The Sunday Mail
It has been some time since we discussed issues to do with radio and television, and it would be misplaced to blame the absence of this column on this and that. There have been many developments and happenings on the radio and television terrain and what seems constant is the amazing levels of mediocrity that characterise ZTV. For instance, have you ever wondered how and why, when watching ZTV, the volume increases out of the blue? Then just like that, it dips again. Or the poor audio quality especially when a recording has been done indoors?
Either the audio will barely be audible or there will be plenty of echoes from the background. Which all point to one conclusion, we are still a long way from achieving international standards of broadcasting. Whether this is down to resources or attitude, only personnel at Pockets Hill can explain to us.
Then yesterday and today, Harare is a hive of activity as those aspiring to join this year’s edition of Big Brother Africa thronged a local hotel for auditions. Big Brother, no doubt, has become popular across the continent and everyone seeking the quick door for fame, and possibly fortune, sees the reality show as the beginning of a new life.
In the past couple of weeks local media has been awash with stories of who is keen on joining this year’s edition but from tradition, whoever is representing the country remains a secret until the evening of the show. Once their identity is revealed, they automatically lose the licence to represent their country. All those who audition are sworn to secrecy.
Apart from the reality show auditions, another extravaganza that has taken the world’s attention has been the Fifa World Cup which sees Germany fighting out Argentina tonight (kick-off 9pm) in a repeat of the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. The question on everyone’s lips is whether Lionel Messi will be able to add the only trophy that has eluded his glory-laden career tonight. Will the Germans be that compromising?
Then to other matters, Jessie Majome is dragging the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, the Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, the Prosecutor-General and the Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs to the Constitutional Court, to challenge the continued levying of listener’s licence fees.
Being a politician, especially from the opposition party, it is to be expected that her line of argument has to be along political lines. Whether her argument makes sense or not is for the said court to decide.
I am of a different take, that in view of the proliferation of radio stations, some of which are private and commercial, should ZBC still continue to be the conduit through which licence fees are paid? The argument for the continued arrangement could be that since they are a national broadcaster, with national obligations, then they should continue.
There has been an argument that the licence fees could have been used to fund the extravagant lifestyles of executives at Pocket Hills, such that if there is to be any semblance of order at the corporation, then the collection of the fees should be removed from there and be managed elsewhere. But, again, wouldn’t that be a question of simply changing the players? That the new collector of the fees can still do with the fees what ZBC executives used to do with them.
So everything said and done, it is immaterial who collects the fees, what is essential is whether the collected fees are used properly, that is to fund the national broadcaster. Which probably answers the earlier question, do private and commercial stations need any support from the public, in the form of licence fees? If someone decides to set up their radio or television station, the assumption should be that they have the capacity, financial that is, to run their operations and should not bother the public with paying licence fees.
The challenges that I think face the responsible ministries when coming up with revised laws to govern licence fees is how the ever-changing technological landscape affects the implementation of any such laws. For instance, where traditionally we have used the possession of the home (or office) television set, the possession of a home/office radio set or the possession of a car radio set as a prerequisite to paying a listener’s licence, now that hand-held devices like smart-phones can now receive radio or even television signals will compound law-making and enforcement.
The advent of online television channels now means that even personal computers can receive television signals. So how does the collection of licence fees become enforceable in the future? By the mere owning of a personal computer, laptop, smart phone, to include the traditional radio and television set?
Doesn’t it make it cumbersome? That the collecting agency has to stop and ask all those in the streets to show their listener’s licence, as basically all the modern phones can receive radio?
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