The other day, I strolled over to Twitter , it was immediately after one of the biggest political rallies yet and I felt the need to the guage the pulse of the people.

I had hardly been there a minute, when a post caught my eye. This tweeter wrote and I quote: 'No media house is reporting or showing the Xyzzyxx campaign, thank God for Social media.if not Nigeria's mainstream media would've locked us out'.

One look at the comments section and the dreadful bashing of the Nigerian media almost left me in stitches literally.

Honestly, they were correct.
This particular political rally wasnt aired on any of our local stations, However, what the tweeters didn't understand was that, political coverage on local stations is a two way traffic.

Let me explain…

✅ Firstly, as far as the Nigerian Broadcasters and broadcast stations go, we have guided by codes of the National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC), our own regulatory body that ensures; Broadcasters adhered strictly to it's codes and guidelines, to always provide a level playing field for all political players, registered political parties and candidates.

✅ In the same vein, Broadcasters and anchors of political programmes are expected by the same codes to guide their platforms well and ensure that guests abide by the broadcasting guidelines and all legal provisions guiding broadcasting internationally.

✅ Also, Broadcast stations are prohibited from denying airtime access to any group.

✅ That's not all, broadcast stations are required by that same code, to ensure equity in airtime allocation and coverage of political parties’ activities particularly during prime times.

BUT, in as much as we are expected to take on all of these responsibilities; Political parties also have a duty to perform;

I'll list out a few…

✅ Send out invitations for political rallies/ coverage to media houses: you'd agree that it's inappropriate to crash into an event uninvited. Broadcast stations have a reputation to protect.

✅ Even when political parties send out the invitations, they should ensure that it's at least forty eight hours or more before the actual event. To give the station ample to prepare especially with briefs and logistics. Covering political events is no mean feat

✅ Political parties/candidates should endeavor to Pay broadcast stations for coverage of their campaigns/rallies; I know some of you may argue this; but before you do, please note that even the NBC itself agrees that electioneering period is the time, broadcast stations make money from political adverts and campaigns as long as it is done within the ambit of Law.

There you go, the very next time you find yourself drawn into a conversation about Nigerian Broadcasters/broadcast stations. Tell them to cut us some slack; we are not the bad guys.

Have an impactful week.

© Idara UDOH

#radio #television #politics #election #campaign

Forget the code. We know how biased you people can be at the sight of a brown envelope.

And who are this we? Please argue from an enlightened stance and not your emotions.

The mainstream media needs to review their fees so that all political parties can use them to promote their manifestoes and activities.

If not, with people's preference to follow events on their mobile devices instead of television and radio, the social media will kick the traditional media houses into extinction.

These days, there's hardly anything that our television and radio stations can do that our smart devices cannot do.