‘Home-Grown News' on Kuul 103.5 FM at Ho

Over the last few weeks of this journey that l have been poking my nose into other people’s businesses, a couple of names, or should l say tags, have been thrown at me. But one of such names which had stuck to my stubborn skin is this ‘radio watchman’ but (am sure it was meant to piss me off) by a certain gentleman.

However, for reasons l don’t know myself, l just fell in love with that ‘radio watchman’ (not even a security man oooo) tag just as Sirlally of Tosh FM seems to have fallen for my description of radio presenters as ‘paid talkatives’ and has been using it as such.

So, in my capacity as the ‘radio watchman’ (quite catchy, though) l am about to give my unsolicited opinion on something which is currently happening on a station which is gradually becoming one of my favourite FM dials in the region. I am referring to the Midday News on Kuul FM. Believe me, l don’t have any problem with their headline news in English because that is what it is supposed to be – a news update.

But from where l sit and what l use my not-too-smart mobile phone for these days, l think all the troubles the news team (the English news team l mean) go through to produce a major news bulletin is really much ado about nothing.

The truth (according to my beliefs) is that Kuul FM, like all other radio stations in the Volta Region, currently lacks the capacity to produce credible news programme of a national character. To produce a programme of that magnitude (which l believe they know) one needs the services of dedicated correspondents, or in the least, stringers, stationed across all the regions of the country with a good number of them stationed in the national capital, where all the news seem to be congregated (for lack of a better word). This obviously comes at a great cost to any news organization and I am not sure Kuul FM has the financial muscle to undertake such a venture yet.

The lack of this capacity makes the Midday News on Kuul FM the ‘audio version’ of news items on ghanaweb.com and other news portals in Accra with a very low level of originality, through no fault of the producers of the show. Most often than not, at the time that Kuul FM’s news team is feeding us with what they consider to be news the other well-established news organizations (usually the original sources of most of the online news items) are doing follow-ups and detailed analysis of what is being read to us as the most current news items on Kuul FM’s Midday News.

Folks, you are serving (or at least you are trying to) a news-savvy generation, who have in their possession, all kinds of smart phones which enable them to access the same news portals you pick your news items from.

To this end, what you feed us as news in your midday news are probably things we might have read hours earlier and since the team does not do much follow- ups on these stories, you are basically giving us ‘stale news’.

With its current capacity the Kuul FM news team may not (and this is just an educated guess) be able to venture into other capital -intensive variations of news coverage like documentaries and investigative journalism, and should all these key ingredients remain missing in their major news package, competing on this front is going to be a difficult task for the team.

The various newsreaders who have appeared on the show so far have demonstrated they have what it takes to work in any news room in Ghana when it comes to eloquent delivery of news on radio but all their efforts have not made much impact on me yet because the content is usually not up to scratch. Maybe, other listeners love it. This presents a classic case of a good messenger with a bad message. So, whoever gave the ‘busy’ news team the ardours task of producing a major news bulletin like this should as well provide them with the requisite resources to ensure they can compete in this very competitive area of the radio business.

Volta Star Radio presents a similar package at midday but the difference is they use that bulletin to focus on stories from the Volta Region whilst waiting for the major afternoon bulletin from their mother station, GBC, which has all the resources (including the new TV license fees) to produce a credible news bulletin of a national character.

Kuul FM already partners Joy FM in Accra to bring to listeners two other major news bulletins at 6am (Joy News at 6) and 6pm (News night) which are part of Joy FM’s three major bulletins on week days. So, what is the point in leaving out the midday bulletin from the same source? Guys, if you can’t beat them, join them. A major news bulletin like the one you broadcast at noon is supposed to have a high level of originality but I am sorry to say Kuul FM Midday News lacks that currently.

The Ewe news team is, however, on point with their 8am and 3:45pm bulletins even though they also pick their news items from the same sources as their English counterparts. The reason being they have a target audience that needs exactly what they are feeding them with. Yes, pick a news item in English, do a near-perfect translation into Ewe and present it to the audience in a manner they will understand and get them informed. Bingo!!!!! Most local language broadcasters in Accra do same for their listeners so why should anyone have a problem with our own people here in Ho.

PS. The Kuul Morning Show is gradually taking shape with Blessed Sogah in the driving seat. The production team deserves a pat on the back for pulling off those big ‘Accra interviews’. It takes a lot of hard work to get some of those busy ‘Accra guys’ onto a show. Guys, you got me tuned in. More on this show soon.

Writer’s contact: 020 7398103/0245 871 875