The world of Television

Oko Drammeh

THE GENIE BOX
The Little screen represent an astonishing new challange to the
attention of  The Gambia. Notion about its power spread rapidly, rooted
in case histories. a little known politician, after few appearances on
the small screen can be a potiential presidental candinate and a little
known-lipstick almost over night becomes a national leader in its field,
increasing its sale by several thousand percent through television
commercials. Television is a business. It is a profitable enterprise.

THE TV PERSONALITIES
What unguessd powers lay in the small screen.? Television cost money and
it cost a lot to be screened. You need to generate income to keep the
running of the station and to keep quality in place. The GRTS do not
have the financial angels to turn the station into a money machine.You
do not need ANOTHER chartered accountant to balance the books. It is
good to mention that Tombong Saidy was doing well with his team at The
GRTS including Fatou Jobe, Ebou Waggeh , Jainaba Nyang, Bora,
Mboge,Lamin Manga and Nenneh Maccdold. This was a dreamteam. Then the
team disintergrated. Bora Mboge has a great potential in journalistic
television. I would make him a Minister of Radio and Television and put
Tombong Saidy as a director. This will work. When GRTS started they had
syndicated programmes and they were on course to reuniting with thr RTS
of Senegal. Also GRTS had a programme patten.
Now they run out of steam because the equipments are old  and they need
replacement but there is no money.They did not make money There is not
one TV programme from GRTS that people want to buy on video or a
soundtrack fit for CD machandiseing. A TV personality with no social
background cannot send a unique message to the community. What can he
teach us if you are a Munku and you don't know the past.


RADIO GAMBIA & RADIO SENEGAL COMBINATION
When I was growing up in Banjul I used to travell for miles to see a
drama or a ballet group. I would follow a truck load of arists parading
around banjul and I would jump fences at UAC tennis lawn just to see a
band,wrestling contest and cultural events. I used to stay late every
week (Wednesdays ,Thursdays and sundays) for party political rallies and
broadcast.There was Theater, Drama, Politics, documentary profiles, I
used to travel up country with Ifangbondi band up country vistiring
villages and towns celebrating " TERET " The harvest festivals. There
was the TARA craft show which was manifested in Fanals and lanterns, the
was alot that we have in the Gambia that was of use to Senegal and we
hugged each other for research on our authentic cultures, before
colonialisation was brought to light and shared in the newsmedia. There
was essence and there were festivities. It was through these programmes
that we come to know Dodou Jobe,Cho cho Mbel, Assan Njie, Njuga Jenj and
Abdoulie Mboob.The Gambia had super talents like,Pa Dacosta, Cham Joof,
Jogomai Ceesay, Mbye Chow, Santi, Fatou Joof (Jama Neh), Cheke Gi-ndang,
(Mouth organ),


THE CONTENT OF PROGRAMMES
There were youth seminars at the British council and symposiumss at The
Gambia High School and St. Augustinines and at Amitage I remembered
meeting Dr. Florence Mahoney in one of these symposiums also Late Ebou
Dibbas, Lenrie Peters, . The was enough to film and to coordinate and
put together for Radio Gambia. There was more to do then The Musical
shows at the Odeon Cenema and at Crab Island school gave Abdou Aziz
Ceesay, Cham Joof, Sakou Beyai Mbemba Tamboudou ,Baboucar Gaye, Martcel
Thomasi,Joe Gabbidon,Joy Coker, Ebrima Cole and mamy many more artists
of The art of communication were gathered at Radio Gambia. We were the
envy of the subregion. Then Senegal joined us in joint programming and
together we started the PENCHUM-SENEGAMBIA.Every Gambia and every
Senegalese khew what was going on and everyone was clued to their radio
set. It was art, it was entertainment,it was information and education.
Television came and I expected this gear to swing to the next level but
their is still no direction.

NO SPECIAL EVENTS TO BROADCAST
The Interviews , documentaries and talkshows and actualities are done by
Radio Gambia more and better than GRTS. It cost Radio Gambia little or
no money to put together a programme. The coming together of Radio and
and GRTS should be profitable and the marchanding opportunities are
vast. They can have a music catalogue based on tne past recordings of
great icons like "Gindang, Cheke, Abdoulie Samba, Marie Samuel Njie,
Gelewarr ,Magadan, Lovers, Super Eagles, . The intellectual ingredient
on debates and scientific inovation programming is uninstitutional. We
do not have platforms for media related events. We also do not adequate
Sporting Events,Children ProgrammeBusiness Potfolio Talent contracts,
speculative writing, submissio of script for teleplay, review pannels,
right to view films, rehersal attendance, income from
subsidaries,collaboration,

GAMBIA NEEDS AN ART,CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT SCENE
On the front page of The Daily Observer there is no colum for Arts,
Music or Culture. Also on All Africa .com, there is no colum on Culture
and entertainment. The biggest asset in Africa is culture,how come we
still cannot recover from the destruction of African Civilsation and
address our cultural agwenda.
If we have an art scence there will be enough to record and to
broadcast. At the moment it cost free to film and broadcast politicians.
But it will cost you D10.000 dalasis just to film James Island for a 5
munites show, you need to rent a boat, hire camera men, buy films,
playbackground music, talent, a presenter,editing and narrationetc. This
is what you may need for a 5 munites show. Then what do you do with the
tapes. Who will buy them afterwards or who will need then. You have to
film in mind as well that the film will be of interest to the
international media world. Now,if that you are a director and you never
travelled. How can you judge the impact of your international networking
and  syndiction of your programmes with other TV station like South
Africa.the Carribean, Ghana and The PBS stations.You need a foresight
for this.The cultural calenda of the Gambia should feed the TV and Radio
stations in The Gambia for pulic awareness in Science, sports Arts and
literature.

TV WITH ESSENCE
Without a doubt, other generations will render great service to our
country, but what can one affirm, is that the present Gambian civil
servant ,that of the
 New- Gambia, is henceforth written in the history of the continent,
like the generation which will have the merit of putting definately an
end to the irresponsibility of our peoples and to commit them in the way
of dignity and of their integration to the unerversal society.

" T.V. can be  Terrible -Vision, if you have no vision".

Oko Drammeh
Soto Koto Media Group

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~