Oh, to be a fly on the wall at the RTI (state tv) morning editorial meeting today. Here’s my imagined fictional account just for fun:
Editor: “Ok, folks silence, let’s make a start. [Quiet descends, nervous glances, visible stress] As you all know, the new government has yet to be announced…”
Evening news producer (ENP): “But the KOACI headline said “Remaniement, le nouveau gouvernement connu certainement ce mercredi” and it’s now Friday?”
Editor: “Go tell them to look up ‘certainement’.”
ENP: “But how long can this go on for? We’ve got a 30 minute news programme to fill this evening and not a single government minister to follow.”
Editor: “But we were promised a new dynamic ministerial line-up? And we already know the new PM?”
ENP: “Yes, but it’s the same guy as before!”
Intern: “But why don’t we get out there and gather some real stories away from the suits and ministers?”
ENP: “Impertinence! Where do you think this is, France 24? Our job is to tell Ivorians what each minister has done each day. That’s what news is, isn’t it? If people aren’t made aware of what the old men in suits have done – ceremonies, official speeches, formal visits, ribbon cutting – people will feel lost!”
Intern: “How about we get in our cars and gather some stories from the streets – you know the important developments that will really make a difference in people’s lives and the issues that concern people?”
ENP: “We tried that yesterday – we filmed some images of the harmattan dust…”
Intern: “…yes, but only 10 metres from the front door of our office…”
ENP: “That’s not fair – we even did a feature on the burns unit at the CHU Cocody hospital.”
Intern: “Yes, but that’s just round the corner from our office. How about…you know..leaving Cocody?”
Editor: “OK, enough of this insubordination. Can’t we just do what we did last night?”
ENP: “What? Show an extra long report on an old ceremony from several days ago that we already broadcast?”
Editor: “Sure. Or perhaps we could just rebroadcast the New Year’s address…”