Are Mauritian journalists afraid?

One of the major headlines in the local media these days concerns the ‘Bookie affair’. To recap, some 7 CD-ROMs were seized at bookmaker Joomun’s place. These are being progressively ‘decoded’ and apparently, important public figures’ names appear on these lists of illegal bets (illegal as they are not declared to the Income Tax and they are done ‘a credit’).

Yesterday (Tuesday 11th July), at National Assembly, the Opposition Leader, Nando Bodha, asked the acting PM, Vasant Bunwaree whether the name of two ministers of the present govt were on these lists and he mentioned the names of the ministers. Of course, Bunwaree denied the info and there was an uproar in the majority. That’s normal…

But what’s not that normal (any lawyers or people from a legal background who can help out?) is that the a major part of the media are deliberately avoiding mentioning the names of the ministers. Most probably because the PM, Navin Ramgoolam, made a loud declaration condemning the Opposition Leader’s stance and warning people who might be tempted to make similar allegations. Yet, during the week-end, the same PM had threatened people who make vague allegations without having the courage to say the names. That’s normal again for him…

This is what Le Mauricien published yesterday:
“Bodha : As a matter of integrity and transparency et dans le souci déclaré du gouvernement de ne pas avoir recours à un Cover Up, peut-il confirmer que les noms des deux ministres … (à ce stade le leader de l’opposition cite les noms de deux ministres, dont l’un est présent dans l’hémicycle et l’autre est absent) figurent sur cette liste ?”

And Radio Plus and Radio One also adopted the same strategy of not citing the names. However, it was easy to figure out that one of the ministers is Asraf Dulull as he gave a press conference to deny Bodha’s accusations and extracts of the conference were aired by the radio stations.

Could it be that our journalists are afraid of even quoting what was publicly uttered by a member of Parliament at National Assembly (the proceedings of which are normally accessible to the public via its website on the govt portal, though updating is delayed by a few weeks)?

Only L’express published the names in today’s paper:
“C’est le moment que choisit Nando Bodha pour lancer un pavé dans la mare. Il cite nommément deux ministres, demandant si leurs noms sont mentionnés sur la liste des parieurs illégaux. Il s’agit d’Asraf Dulull, ministre du Logement et Rama Valayden, ministre de la Justice.”

Unsurprisingly, Le Matinal did not even bother to write on the affair…

Debriefing: “Live Chat” show

The ‘Live Chat’ show on ‘Advertising’ turned out to be a quite light programme. As the name indicates, we chat live on air
The starting point for the discussion was in fact the decision of the govt to ban all adverts on billboards for alcoholic drinks as from 7th July.

As I explained to host Sadhna Teeluckdharry there are no studies that prove there’s a direct and strong impact of ads for alcohol upon people’s behaviour (in terms of buying and consumption) just like for any other type of product or service for that matter. Of course, we must acknowledge that ads have some form of influence on people (otherwise firms wouldn’t spend so much money on ad campaigns) but their influence cannot be isolated. There are a host of many other factors that are intermingling to produce the kind of society we have. We can’t put all of the blame on ads.

Will this ban on ads for alcohol help reduce drastically the consumption of alcohol? Not so sure… The approach should be more holistic (e.g. provide information and educate youngsters, provide people with the necessary cultural, social and educational framework, ensure the provision of healthy activities for all…)

La question est: ki alternative pe propose banne zom ki all boire dan bar pou passe passe zot le temps ek gagne ene kick?

Sex again…
We also talked about shocking ads, for instance using sexual allusions and the female body in ads. This seemed to preoccupy many of the callers who were quite confused about the ideas they wanted to express… Personally, I do not see that many shocking ads on the local scene in terms of the sexual overtones but I do see some ugly ads though as well as some vulgar media creations here and there. This can most probably be explained by advertisers’ lack of ‘finesse’ and money to invest in good intelligent creation.

All ads and all agencies cannot be put in the same bag. Some creations are quite interesting and do win awards on the regional scene, which is a sign of some progress in the mauritian adscape!

On “Live Chat” show tonight

For those who might be interested, I will be on the MBC Radio’s “Live Chat” programme tonight from 5.15 to 6 p.m. The theme of the show is ‘La publicité: pour ou contre”. Sadhna Teeluckdharry is hosting the show which is meant to be interactive with questions from listeners over the phone or via chat.