Radio battle wins elections
- By Hamish Ramdharry
- Published 04/12/2010
Radio will play an important role in the conduct and outcome of the election.
It is true that the use of internet platforms like facebook, websites, bloggers and on-line print media will help shape and mould the decisions of the electorate, but the party that manages to harness and direct radio broadcasts will no doubt have a clear advantage over its opponents.
Currently, the private radios are feeding ‘as it happens’ reports on political events, and so far, it would seem that neither of the political heavyweights, that is the Labour Party and the MMM, have mastered the art of dictating the news agenda, nor have they realised that radio silence would play against them.
Teams of radio journalists are scouring the country sending in reports on the state of various district councils, and so far, negative reports outweigh the positive.
Most of the time, councillors and the public alike, are complaining about the running of the councils and the state of their respective areas.
The radios make several live attempts to contact the concerned councillors, but most of the time they are either unavailable or have no comment to make.
If, over a period of time, the same message is broadcasted, the public will automatically digest this
information and will start to believe that the complaints are valid.
This will prove to be a heavy price for the Labour Party as this is free publicity for the MMM and is at the same time reinforcing the MMM’s position.
The Labour Party, as well as the MMM, must have in place a cell that monitors all radio stations and have a team who are ready to hit back at all unfavourable and favourable reports.
It is vital to reply to news reports as fast as possible, before it influences the minds of the electorate.
The parties can also dictate the news agenda by informing the radio press about important meetings and the movements of its leaders.
This will force the radio press to focus on the leaders, redirect their resources on a single target, and weaken their attention from other issues that are newsworthy. This game of cat and mouse will no doubt play in favour of the politicians.
The radio press are aware of this strategy and will always have a back-up plan to thwart the politicians’ efforts.
However, with proper co-ordination, and with the announcement of several major events and ghost meetings spread across the country, the politicians may beat the press to the punch.
As things stand, the press has the upper hand, but who knows, maybe soon enough, the politicians may win the day.
Let the games begin.
It is true that the use of internet platforms like facebook, websites, bloggers and on-line print media will help shape and mould the decisions of the electorate, but the party that manages to harness and direct radio broadcasts will no doubt have a clear advantage over its opponents.
Currently, the private radios are feeding ‘as it happens’ reports on political events, and so far, it would seem that neither of the political heavyweights, that is the Labour Party and the MMM, have mastered the art of dictating the news agenda, nor have they realised that radio silence would play against them.
Teams of radio journalists are scouring the country sending in reports on the state of various district councils, and so far, negative reports outweigh the positive.
Most of the time, councillors and the public alike, are complaining about the running of the councils and the state of their respective areas.
The radios make several live attempts to contact the concerned councillors, but most of the time they are either unavailable or have no comment to make.
If, over a period of time, the same message is broadcasted, the public will automatically digest this
This will prove to be a heavy price for the Labour Party as this is free publicity for the MMM and is at the same time reinforcing the MMM’s position.
The Labour Party, as well as the MMM, must have in place a cell that monitors all radio stations and have a team who are ready to hit back at all unfavourable and favourable reports.
It is vital to reply to news reports as fast as possible, before it influences the minds of the electorate.
The parties can also dictate the news agenda by informing the radio press about important meetings and the movements of its leaders.
This will force the radio press to focus on the leaders, redirect their resources on a single target, and weaken their attention from other issues that are newsworthy. This game of cat and mouse will no doubt play in favour of the politicians.
The radio press are aware of this strategy and will always have a back-up plan to thwart the politicians’ efforts.
However, with proper co-ordination, and with the announcement of several major events and ghost meetings spread across the country, the politicians may beat the press to the punch.
As things stand, the press has the upper hand, but who knows, maybe soon enough, the politicians may win the day.
Let the games begin.
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