Gilani’s poor show on television

[LRE]

Gilani’s poor show on television



Monday, July 21, 2008
By Tariq Butt

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's media czars goofed up his maiden television address that even otherwise turned out to be drab, dull and unimpressive. The premier's TV address was planned over two weeks back. There was sufficient time to rehearse for the inaugural speech to leave a good impact on the audience. It was not a huge task and only demanded a sharp mind to manage such a small job in a flawless manner.

The notion that the Gilani government has nothing in stock for the poor (and this is exactly what has also come out as the result of his speech) may not surprise many because this was what was being expected by his inexperienced media team.

Every time a prime minister or a president addresses the nation on the national hook-up, the information minister, information secretary, press secretary, principal information officer, and chiefs of the state-owned TV, Radio Pakistan and the APP are supposed to be around to make their professional input so as the speech goes well. Gilani fumbled and faced difficulty while reading from the teleprompter in the beginning. The state-run television intervened with a filler of the Himalayan Mountains while the premier shifted to the hard copy. He appeared confused.

The best thing that didn't strike the mind of those who perhaps were trying to at least ape Joseph Goebbels was that it would have been far better and faultless had they advised Gilani to record his speech before its telecast. This would have provided them ample time to edit it and take out what was embarrassing.

Mismanagement marred right from the word go. Even a day before the speech, the exact time of its telecast was not given. APP had stated that the premier would address the nation on Saturday evening. Till 9:30 pm, the time of the address was not announced. Finally, it was stated that he would deliver his address at 10:15 pm. Later, it was delayed to 11 pm.

Nawaz Sharif used to ensure that his speech to the nation left an excellent impact. His media team would advise him on each and every point. Sufficient time was spared to write the address. They would make it a point that its delivery and message hit the audience. However, what Gilani said in his maiden address went unnoticed because there was nothing that would have attracted attention.

He repeated what he had been saying since he assumed the exalted office nearly four months back. It would have been sensible had his media managers urged him not to come on television when he had nothing to say. It was a speech for the sake of speech.

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