Radio drama gets its groove

With Uganda’s cutthroat radio competition, it’s no longer about music and more music; listeners want something that intertwines information, education and entertainment in a novel way, writes Dennis D. Muhumuza

In one of the episodes I listened to, a boy wanted out of a relationship with a sugar mummy but could not since she was paying his school fees. Plus he needed her money to look after his sick mother. It was a classic case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The episode was from a 30-minute radio serial drama, Rock Point 256, that hit the airwaves in August 2005. The number of radio stations it airs on have since gone up to 22 from 16, including 93.3 Kfm.

Recorded in English, Luganda, Luo, Ateso and Runyakitara, the action-packed series try to paint contrasting portraits of Uganda – the country as it is, the country we all desire; a Uganda devoid of HIV/Aids, domestic violence, teenage pregnancies, alcohol/drug abuse and related ills.

Far from being just emotionally involving, the series also explore familial relations and friendships, transactional sex – popularly known as “something for something love”, sports and life skills while employing a fast-paced approach made the series more appealing with humour, music and sound effects.

The serial’s slogan, “Discover the rock in you” is an appeal to the youth that it seeks to influence positively, to invoke their inner strength while grappling with the challenges of life. Parents and policy makers have a lot to glean from the storylines although the drama targets young people between 13-25 years.

According to a 2007 media survey conducted by The Steadman Group, the Series have reached up to 50 per cent of its target audience and are causing behavioural change, especially among rural families.

Pablo (in a suit) with his cast

Kenneth “Pablo” Kimuli, the Series production director, tells the story of a man who, after listening to an episode, quit alcohol and violence and went around his village in Bushenyi convincing people to tune in.

In 2007, the drama won the AfriComNet Award for Excellence in HIV and Aids Communication in the Best Multi-Channel Communication category. In 2010 it was voted the best radio programme by the New Vision readers and in 2011 won the Africa Edutainment Award in the Fighting against HIV category. And just last week, on May 18, Rock Point 256 outstripped several companies, organisations and individuals to win the Local Content Award in the UCC-organised Annual Communications Innovation Awards (ACIA 2012).

“The UCC award means a lot because it came at a time when the mother project Young Empowered And Healthy (Y.E.A.H) had just closed and the Drama was looking for sustenance from commercial sponsors,” says Tony Mushoborozi, the Script Editor. “We hope that this milestone will open that door for us.”

Tony and Pablo should have nothing to fear. With Uganda’s cutthroat radio competition, it’s no longer about music and more music; listeners want something that intertwines information, education and entertainment in a novel way, thus the station that uses radio drama to confront the complex and controversial political and social issues of the day could have an advantage over its competitors. It would also mean more jobs for script writers, actors and producers since Rock Point 256 alone employs 200 actors.

“Radio drama, though a complex and sophisticated art form, is capable of so much and is therefore worthy of a lifelong pursuit,” says Pablo. “I believe that there’s still great radio drama yet to be made by talented people with a deep love and understanding of the medium.”

--Saturday Monitor, May 26, 2012

News broadcasts leave alot to be desired

By DENNIS D. MUHUMUZA

There’s an irritating practice that has infiltrated Uganda’s broadcast industry and is becoming acceptable unless it’s dealt a fatal blow once and for all. It’s understandable that more news items are sourced from the local community where the degree of literacy and English comprehension is scanty, but if you are going to mix two languages in the same newscast use subtitles. If it’s English news at 1pm, then don’t adulterate it with Luganda because not every viewer is bilingual in English and Luganda.

It does not stop there. Sometimes the wrong video clip for the right news item is shown, not forgetting this tendency of showing complicated graphs when dealing with issues of national interest, and indecipherable shapes when it comes to weather forecasts. This makes you gasp at the faith our news managers have in the comprehension of the average Ugandan viewer!

More flabbergasting though is news anchors losing their breaths and stumbling over words even when the news presentation is not live. Editors and producers need to work closely with reporters to ensure stories are well-written, well-edited, well-packaged, and to approve all content before it’s aired.

