By Isaac Massaquoi
We always talk about the Fourth Estate function of the media, basically holding the powerful to account - mostly politicians - but now big and powerful multinational corporations and even community and church leaders are in our line of fire.
The explosion of social media applications has opened the way for new players known as citizen journalists who are almost constantly on their smartphones reporting and commenting on every topic under the sun. They are not bound by any media code and largely couldn’t care less about ethical reporting. That explains why in Sierra Leone we appear to have accepted that obscene language on social media can be used in the service of politics, in particular by a handful of people. Sadly, they have now influenced a good few more people. The habit is now creeping into the domain of what we call the traditional media.
A few weeks ago, the Independent Media Commission, Sierra Leone’s media regulatory body, invited me to speak at a seminar for Community Radio managers. The engagement was funded by the Chinese Embassy. I arrived at the training venue early enough to witness the opening ceremony in one of the rooms at the Freetown City Hall.
The country’s Deputy Minister of Information and Civic Education, Yusuf Keketoma Sandi, was there to declare the seminar open. He had cause to go off his script to talk about an encounter he had with a Sierra Leonean, who obviously didn’t like something about the government. Sandi was in a radio station taking calls in a popular live programme on AYV radio, also streamed on television hosted by DJ Base. The young politician narrated how shocked he was when a caller insulted his mother but quickly stated how determined he was to press on with his job no matter how many times he was insulted.
It is almost as if it was after his appearance at that seminar was reported that the video clip of the encounter went viral. In fact, it was on social media that I watched it, only for the purpose of this piece. I am among millions of Sierra Leoneans who really cannot accept the use of abusive language as a means of expressing some contrary viewpoint, be it in politics or sports.
Mamajah Jalloh or DJ Base is a well-established name in the business of late-night radio talk shows. He has worked with all but one of the major broadcasters in the country, beginning with the UN Radio in the days when the Peacekeeping mission in the country used radio as a tool to consolidate the peace. After the almost 11 years of a rebel war that ended in 2002, characterised by widespread killing, maiming, destruction of property and dispersal of a large number of ordinary Sierra Leoneans into mainly neighbouring Guinea and Liberia, the UN Radio became an effective means to promote peace. Over the period, DJ Base has developed a huge and loyal fan base that has stuck with him in his professional travels on the night waves of radio stations in Sierra Leone. So, an appearance on his show is a big thing. Politicians, business people and local celebrities hardly turn down his call.
The guest for this controversial edition now under consideration was the deputy minister, whom I had introduced earlier. Here’s the background: a nationwide demonstration, called by a group of Sierra Leoneans based abroad and largely regarded as sympathetic towards the political opposition in this country, had just collapsed. It was largely ignored by the people but also because those that actually wanted to go out into the streets were prevented from doing so by the police. The law enforcement agency had described the protest as illegal. The police thought the political temperature at the time was high, especially following the June 24 elections and those calling for demonstrations failed to reveal their identity.
Incidentally, Sandi was in the studio that evening to deal with some of the concerns expressed on social media and in traditional media outlets in Freetown. In the kind of polarised political environment that is typical of the atmosphere in Sierra Leone these days, this edition of the programme was surely going to test the professionalism and overall technical capabilities of DJ Base and his institution.
THE PHONE-IN PROGRAMME
There are at least five different ways of doing this radio programme format. In Sierra Leone phone-in programmes on radio go as far back as the days when legendary presenters at the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) like Tonie French and Euphemia Mackay presented a programme called Dial for Music. This was a rudimentary but well-tamed approach to interactive radio broadcast in which all callers respectfully made music requests for loved ones travelling abroad, celebrating a birthday or recuperating in hospital. There was nothing political.
Today, the broadcaster, now the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, is on air with more than a hundred others. Thus, the phone-in format has become the most common type of programmes used for a thousand and one purposes, including that which made it the second most popular programme on SLBS then - Kris Nar Case. It was a somewhat irreverent satirical portrayal of socio-political life under one party rule in Sierra Leone by Chris During.
Radio stations in Sierra Leone have continuously used just one version of the phone-in programme, that’s what we call the Soap Box and they have always taken calls directly into the programme. Interactive programing is great for many reasons, including the fact that listeners are able to engage directly with policy makers at national and local levels and depending on the topic, listeners can get health tips talking to a professional in the studio or some security advice in times of emergencies. However, there are risks, especially given the severe technical limitations of all our radio stations in the country. A very good programme could be ruined by just one caller, like the guy who called into the Back to base show programme and insulted the government minister that evening.
IMC regulations targeting phone-in programmes clearly put enormous responsibility on the radio station and its presenter. They are expected to be able to handle such emergencies where they occur, and the station must be technically ready with particular reference to phone-in programmes. If the station had a delay broadcast facility, within a few seconds, it would have helped DJ Base to block that absolutely obscene language from hitting the airwaves.
An experienced presenter’s last line of defence is what broadcaster’s call the obscenity or profanity button. The presenter presses that button as soon as some seriously offensive language comes through in a live broadcast. Producers would normally put the programme into delay – it is recorded and played back within five seconds or so because the programme goes through a digital delay unit, giving the presenter a few seconds to drop in a jingle to eliminate the incoming obscenity. It may sound a little complex, but this is the technology the IMC requires radio stations in Sierra Leone to have.
We are living in a country where every conversation about, say a local football match between two villages is dragged to the doorsteps of the government and there is this growing tendency for listeners to use disgracefully foul language during live shows. There is always a risk of an innocuous phone-in programme turning into a nightmare and forcing the regulatory hand of the IMC against a radio station that may genuinely be providing community service.
I don’t think that radio stations should now quickly close down all phone-in programmes. Rather, I believe that depending on the subject matter, the production team, and here I assume such programmes have producers, should be a bit sensitive and try out other formats.
EARLY LINES
With reference to the programme under consideration, another phone-in version known as Early Lines would have served better. In its most basic form the producers of the programme, in this case Back to Base show of AYV would put out the topic for the next edition, say one hour before the programme is due to go on air. A broadcast assistant then receives the calls and logs them in for the attention of the producer. The producer then carefully selects the calls he wants for that particular edition and the radio would then originate the calls on a phone-back basis.
Robert MacLeish lists a few reasons why he believes this version of a phone-in programme carries significant advantages: The calls are not random; they are selected to keep the programme on its theme; the order in which the calls are broadcast is under the control of the producer and can therefore represent a logical progression. He argues that with the phone back system, the credential of the original caller is established, irresponsible calls are eliminated and I should add that there is no struggle getting the contributions into the studio. This approach may also be open to manipulation but my argument is mad hoping that the producer was a professional, working for a media institution with integrity to protect.
While we agree that people in public offices should be held accountable and it is the media’s business to lead that process, the use of obscene language on radio and TV cannot be accepted. Interactive radio is now irreversible despite all the risks associated with it but there are innovative ways broadcasters in particular can carry out this Fourth Estate responsibility without offending public taste and decency.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (06/10/23)
