Quality content still a mirage
It was believed that the country’s migration from the analogue platform to the digital mode of transmission would lead to an improvement in the number of television stations and by extension, the quality of content.
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Sadly, only one of these expectations has come to pass, that is the increase in the number of television stations. It appears, however, that quality of content is growing exponentially worse as the days go by.
Not only are we seeing an influx of more foreign content such as telenovelas but even more worrying has been the emergence of late night adult talk shows, many of which have resorted to showing full-blown pornography.
Though the operators of these networks argue that the pornography shown on their networks are screened late at night, the issue still raises many concerns.
We hold the view that the general absence of good programmes and the not-so-veiled pornography on our screens can be blamed on the regulatory agencies who have doggedly refused to enforce the law.
Television is a very important means of transmitting information and education to people. In our type of society where formal education is fairly low, the masses rely on the media, especially radio and television, to know which direction the world is going.
Though we may assume that the proliferation of television stations is a sign of progress, the reality is that we are retrogressing in terms of the quality of stuff beaming out of our television sets.
Well-trained and qualified local talents need to be encouraged by the stations to produce for them. We abhor the system of our independent content producers being made to buy expensive airtime to show their work.
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After all, the telenovelas cheaply bought from foreign markets don’t seem to contribute much to our sense of independence and national pride. Let’s run with our competent local content producers!