Deutsche Welle (DW TV) of Germany and our very own NBS TV held a virtual summit yesterday calling for the “resurrection” of story telling in modern news and broadcast.
The virtual summit, streamed over Zoom attracted among others, the Head of News at DW TV Mr. Max Hoffman and NBS Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Joseph Kigozi in a topical discussion themed “Bringing Storytelling Back to the News.”
They were joined by Ms Tamima Ibrahim (the Head of Content at Switch TV Kenya) as the panel host and Mr. Costa Mwansa, the CEO of Zambia’s Diamond Television.
Speaking at the summit, Mr. Kigozi of NBS decried the effects of the new normal (COVID-19) on news sourcing and working saying that there was no preparing for such an eventuality that caught them unawares. He however prides in the fact that they’re since well prepared for similar happenings in the future.
“COVID-19 made us re-strategize for the future. It has ensured that we are better prepared for any similar eventualities. More than ever, we have appreciated the deployment of technology in story telling.” Mr. Kigozi said.
His Zambian counterpart Mr. Mwansa said that online platforms have disrupted storytelling in the news room and advised that the only way for them (TVs) to keep up with the speed is for the story tellers to adopt to these platforms and tell their stories from there as well.
For his part, Mr. Hoffman encouraged journalists to eradicate any senses of old school-ness in their line job. Each time, he called upon news rooms to embrace changing technologies and adopt them in story telling.
“Social media has taught journalists that they shouldn’t stop at anchoring news but also get to the ground and know where the stories are coming from, know what the people are thinking!” He said.
For those that missed the discussion and would like to know what was discussed in detail, especially students of Journalism and Mass Communication, help yourselves here below:
