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Who did you listen to during the NDC Primaries?

Here are the most important factor beyond a listening loyalty to station A or B or its historical antecedent in the business of electoral coverage.

 

I am careful in writing about this for two reasons. Make that three. First of all I worry I may sound too academic. Second of all I was not able to listen to as many stations as I would have liked so I would not be able to delve as deep as I would have liked to. Third of all, it is always a dicey situation writing about a field one has worked in and intends to work at again. I wouldn't want to appear 'too known' and in the process destroy a good chance of being 'poached' (this is the point where you smile).

So here's what often happens in the media space during most political elections in Ghana and I reckon most parts of the world too - there is extensive coverage on who is standing against who, favorites, history of the electoral process and so on and so forth. In our parts we focus on national executive elections, elections of candidates, members of parliament and all.

Over the years the increase in 'serious' radio stations has meant a scramble to be noticed and trusted with one thing or the other. Considering we love politics so much it makes sense that it is one of the favorite terrains to make a name and stake a claim too. Oh yes I know I said 'serious stations'. We all know a number of them are merely adding up to the numbers with very few ears listening to them. Let's take this up some other day, shall we?

So over time some stations, especially the 'English' speaking ones have adopted slogans supposed to boast their recognition in that space. We had Joy FM claiming to be 'Your Election Headquarters' from the days when Komla Dumor declared an election for JA Kufuor. Then CITI FM came up with 'Your Election Centre'. Starr FM recently joined in and chose the funky 'Your Election Hub'. Class FM which is the youngest of the English group uses 'Election Strong Room'.

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I am familiar with the workings of the Joy FM and CITI FM newsrooms because I worked in both for one election or another. I also worked with some of the folks at Starr FM and Class FM as well. Aside these, Peace FM has over the years proven to be very adept to political reporting and often do some very good job at this. Albeit they, like the other Twi- speaking stations, tend to add a lot more drama I don't find appropriate.

I ran a 'poll' during and after the primaries to get a fair idea of which stations people generally listened to as the National Democratic Congress selected its parliamentary candidates and also endorsed the President as their candidate for the 2016 General Elections. Generally people preferred Joy FM and CITI FM with quite an impressive number also tuned to Starr FM. Peace FM was also a popular associated dial.

Key Differentiator

To me what I consider the most important factor beyond a listening loyalty to station A or B or its historical antecedent in the business of electoral coverage are the following;

1. The types of anchor in the studio

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One of the key elements of broadcasting is not merely having a good voice (like Komla did or Bernard Nasara Shaibu has at Starr FM) or merely being as eloquent as the most eloquent person you know. Knowing how to couch an available information in a way that is chronological and drives listeners along is an art some have learnt and so know, whiles others have polished that talent. I have worked with a chap who was very eloquent but was shallow at understanding what he said or presented on air.

During the little time I had to listen on Saturday, I caught Adakabre on Peace FM, Kweku Obeng Adjei and Bernard Nasara Shaibu on Starr FM, Evans and Kojo on Joy FM, Richard Sky on CITI FM and very briefly Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo on Class FM. They did pretty well I must say. I don’t want to be drawn into who did better except to say that Sky and Evans are generally known to be very conversant with the political terrain and that came to light in their presentations.

Having a good anchor is akin to having a good driver. When passengers believe in a driver they are more relaxed and can rely on the thought that a competent person is at the wheel. A stuttering host with a limited knowledge on the political process is just as unwarranted as a smooth talker with little or no depth.

2. The sort of people they empanel in the studio and over the phones

As a listener I want to hear the person whose contribution will add to my knowledge, confirm or debunk my perceptions cogently and largely paint the political process as though he were Leonardo da Vinci as he painted the ever famous Mona Lisa. In this direction it may be useful to balance typical party folk with researchers or academics, seasoned journalists and people with opinions that will shape this sort of discussion. It is not the time to encourage empty propagandist statements nor to whip up sentiments that speak to more of the emotion than the fact. It is neither the time to have boring people on your air waves especially when options abound. This is not 1992 with GBC FM competing against Radio One and Radio Two.

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3. The quality of reporters they have outfield and their knack to find the news and report the news and how they get it done

One of my social media friends commented that "Most of the stations are doing great but the huge gap between the Accra and local journos is massive. Huge gulf in depth of knowledge, insight, interviewing skills and all". I totally agree. One of the issues journalism suffers from is the matter of who qualifies to be one and the sort of training they must receive to be considered journalists (yet another topic for another day). One of the determinants of which stations produce credible reports worth the while of the listener is who does  the report from the field and how they do it. Most of the big Accta stations partner others outside Accra but do not take any interest in how they work and the sort of quality they bring on board. Elections such as what just happened are run across the country from Paga through to Elubo and through to Seikwa and Aflao. How good are these reporters to have one or 5 minutes on the big Accra station and what do they bring on board when they call in. If a station is known to have sub-standard reporters across the region, chances that people will listen to them are lower than those that those whose correspondents match up on terms of output with the so-called Accra big guns.

4. Who is in the production team and do they know their job?

One of the most important but yet often forgotten group of professionals in the radio business are the producers in the newsroom. These are the guys who contribute to the news ideas, undertake research, source for interviewees and panel members, listen to interviews and proffer plausible follow up questions for the host and all that. A production team can make or unmake a programme. It is therefore important that as much attention is paid to this very important part as it is to the on-air team.

When it is all said and done….

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Oh yes when it is all said and done, we had some very good coverage of the weekend’s political activity. Then there was good old Facebook Radio as well where the public gave their own reports and commentary. Much as there was competition to gain attention, it was also important to note that stations strived to keep things professional as well. It was also pretty obvious that people relied more on the networks they have been used to in past elections though the era of crisscrossing and changing dials means that new ones like Starr FM got a good chance to win new hearts.

By Kwame Gyan

Twitter - @KwameGyan

Facebook - /kwame.gyan

Email – kwame@kwamegyan.com

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