Evidently, more journalists should be deployed to cover related angles especially when reporting on national concerns like load-shedding, striking public servants and oil contracts. But in our typical broadcast industry, multitasking has gone down the drain whereby reporters are made to record their scripts, edit, assemble them and sometimes anchor the news all in one. No wonder the bloopers are seemingly endless.

Although NTV and WBS try to beam the best graphics/pictures to add visual appeal to and enhance the viewer’s understanding of the relayed content, while others are dismally limping so much that their footage is there to serve the purpose of merely filling airtime!

As it is, the moving pictures (action) makes television the most powerful source of news. So content managers and reporters must strive, always, for excellence and professionalism. Take off time and pick a lesson or two from how those BBC/CNN professionals approach and execute general reportage.


--Saturday Monitor, September 24, 2011

Jazz with Isaiah

DENNIS D. MUHUMUZA

The latest television show to watch out for is Jazz with Isaiah after the Friday 9pm NTV news. Its uniqueness is not in its exclusivity as a jazz show but in the little surprises and live performance skits that epitomize the show. 

Isaiah Katumwa

Did you for example know that Senior Presidential Advisor on ICT Dr. Ham Mulira is an accomplished pianist? Yes, he was Isaiah Katumwa’s guest last Friday as they shared their love and passion for jazz music. Turns out Dr. Mulira has played the piano since he was 10 but is so good at it that he has played for on stage for South African jazz legend Miriam Makeba!

Anyhow, Isaiah’s jazz show debunks the notion that jazz is a complicated genre that can only be appreciated by the equally sophisticated. For the three times I’ve watched this 30-minute show, I’ve fallen in love with jazz, because of the creativity, skilfulness and emotiveness that goes into this genre. 

Isaiah opens his show with a piece from the classics; could be something from Grover Washington, or Hugh Masekela or even Isaiah himself; something intimate and wistful to warm up the soul, making you recline deeper in the sofa to enjoy the rest of the show. Soon, the men in the studio are chatting away in so relaxed a manner you forget this is an interview. There are lots of light moments too. For example when Isaiah asked Dr. Mulira what his best jazz piece of all time is, and he replied that it’s actually Isaiah’s My Joy, the host, visibly flattered said, “Are you sure you’re not just being polite to me?” It was a brilliant light moment.  

The spontaneity of the host is also admirable. One moment he’s asking ‘what’s your take on jazz’ and next he’s saying “let’s play something!” When Dr. Muhira tickled the keys of the keyboard dexterously, a tantalized Isaiah picked up his saxophone, and soon the room was infused with poignant sounds that betrayed their emotional attachment to instrumental jazz.  

This is the show that initiates the amateur into the real world of jazz; from the different styles and the emotion that is poured in, you learn that jazz, like good poetry, is purely a heart thing. 

The show also has a segment where the interviewer gets to be interviewed! When he got his chance, Dr. Mulira asked what instrument besides the saxophone Isaiah would choose given chance. He said piano, because “it’s delicate especially when you want to hear something sensitive, quiet yet powerful,” and admitted how the seductive sounds of a piano sometimes bring tears to his eyes! 

No doubt Jazz with Isaiah is bound to popurize jazz music in Uganda like never before. It’s a show that should teach station managers to pick show-hosts as passionate and knowledgeable in their areas of interest as is Isaiah about jazz.   

--Saturday Monitor, August 20, 2011               

Is the monotony of reality TV leading to its demise?

Uganda has had its taste of reality shows with several contestants representing the country. Dennis D. Muhumuza writes about the challenges faced by our stars and the fate of these shows

Since the 2003 Big Brother Africa 1, reality television gripped Ugandans and the excitement continued to rise with the screening of other shows such as Pop Idols, Project Fame, Face of Africa, Show me the Money, Hot Steps and The Apprentice Africa.

