Why a loyal viewer has stopped watching NTV's morning show

Fixing the Nation, which airs for four hours on NTV, Nation Radio and all of Nation Media Group’s digital platforms every morning on weekdays is the country’s leading current affairs programme, which has built a large loyal customer base because of its thematic focus and the rigour with which its presenters tackle issues.

Among those people who were attracted to the show, and who expected high standards of it is Mr Chris Harris. However, he now reports to the Public Editor that he has stopped watching it. Harris enumerated what he sees as the strengths and weaknesses of the three presenters – from what he terms nonsensical jokes, to competition to ask the most questions, and talking a lot. 

He thinks there are many redundant jokes that damp down the show and interfere with the thread of the conversation. Harris has proposals for improvement. They include stopping banter on air, such as asking one another what they ate and how the night was.

“Listeners and or audiences dislike such private talk. If they must, can they do it off-air?” Harris says. 

The Managing Editor, Broadcast and New Media, James Smart, has graciously promised to address the viewer’s concerns and consider his suggestions.

Appetite for entertainment

Harris’s letter highlights one of the contradictions of journalism today. There are audiences who know what they want, and others who don’t. In between these two groups, journalism must serve its demonstrable purpose.

It is no longer about what journalists and editors want, and how they wish to present it, but what the viewers, readers and listeners need, and how they want to be engaged. The journalists must listen to and hear out their audiences to understand what to serve them, and how to deliver that content in a palatable way.

For example, where before politics used to dominate the headlines and rule the airwaves, there are now clusters of audiences looking for information they can use to make sense of issues happening around them, and to improve their lives. 

The audience’s appetite for entertainment from mainstream media seems to have reduced considerably with the myriad sources of entertainment available on social media and specialised digital entertainment platforms. Readers like Harris want to be engaged at a high level. They want the appropriate disposition of presenters as they lead important conversations about policy and development. They want “Fixing the Nation” to pay more attention to thematic discussions and less to the sideshows.

They see the Nation platforms as the explainers of news and public utterances. Audiences are coming to the platforms, not only to listen to what the presenters are giving them, but to engage them intellectually. They want interpretation and insights, not banter.

Niche for topical conversations

If “Fixing the Nation” seeks to establish itself as the niche for topical conversations, it must live up to the name in content and delivery. The more its niche is grounded, the more its financial reward will come.

What this means is that the era of journalism for the sake of journalism is over. The teams behind news must go the extra mile to meet the expectations of the discerning reader, viewer or listener. The journalist must see herself or himself as a chess board, facilitating intimate and in-depth conversations that are relevant for their audiences. Otherwise, they will put off their audiences and eventually render the platforms irrelevant.

Of course, there are clusters of audiences that enjoy banter on air. They say they are already dealing with serious conversations in their personal and professional spheres, such as demands for school fees for their children, and shifting market dynamics for their farm produce, and all they care for is some entertainment and small talk. 

There is a place for that kind of content, but “Fixing the Nation” is not it.

Harris and other consumers with discerning tastes like his sign up for shows like “Fixing the Nation” with intent to gain from them. The challenge is for the platforms to sustain interest in the show without losing their core audiences.

To Harris, thank you for sharing your feedback. It is important because it helps the journalists and editors at Nation Media Group to know that audiences have different palates and challenges them to strike the right balance.

Contact the Public Editor to raise ethical concerns or request a review of published material. Reach out: Email: [email protected]. Mobile Number: 0741978786. Twitter and linkedin: PublicEditorNMG