Picking this pen and writing on this concept was met by internal resistance. I had to first consider where it will position me because beyond a concerned citizen I am an artist who will be authoring his demise. The people I aim to address may sabotage me and not allow me platform. But then again I had to think with a sober mind and consider in Truth how have I ever benefited from the same media that I am so considering not to offend. Understanding that you cannot lose what you never had kept me writing.
My limited understanding tells me that media is a medium that we use to direct public opinion, stir up debate introduce and market new ideas, it is a tool to communicate and inform the populace of the happenings around them. This is not text book definition but the perception I get as I page through newspapers and hearken to radio stations.
Media houses are run as businesses, that I understand fully, the need to generate profit would be their prime priority and that fact will of course inform their selection of stories. All businesses have in the same breath community responsibility which most of the time is fulfilled by throwing money around to causes that will beef up their community standings. Most of the time the cause is not known to the employees, it is a decision made in a secluded office by an individual who is not in touch with the people that function on behalf of his institution with outmost zeal.
The Eastern Cape has numerous media platforms to mention, working together to build an industry in our province is an attainable and tangible thing should we work together on it with the same mind of building. Unfortunately it will take a long stretch for us to achieve that firstly because for E.C based journalists to recognise and respect our artists is at the moment seeming as an unrealistic expectation. It is easy for Junnos this side to glamorise, praise and exalt anyone from anywhere except the people from the province. Artists have to literally die to be acknowledged and sanctified as the greats which is sad. It certifies Christopher Wallace’s words as gospel truth that you nobody until somebody (or something) kills you. Until when? Until we get brave journalists who are not afraid of themselves and their environment. I am sick of opening a newspaper and read about Mandoza when i know Ohayv (Vocalist/rapper/composer born and raised in PE) did a great show over the weekend that was well attended and he gave a great show and we continue as if he doesn’t exist. I am sick of sending mp3 files via email to EC radio presenters and be told my tendency of sending dodgy files is not welcomed when radio stations as far as the UK, Israel, to mention a few embraced the music and rotated it on prime slots. You need to support your own, inspire growth and if you feel they are not meeting the standard give them your criterion of selection.
Eastern Cape has two SABC head quarters, one in Bisho and one in Port Elizabeth; my question is how are those buildings benefiting the guy on the street pursuing his dreams? How are they adding value to the provincial artistic landscape? Were they only erected to durbarnise, cape townise and joburganise the masses? If not, why are they only embracing those who have been acknowledged outside the province? Mercy Pakela, Ricardo, Zolani, Camagwini, Roger, Simphiwe Dana, Ntando, The Bala Boys, Mxo, Sliq Angel, Feya Faku, etc all had to forsake home and head to destinations unknown to them in the quest to fulfil their dreams. All the places they went to never gave them the talent, they were great before they moved to those places but our media was too blind to see these treasures. The province had to be brain drained to print front pages acknowledging Eastern Cape born talent and presenters to claim that they knew these artist before they blew up, but you wonder what did they do to push the talent? Nothing! Luckeez Mfowethu of Umhlobo Wenene illegally pushed artists from the gutter for years and did an exceptional work in introducing these artists and also creating a bond between these artists and their followers. This great work saw him being relegated to an hour reggae show every Saturday. The day he was taken off from Jaivah mzantsi is the day I stopped listening to Mhlobo for I knew no other presenter who would cater for people who are pushing dreams and wish to establish themselves without having to go out of the province. Maybe the EC media is incapable and has no level of influence on their audience so pushing local acts would make them find that out in a rude way.
What I find more foolish are community based radio stations that are so in need of sounding like radio stations outside the province and in the process alienate their audience. The content has to be everyday to them, this is a community platform, and the community needs to see itself, read about itself and hear itself in these mediums. What the local media tends to do on the flip side is de-motivate its readers by making them feel talent does not reside in the EC, also it discourages tourism because people will rather go to where there is activity, and that attitude adds more to forced migration. You will rather go to where people will embrace you as an artist. I write having an experience of how we as the EC artists get received in other lands. One sometimes feel like not coming back but the thought that someone has to break the chain of artists leaving the province keeps one coming back.
It’s a sore reality that can only change when the EC media employs folks who will have belief in our talent, faith in our artists and desire to move the province from the tail to among the heads for after all every three out of five great South Africans are emerging from the east. How then are we the consumer province with nothing to offer and show? On a more extreme but necessary level artists need to assemble teams that will create platforms that run parallel to the one that is currently failing the culture, arts and the vibe of the EC. This is important!
Until the media takes our artists serious they will remain as curtain raisers for the whole world, they will remain mistreated by organisers who have scored tenders to organise year end functions on behalf of the city, they will remain as weirdo’s, and un-progressive lot that has been doing the same thing on the same level. We need the media to step up and play a significant role in writing new history. I will rather have more articles printed, gigs covered, artists profiled and their music aired than see more bags packed.
Yahkeem Ben Israel
P.O. Box 12226
Centrahil
Port Elizabeth
6006
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