But nothing seemed to attract more than BBA. The moralists may have branded it "big bother" but the idea of locking 12 complete strangers; males and females in a house for 98 days; seeing them play dirty to win the race, the tears and frustration of evictees or seeing the remnants on the edge of breakdown as the pressure of possible eviction mounted and the speculation over who had sex with whom, was seen by many viewers as entertainment par excellence.

That was in 2003 and later 2007. This year the verdict on BBA has not been favourable with critics and bloggers judging it dull and uninteresting; a "big bore." This is because it returned too soon. Viewers were still relishing talking about the romantic rollercoaster Tanzania's randy boy, Richard (BBA 2 winner) had had with his partner in the "steamy crime", Angola's Tatiana, when lo, BBA3 was thrust upon us! There was hardly any room for desiring it again.

Morris Mugisha's cool-like-cucumber disposition and laid-back temperament would not help him much in the quest for the fame and fortune that BBA had laid on the table.

It's a dynamic world; the producers might want to take a long nap and arise with a fresh package; perhaps a new location and more housemates. Heck, they should even consider switching the field presenters with chosen contestants, if that is what it will take to keep the over 27 million viewers glued to the show. Otherwise, it's unforgivable to bore your viewers twice consecutively.
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It has been said that to be an entertainer, the most important thing is to have a skill or talent. Esther Nabaasa proved to have both, with an extra charm (those eyes!) and a magnetic stage presence as she beat 17 contestants and hummed her way to winning the April 2008 Tusker Project Fame.

Then there was the show's judge, Ian Mbagua, who critics accused of being an irritating imitation of Simon Cowell of American Idol. However, Mbagua's acidic tongue against the lacklustre academy performers was likeable. Then there was our own Tshaka Mayanja. His massive frame and potbelly made him distinct, ok, as much, his perceptible quips. But nothing is remembered of the third adjudicator, Dan Kiondo.

So was the second season of Tusker Project Fame boring or a flop? It seems nothing really went wrong until after the show. The participants had the talent, the ambition and the zeal. The fierce battle was between Kenya's Wendy Kimani and David Ogola and Uganda's Esther Nabaasa. In the end, our 21-year old took the fame and the Shs130m prize along with a recording contract from Gallo Records.

A couple of months later, we are asking what happened. The long awaited album is not coming and we wonder if the promising Nabaasa is still relevant? Endemol East Africa, the producers of the show or Gallo Records owe her fans an explanation.
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Like Tusker Project Fame 2, Pop Idols Africa kicked off in earnest. For the contestants, all eyes were set on the recording deal from Sony BMG and the whopping $80,000 prize money.

The judges were free spirits; a hip hop artiste from Botswana, Scar (Thato Matlhabaphiri), a Kenyan radio presenter, Angela Angwenyi and Zambian music producer Trevor 'TK' Siyandi. But don't be duped; they were as bad as the wannabes they were adjudicating. My God, they were so bad that I don't even know the winner that was. Uganda seemed gratified with the performance of Faycal Birikunzila who had flopped in the Coca Cola Pop Idols that birthed Blu*3. And then there was this controversy surrounding his nationality – some saying he was Rwandan but he insisting he was Ugandan.

Ultimately, what should have been a talent show ended up as a popularity show – meaning if you had a likable face but a horrible voice you still had higher chances of becoming the next African idol.
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The homemade shows: Hot Steps and Show Me the Money became hits on NTV. In the former, dancers vigorously moved their bodies for Shs10m. The moves were quite contagious as viewers were served a hot meal of African dances from Bakisimba to Congolese wiggles and a variety of contemporary dances.

The fun in Show Me the Money lay in the original, seemingly crazy but practical ideas that contestants mesmerised the judges with. One wanted to use banana peels as a source of renewable energy and another contestant wanted to create herbal tea that would also act as an anti-malaria drug.
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Then there was the first season of The Apprentice Africa. 18 dynamic, business-minded individuals gathered in Lagos and for 18 vigorous weeks and competed for a corporate job. The show was dubbed the gold standard of business excellence because it measured the contestants' business acumen, marketing, leadership, public relations and problem-solving skills in an entertaining way.

