OF ROYALTIES AND MISPLACED LOYALTIES

In Kenya, the combination of music and politics has proven to be vital in securing an election victory. Musicians have now wisened up and are demanding their pound of flesh from politicians. As politicians seek to shore up voter loyalties, the musicians are demanding royalties for use of their productions. For the the media, though it's a case of royalties and misplaced loyalties.

In this part of the world, certain communities have a penchant of messing up pronunciation of English sounds, referred to as mother-tongue interference.

This could be a logical explanation for the mix-up of the lower news story tag above, which states:

'KAMP, PRISK demand loyalties from politicians'

You see, the mind could be playing a terrible game on the writer of the caption, such that the way they are used to saying, 'royalties' is how they spell it as well.

Or worse still, the person truly thinks he or she's typing 'royalties' and is even unperturbed by the sight of the word 'loyalties', because the mind is stubbornly 'seeing royalties'.

I wouldn't want to put my money on the probable fact that, here, we are dealing with a case of the writer not using the word, 'loyalties' in the right context.

I also strongly want to believe it is wrong to conclude the entire news production and studio crew in this TV station, on duty then, could not distinguish between 'loyalties' and 'royalties'.

After all, royal media has loyal viewers. (I hope you don't see what I did there).

BUSY TV SCREEN, AND A MULTIMEDIA STRAIN

It is no longer desirable to ignore the demands of a digital media environment, and a demanding audience, wielding immense powers because of available options of content and channels. But this should not mean that the media should carelessly experiment in the hope of giving their audience a fresh experience. This can result in a busy TV screen and a multimedia strain.

Yes. It's good to tap into different media formats and either align the content with the best option or even use  a combination to create a multimedia product.

But no. You just don't put together any mashup, and deem it fit for audience consumption, like it happened with one Kenyan TV station.

As depicted above, the TV screen appeared to mirror a web page, probably in the hope of making it look savvy and edgy.

Actually, what was being beamed on air was an online article from another media's website, but with the additional eye strain of a talking head video, being aired live and literally boxed into webpage.

So in one go, your eyes are juggling between reading the headline of the article and the speaker's gesticulations as he makes his point, as well as the lower third information tags.

The ear too gets a piece of the action, trying heard to listen to what the subject is speaking, as the mind works hard to process all these elements, to make them different from nonsense.

Work with multimedia but desists from causing multiple eyes, ears and mental strain for your audience.

TV PRESENTER DOWN: WHEN THE SHOW MUST NOT GO ON

Live TV comes with anxiety, tension, and unforeseen turn of events. However, local broadcast stations need to be alive to the fact that delivering a seamless show is not larger than life. Oh yes, you can take a break and eject an unruly studio guest. But oh no. When a TV presenter is down, the live show must not go on, especially not according to the usual script. 

In what must count as one of the most awkward moment on Kenyan live TV shows, a host hurt himself on air, and was writhing on the floor in pain.

But the co-presenter, (on the misadvice of the director/producer perhaps), set in motion the normal closing sequence of the show.

So, as her colleague was screaming his guts out, she started bidding the viewer goodbye, and at one point even clapped.

CLAPPED!

So what if, God forbid, the injury sustained by the other presenter was very serious?

(I'm not saying ending in death, but well, distantly implying it).

Would there have been any justification to continue with the show normally, if there was a grave (pardon the pun) situation on the set?

I doubt there was a viewer (with a heart), focusing on the presenter winding up the show.

Again. The quest to deliver a perfect live show is not a matter of life and death.

Do keep that point alive, show director/producer/floor manager!

DISCONTENT WITH THE CONTENT OF TV MORNING SHOWS

Kenyan TV stations have decreed that all mornings are the same for everyone. So, a similar content will be on offer across the channels. From a recap of the previous day's news, to a newspaper review segment, followed by some interviews or discussions. Is the entire audience that homogeneous? The discontent with the content of TV morning shows is on different levels.

The setting is most of the time studio-based, with a pinch of razzmatazz to create the illusion of technological sophistication. But be warned, artificialness is indirectly proportional to visual appeal.

Attempts are made to focus on engaging topics. But there is either too much talking that induces sleeping tendencies, at a time when the staying awake barrier is supposed to have been overcome, ahead of a presumably productive day.

Or, the pretentiousness that permeates the presentation styles, buoyed by self-centred banter, leaves a sugarless aftertaste, from the early morning viewing experience.

Once in a while, there are flashes of brilliance in capturing real issues that reasonably resonate with the struggles of the majority, and celebrating the resilience of unbroken spirits.

But how hard is it to not only think outside the box, but to completely forget there once was a box, and instead opt for the path less trodden, when it comes to selecting a unique programme format?

I refuse to mourn the death of creativity in Kenyan TV stations.

I agree to rejoice at the birth of refreshing programming ideas