ZNBC YOU MUST UP YOUR GAME
……announcement of the death of KK was pathetic and embarrassing to say the least.
By Davies Mataka
I wish to categorically state here that Iam totally not amused about the manner the announcement of the passing of our gallant former head of state Dr. David Kenneth Buchizya Kaunda has been handled.
It is unacceptable that the death of a larger than life icon such as Super Ken was, can be glossed over like it was business as usual.
It is unprecedented and repugnant that the death of our founding President can be first heard and announced by international news channels when our very own national broadcaster ZNBC which is less than 5 kilometres from Maina Soko Military hospital where he died was showing cartoons.
How in the living daylights can we allow a situation that Dr. Kaunda passed on around 14.30hrs and his death was announced so much later, that is after the whole world of news was abuzz with and non on our own beloved ZNBC?
It boggles me up to now, and unless there is a really good reason for so doing that I can dare say we are damned!
In my many years of practice, and after experiencing the deaths of other presidents before, has there been a such poor handling of an announciation of such great magnitude
I mean for crying out loud, Dr. Kaunda is not any other Jack or Jill you encounter along the way. This is an iconic figure in the rank and file of the Mandelas or the Martin Luther Kings of this world.
And to ignore, or refuse or to negligently forget to file such an important happening is in my bible of journalism a summary dismissal offence period!
In the spirit of fairness, what really happened? Why would we be entertained to watching cartoons when our last remaining liberation era fighter has fallen?
In a normal media house situation, I would have expected that an army of cameramen, reporters and correspondents would have been stationed at the hospital from the time Dr. Kaunda was taken critically ill. I would have expected as a full bred reporter, a full compliment of inside sources should have been since identified and would be giving updates about his condition for onward transmission to the editors. Not for publication perse, but Just for purposes of being ready for any eventuality.
To be beaten to your own game on your own turf by news networks from half way around the globe is pathetic. What ever happened to scoops? the preditory instinct and the nose for news posturing of a good scribe? Have we become too politicised and all we wait for is press conferences and prepared statements stuffed in our faces.
When the late second republican president Dr. Frederick Chiluba died, I was woken up past midnight by a source who broke the news and told me to dash to Serval road Kabulonga. I was deputy editor in chief at the Zambia Daily and the first instruction I have was to stop press. The last cover page was three quarter done with some copies already in the delivery vans.
They had to be recalled. I was at the former president’s residence in 10 minutes. Even long before his body was removed from the home. And there lay the story. I recalled the chief Sub editor and one of my trusted veteran editors whom I dare say runs the show now. We beat all the newspapers on the market with the scoop of the century. We did not have to wait for the incumbent president or any of his officials to make the statement. Ours as scribes is not for beauraucracy, or to wait for police to confirm.
That is why you are a journalist and you were on the scene. Confirm it yourself, quote sources and be confident to announce it.
I hope that the Newspapers have not already botched this one. In our era of journalism training, we were told that obituaries especially for important people such as presidents are written as soon as they assume office. As outlandish as it may sound, it helps keep a precise tab of the life of such a person and only allowing for updates until the day they pass on.
It is not an easy task but in this quick world of tech innovation, everything can be done by the touch of a button.
Keeps you away from a hastily done job with the possibility of missing out important detail lower.
Don’t get me wrong over the choice of announcer of the demise of KK, I know government has their own system of doing things, red tape is their way of life, however, in the case today, it was also a little off. The boss, the President was probably not in any unusual place not able to stop what he was doing to make such an important announcement. With all the advancement in technical strides, he can address the nation from anywhere in the world and such should have been the case.
He had a ZNBC crew where he was, and live streaming with all the latest Gizmos is as easy as video calling on whatsaap. Unless there is Something we do not know. I rest.