Contestants were given diverse business tasks such as creating marketing communications campaigns, inventing and selling artworks, designing mission statements and television commercials, refurbishing and redecorating hotel rooms and vending ropes on the streets.

The cohesion, novelty and innovativeness mixed with overwhelming ambitions, and the varied personalities of contenders, the boardroom drama as they fought for their lives, the politics and intrigue made the show fun. The CEO was an imposing and unpredictable man called Shobanjo who seemed to enjoy shooting down contestants with three most dreaded words: "You are fired!"

A self-made Nigerian billionaire, Shobanjo detests laziness and mediocrity. There was a loud-mouthed cunning Nigerian lawyer named Akatu who touted himself as a shrewd negotiator and dubbed himself "AK 47." There was also a charismatic Cameroonian woman and an arrogant but exposed gorgeous lady called Eunice, vivacious Omar who added an executive quality to the show. Not forgetting our boy Deox whose calculative moves and confidence outshone everyone else. But in the end June 22, a humble but "deep, solid man," Ghana’s Isaac Dankyi-Koranteng was pronounced the winner.

From the general recap, how did the glut of these reality shows on our small screens fair? I think we were not much moved. Many draw from the American versions which are excellently organised and executed. Our contestants lacked innovation and creativity; so we had Ricco imitating Richard to get his hands to the prize.

So, many people turned their attention to the American campaigns. For the first time in history, a wife of a former president was challenging an African American for the nomination of a major party. The African American was victorious and the drama became more real BBA and other reality shows whose hallmark is immorality were shunned for the English premiership soccer, and stiffly opposed in west and central Africa.

It explains why there was no media buzz when Morris Mugisha returned from BBA. Looks like TV stations are going to have to pull up their sleeves next year if they are going to hook us onto reality shows.

--Daily Monitor, Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Bachelorette

What do women really want? That's the question every avid follower of The Bachelorette that has been showing on NTV every Friday night, must have asked the moment Jennifer Schefft turned down Jerry's proposal. Surely this thing called love is overrated. Otherwise how could a girl, in desperate need of love be served a dish of 25 hunks and she still fails to find the one to call her love? 


The batch included two virgins (lift your glass to that), real estate moguls, ski instructors, lawyers, name it. And they were everything: good looking, muscled, witty, ambitious, funny and tall, but no thank you, according to Jen! 


It was a shattering experience for the ditched who saw Jen as the truly missing love in their lives. They pulled out all the stops: showered her with praise, bought flowers, serenaded her, Mark gave her a pendant and tempers flared as they fought to have time with her. They played basketball to see who makes more slam-dunks, raced to the towering Empire State Building and scribbled love notes detailing why they would make the best husband. And the lucky winners got a one-on-one date with her. 


Fabrice, the self-proclaimed romantic from Paris, who denied rumours he was gay, won the basketball game and an unforgettable kiss that had him tearing while on a date with Jen. Ryan's letter enchanted her the most. The two then popped champagne and shared a rousing kiss in a jacuzzi surrounded by tingling bubbles while the Empire State Building race winner, Wendell, used his time to make Jen laugh herself silly. 


Every week ended with an emotional rose ceremony in which Jen pinned a rose on the lapel of those with potential and the rest had to go. It hurt to watch Stu denied the rose. He so was smitten that he always seemed in a trance just in front of Jen. And David - dreading the prospect of stepping in Stu's shoes -fainted. Some said he wanted attention on national television but it was clear the pressure was unbearable. Then came tactless Jason. The 29-year-old had been saving his virginity for Jen and when he told her, she was unpleasantly shocked. And poor Jason didn't get the rose. 


