This is Omphile Sehurutshe of the Eye

| Friday April 9, 2010 00:00

 

As much as his is a questioning profession in pursuit of informing and educating the nation, he says an effective question has to have relevance and purpose.

The clich 'first impressions count' is no lie, especially in the broadcast media and in this highly competitive era of digital media.

The first five minutes are critical as they determine whether the programme will attract eyes or they 'click' you out of their living rooms.

Presenter of the Botswana Television current affairs programme, The Eye, Omphile Sehurutshe, is one of the few that manages to keep people glued to the television station.

When he took over from his predecessor in 2006, a number of people were very pessimistic as to whether he will be able to come into their living rooms the way the late Alpheus Moroke did. Little did they know that Sehurutshe was mentored and trained by the late Moroke.

When the interview commences in his office in National Development Bank premises where he is Senior Programmes Manager, the questioning man says he feel a little uneasy as he is used to doing the questioning not the answering.

It's easier for me to ask questions, I am not used to being asked,' he says lightly. When asked what should one consider before asking a question, Sehurutshe says a journalist, both print and broadcast, should consider whether the question has relevance and purpose; if not, it becomes a 'non question'.

'It has to have relevance in the sense that it has to be in relation to the topic and the needs of society, and it has to serve a purpose of fulfilling curiosity and give clarity to something the public didn't quite understand,' he says.

He says it is essential to understand the public debate and how the public feels about a subject before it is discussed on camera. Asked what the crucial moment is for him as a broadcast presenter, Sehurutshe says the first five minutes make the programme.

In addition, he says one has to fully understand what the first question will be as it determines whether the audience switches off to another station or carries.

'When dealing with issues of corruption, I will handle the programme in a more serious tone, but will be a bit relaxed when dealing with issues of transgender; this has helped me a lot in packaging the presentation,' he says.

However, when asked whether that does not result in him being embedded, he says it always helps to be cautious not to get in the issue. Sehurutshe says one of the important factors to consider is to guard against being sentimental.

Some viewers consider Sehurutshe's style harsh when executing his mandate.

However, he says as a current affairs programme that avails a platform for society to hold its leaders accountable, the element of harshness is inevitable. He says holding people accountable has to have pressure testing and that as a presenter, one has to strive to get the absolute truth through questioning the subject.

'In any forum in which people are held accountable, there is always an element of harshness, 'he says.

Starting his freelance career in broadcast journalism in 2006 as a self-taught individual, Sehurutshe believes he has grown in the art of holding interviewees accountable.

'I would like to see our leaders being liberal and accepting that leaders must be held accountable', he says.

And the media is the outlet that can do so, as every individual cannot have that opportunity of asking them questions.

Asked which subject he likes best and would like to do again in the programme since he started being the voice of the nation in 2006, Sehurutshe says he likes all the programmes he has done so far.

Given a chance, Sehurutshe would love doing 'Voices from Within,' a programme he used to present (it is no longer airing) which looked into the political climate of neighbouring Zimbabwe and its repercussions on the people of Zimbabwe.

'Not that I enjoy The Eye less, but that gave a nation other than Batswana that there is hope, and there is someone who cares,' he says.

Sehurutshe says as members of the fourth estate, media professionals should see to it that they take the profession to an acceptable standard where the truth, integrity and objectivity are not compromised.