You've come a long way!

J. Roughan

27 August 2010

Honiara

 

Back in the late 1950s, the Solomons boasted of a single media outlet . . . a three hour radio program from Monday through Friday. Even to this day its two distinct voices I remember well were that of Bill Bennett and Ron Calvert, early Solomons announcers. Their five minute news summary at 7:00 in the evening, for instance, was something not to be missed, if you wanted to be up to date and informed about the Solomons of the day.

 

The country at that time didn't publish a single newspaper. Only a few provincial newsletters run off, now and then, on mimeograph machines were the sum total of the printed word. TV, of course, was years in the future.

 

Over the past 15 years, however, the Solomons media presence—radio, print, TV—has grown tremendously not only in different ways of getting news, information, national stories, etc. out to the public but more importantly itself has become a major player in its own right in the country's political life.

 

On Sunday last, for instance, one of the two candidates (Steve Abana) vying for the PM's job failed to front up to a special media event where SIBC, One TV's cameras and a slew of newspaper reporters were poised to ask questions. The hour long program, carried live on SIBC and shown on TV later that same evening, proved a major hit with Honiara's public and those living in provincial capitals who were lucky enough to catch the program.

 

There was obvious displeasure, however, among many personnel attending the media event and in the general public at large when the invited MP failed to be present at the conference. Fortunately, the missing MP rushed to correct the oversight. He fronted up early the following Tuesday when a hastily called meeting of media personnel gathered to ask questions.

 

The point of this essay is to show how the Big Men of politics know in their bones that proper media coverage is vital to their political well being. A few decades ago, however, certainly at the turn of the century media's fundament importance to the nation's political life was just beginning to make its mark among our people. Presently, however, its presence is essential to the life of any and all politicians.

 

Yet too many of our elite class—politicians themselves, party faithful and party bosses—remain stuck in the 20^th century. When the media starts to make noise, demands public appearance of leaders and ask the sticky question, then it is only the veteran politician who rises to the challenge.

 

But our political leadership should be light years ahead in this important field and be leaders in creating new and exciting ways to make politics and politicians alive and current.

 

For instance, those connected with political parties should be in the business of preparing touring theatre teams which play act a party's platform before election times. Rather than saturating local newspapers with party manifestos, steal a page out of NGO history and print up three to four thousand Pijin Komiks which graphically share the party's platforms in a rich and more influential way than the long columns of print in local newspapers.

 

In other words, the whole media scene has expanded out of all expectation during these past 15 years. What was quite small, unimportant and on the side line only a few years ago, has suddenly become vital and necessary in the last few years.

 

Although many of our people anxiously use the modern means of media, too often leadership lags, falls behind  or uses outdated and old technologies. Perhaps in the 1980s and 1990s filling newspapers with party manifestos and political statements were good enough at the time. However, today's media presence is a different kind of reality.

 

The country has moved on from there and has come a long way in a very short period of time. It is up to our leaders to act as real leaders, look into the future and be ahead of events.