Jen was enjoying herself with a raised axe. She chopped the initial 25 to 15, then 10 and 6. With the stakes high, Fabrice walked out on her: "I don't want to marry you now," he shocked her at one of the rose ceremonies, and wished her the best in her continued quest for true love. Jen consoled herself claiming Fabrice knew he wasn't getting the rose that night. The previous week she had reluctantly presented him the remaining rose, and Fabrice liking to be at the top of things, had had his ego bruised. 


His jealous counterparts may have called him "a jackass that says one thing and does another" but the unpredictable Fabrice was certainly smarter. He is the only one that was not forced out by Jen's rejection. The cameras loved him; he cried, he laughed and reminded one of Richard, the winner of the BBA II show.

Then Jen visited the homes of the four remaining bachelors. Ryan's mom was overwhelmed by her beauty, John Paul's asked her to choose her son saying she wouldn't regret while Wendell's mom had "the feeling Jen is not into Wendell the way Wendell is into Jen," and was proved right when her son was eventually booted.

"It's just too painful," cried Ryan just after he became the third last bachelor to be spurned. Interestingly, he had just been described by Jen as "adorable and too sweet!" He was still hurting when Jen toasted with the two finalists: John Paul and Jerry. "I came here to find a connection and I definitely found one. With Jerry, I felt the sparks from the beginning," she said, and went on spewing endearments about John Paul: "He has everything I want. He's truly amazing and has a great family." 


The last chance had come for the two bachelors to seduce Jen's heart. John Paul didn't waste words: "I've developed unconditional love for you completely," he said with a quiver in his voice. "Everyday I look into your eyes, I see my woman" and on his knees, he popped the question. 

"Oh God," he cried on being turned down. "It's crazy!" Jerry had earlier been interrogated by Jen's best friends but had refused to confess his love for her. Jen herself had reservations; said Jerry was all romance and no substance but was pleasantly surprised when Jerry uncased his love for her: "You make me feel weird, uncomfortable and then comfortable," he said. "I'm crazy about you, you amaze me." And seeing her melt like wax, he went for the kill: "My morals have been questioned [sigh]. What I feel about you has been questioned [sigh]." Then he promised to share everything in his soul with her and to "wear his heart on his sleeve." 


A delighted Jen kissed him passionately and said how he says things "cute and sweet". But when the dimpled art gallery director asked her to marry him, she turned down his offer claiming she felt they were better off as friends! 


Ironical, it was. Having laughed, cuddled, sensually kissed and even confessed to have developed feelings for the last six of her wooers, how then could she not pick her soul mate? 


It's hard to understand what women really want. Meanwhile Jennifer Schefft should enter the Guinness World Book of Records for leaving behind a trail of innumerable heartbreaks! 



--Daily Monitor, February 4, 2008

New national agency to supply FMs with news

Mr Ivor Gaber [pictured] is professor emeritus of broadcast journalism at London University's Goldsmiths College. A media consultant and writer, Gaber is the founder of the British Journalism Review. He has been teaching a Radio Journalism Recess Course at Makerere University. In September he will help set up a news network for FM stations. Dennis D. Muhumuza interviewed him:

Who is Ivor Gaber?
I'm a television and radio journalist who has worked in the UK for BBC, ITN, Sky, everybody, for many years. I'm now a consultant working for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). We're working on two projects in Uganda. The first is funded by the Carnegie Foundation where I'm working with the Mass Communication Department at Makerere University. I have just finished running a radio workshop for undergraduates and postgraduates and I'm continuing to work in the department on changing and developing the curriculum and producing a pamphlet about media law and regulation for Ugandan journalists. The other project is an ambitious one. It's about starting a news agency for FM radio stations covering the whole country. We are setting up headquarters here in Kampala and we are training 200 freelance journalists to supply this agency with top quality news from Uganda so that in the run up to the elections [in March 2006], the people of Uganda have the most independent information to enable them make a democratic decision.

