It’s Not The Taste Of News Reviews; It’s Our Taste Buds For News

Like other professionals, the people in the newspaper business are good at what they do. They are good because there are other players who work hard to help them succeed. One of my favourite journalists has this to say about the state-owned Daily Graphic: 'Graphic has been successful because there are many other 'Graphics' that have contributed to make Graphic what it is today. If the consumers of our newspapers refer to every newspaper as 'Graphic', it is a testament to the symbiotic relationship that exits between the state-owned paper and other media organisations in the country.

Foreigners who visit the country know that over here 'Graphic' means newspaper, but they also appreciate the quality of the private and well-packaged newspapers that adorn our newsstands. The Daily Graphic has enjoyed this 'tag' for a long time, and many suspect it may have brought them some good sales, too.

But the Graphic is a competitor in a business that is moving very fast and growing strong. Today, the media scene in Ghana is a bustling environment where plurality has meant the right to choose well in the midst of plenty. If radio stations are jostling for space on the frequency modulation channels, it is a sure sign that news will get to our target audiences if we package them well. When it is time for the news at 7pm, which TV station do you tune in to? It is easier to talk of underdogs in football games, but there are no small players in the media industry. It is fair to say that many players in the media are in the process of learning to do things right. Professionalism is not an event; it is a process. How do we deal with the practices that challenge our best efforts?

One of the things industry leaders think are harming the newspaper business is the newspaper review segment of Television and radio programmes. The Daily Graphic last week put out a statement warning that excessive newspaper review 'does not hurt the business of only newspaper houses but also has very dire consequences on the vendors and agents who make their living off the newspaper industry.'

The statement continued 'It is important to note that these reviews are killing economies spread throughout the country, especially in the smaller towns where these agents and vendors do not have any other business other than the newspaper sales.' In the end, the Graphic Corporation called on other newspaper organisations to join hands to school the electronic media operators for a 'mutually beneficial use of newspaper content.'

On radio,Uncle Ken, the Graphic Boss, tried to explain the newspaper review problem, where he cited the story of a vendor in Sunyani who needed some quick money to save his ailing mother at the hospital. The poor vendor had lost some sales because people had not rushed to buy the papers after consuming the detailed cover to cover reviews of the content through newspaper reviews on radio.

The primary objective of electronic newspaper reviews, according to the Graphic statement, is to 'drive audience to the radio and TV stations for headlines of the day, which would then lead the viewers and listeners to follow up to buy the papersfor the detailed stories.' Instead, radio and television presenters pour out all the stories in the newspapers for listeners and viewers. After that, there is no motivation for anybody to walk the streets looking for a newspaper to buy.

When you have a lethal ailment, medicine is only as good as a butcher's appreciation of molecules and pharmacogenomics. I have often asked myself: Is there any compelling reason to dish out money to buy two or three newspapers when the stories are already in the atmosphere? Oh yes, I would buy a lot more. Traditionally, the headlines are what sell the stories. That is why newspapers keep them bold and punchy, to titillate readers and generate in them a desire to read the tiny lines under the head. If the lead story is properly written by a professional in the active voice, you should get answers to the four Ws and sometimes the H in the nose of the story (Who, What, When, Where; How). The body is the detail that adds flesh to the structure, whether you are using the inverted pyramid style or a style of your own.

The ailment that assails all of us in this country is poor reading and a generally low appetite for books and scholarship. It is a cancer that appears to have been passed down from our fathers to us. Low patronage of newspapers may not have much to do with newspaper reviews. For starters, the electronic media do not have air space to review newspapers cover to cover.

Secondly, the major newspapers are quite a number, and they cannot read the lead stories of all of them cover to cover. Thirdly, apart from the news, people buy newspapers for other reasons. Foreign and regional news are usually not given the same headline prominence as a ministerial reshuffle. What about those looking for tenders, jobs, scholarships, and even accommodation?

My experience is that the news consumer who would not purchase a newspaper because a radio review had 'said it all' wouldn't but it anyway, even if there were no radios or reviews. In my line of job, I deal with lots of newspapers. Those who come to my office to see the papers of the day exhibit very interesting reading traits. I have seen those who stare at the headline and flip to the middle pages, without bothering to read a word of the lead story, which is usually on page

3. They engage in a review of their own as they flip through the papers, often commenting and cursing as they flip page after page. They do not have time to read any story beyond the lead. There are senior professionals who do not read the papers at all. These are also those who claim there is too much noise on radio, so they put off the radios in their car when driving. What medicine shall we prescribe for this kind of sickness?

Kwesi Tawiah-Benjamin
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