast? This is the excusable time to talk trash.
Idle and able bodied people sit hours on end listening to pornography. They
waste productive time doing nothing. Laziness is resting before working. We
should work and rest thereafter. There is no better ideal moment than 10 p.m
onwards. If the presenters want they can do it until midnight or up to the next
day but please spare children this dirt.
A good journalist is the one who observes media law
and ethics. S/he does not expose the dignity of his/her audience under the guise
of “being the mirror of the society”.
The Media Council of Kenya and the affected media
houses have a responsibility to act decently and rein in on rogue
journalists. Freedom has responsibility.
Whether you are practicing the freedom of thought, expression or that of media,
know that others too have their rights and protect them as you enjoy yours.
As for the rogue presenters, go to (media) school, sit
down and learn media practice first before thinking about picking that mic. You
can also go to theater and perform all your theatrics there. You have had your time
to run the show. It is time for real journalists to take over. Doctors,
psychologists, gynecologists, clerics, teachers, and parents you’ve got someone
to trust. We will seek your expert advice as we go ahead with our call to
entertain, educate and inform the public.