This Radio Journalism Recess Course, how did it come about and how did you get involved?
The origins of the programme was [within] IWPR, which is a London-based NGO that has mainly worked in the Balkans in Europe, in the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Iraq and recently decided it wanted to do some projects in Africa. It set up an office in Johannesburg. They were very keen and saw Makerere as one of the most important places for journalism education in Africa. So they approached the Carnegie Foundation in America and developed this project. They were looking for someone to run it. I had done some projects for the BBC World Service Trust Fund and the guy who would run that project moved to IWPR and said, 'Oh, I think I know the right person to do this!' That's how I ended up here.

So you're here to stay?
No, no. I've got a family in England, I'm going back (left last weekend) and then I'm coming back late in September. I'm gonna stay for four months working on this bigger project, seeing that it gets up and going and maybe there will be another project. I'm a freelancer. I go from project to project.

To take you slightly back, enlighten us more about IWPR.
IWPR was founded, I think, in mid 1994 when there was a major war raging in Bosnia. Huge massacres were taking place in some quite remote parts and there was a big problem of getting the news out – nobody really knew what was going on. So they decided to set up their own NGO with their own reporting operation. They got freelancers – people like you – to report and they sent the news to London. They established themselves in the Balkans and they, as the name suggests, initially concentrated media in situations of war and post-conflict, and set up projects in countries we've already talked about and now Africa. Uganda is not quite post-conflict although there are conflicts here. It is a good place with a lot of potential but there are also some uncertainties.

Why is this ambitious project targeting the radio industry and not television?
It's just that in Uganda radio is by far the most important medium.

Any word for reporters covering war-torn areas?
First, no story is worth getting killed for. Some journalists lose a sense of proportion. I've done it myself. I repeat, no story is worth getting killed for. Secondly, to remember that in war there are no neutral observers; the rebels have one view, and the army another. Each tries to use the journalists to help them fight the war. It's very important that you must source stories. If you say, 20 rebels were killed, you have to add: 'according to the army', unless you as a reporter saw the 20 bodies and you know they are rebels. And thirdly, you must try to remember that what you say can be terribly important, can have a profound effect, so you must weigh your words very carefully. Make sure you do not say anything that incites further acts of violence.

What do you say to Ugandan journalists who want to get rich quick in a low-paying profession?
I think it's a general problem in the developing world that journalists are poorly paid and therefore the temptation to take money is very high. When you turn up for a press conference and you are given a facilitation fee, is that a bribe? Well, I'm afraid it is. On the other hand, if the organisation being covered drives you to the press conference, I think that's just about okay. My advice is this: you know in yourself if it's a bribe and if you have allowed it to influence what you will write. You have to make that judgement. Do you go to a press conference and accept a drink or an envelop with money? You probably do. So it's difficult but it's your own judgement.

Rate our broadcast industry
I have tuned in to Radio Uganda and watched Uganda Television and I think the state sector is very weak. UTV is not very interesting to watch and it's not independent. I haven't had a chance to watch WBS TV [because] I can't get [the signal] in my hotel room and therefore I can't comment. But private radio is very vibrant, lively – it's big. I've seen a range of stations – some very big commercial operations producing highly westernised sounds, other stations broadcasting out of a room in a church, but, ah, they do a decent job. My only criticism is that there is not enough content – it's just music, music, music! There's not enough debate, there's not enough investigation, there's not enough current affairs.

Tell us about the best assignment you've done for radio
Most of my works have been in television. I was mainly doing political news in radio. I made a documentary for BBC early this year or late last year about a woman who is now quite old. During the Second World War, she worked in London as a telephone censor. She was censoring cues coming in and out of the UK. She was particularly interesting because her job was censoring Winston Churchill's phone calls, so she listened to Winston Churchill speaking to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and if she felt Churchill was gonna say something that would endanger national security, she would cut in and say: 'I'm sorry, Churchill, you cannot say that!' It was a very interesting piece of history. I'm quite proud of that programme.

Published in Sunday Monitor, July 31, 2005