Of useless, themeless, focusless media conferences

Known by many names, the press conference, media conference, press brief, or media brief has been used since immemorial largely as a public relations and crisis communication tool to communicate what a government, a business or social organization has been doing, is doing or going to do.

A press conference is not an accidentally arranged communication event.   We all know that. The communication, press or public relations, does not take the organisation’s message to the media and, eventually, the nation or the world without minute planning. 

The press, communication or public relations team members identify the target public to be addressed, the message to put across, and the medium of communication to be used for effectively delivery.  The team prepares almost all answers to all possible questions in advance for the person to preside over the press or media conference to look clever and in control of the press event itself and the country’s or oranisation’s affairs.

The speaker is dressed up, facially and emotionally, and made sure he or she looks at his or her best.  Through autoscopie, the speaker is drilled or coached as to when to smile, appear sad, sympathetic, or tough.   Sometimes, the speech is rehearsed not once but five to ten times. Every gesture is analysed and corrected in advance.

In extreme cases, a few ‘friendly’ journalists are asked to ask the questions which the speaker will answer properly and end the conference “because he has other engagements to attend to or he needs to take some rest after travelling for a long time.”  You know this happens. Don’t you?

The press conference is arranged such that the message takes the shape of a S-curve with a beginning, a crescendo or peak and a denouement.

Those who have read or watched the performance of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar will agree that Marc Antony’s ‘ have come to bury Caesar’ speech is moving and elicits emotion because it follows the all-important S-curve of  a public address.

From Ronald Reagan to Obama, Trump and Joseph Biden, American presidents sound the same.  Don’t be surprised. All of them have serious teams that prepare them to deliver their speeches, press or media conference, following the S-curve.

Elsewhere presidents, heads of government departments, business and civil society leaders spend time and money on preparing for press conferences to better face the public because they respect their audiences.   Because it is not every day, week or month that a leader may have something serious to communicate, the press conferences are not always regular.

That is elsewhere. Not in Malawi.  Here big people, mabigi, mabwana, come to face Malawians with nothing really to say. No new information.  No theme. No focus. No respect for Malawians. None. Not even a sympathetic statement. Nothing.

For example, two weeks ago Malawi’s Ministry of Energy and its parastatal businesses, Malawian Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) and the National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) called for a press conference that left journalists wondering what the key new message was. Previously, Mera had announced a steep price rise of fuel blaming the Russia-Ukraine war, as if pump prices had never been hiked before, and the devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha, as if currency devaluations are accidental.

Malawians already knew these facts. Thus, when the press conference was convened the majority of right-thinking Malawians expected something new from the government like removal of some levies on fuel or when the much-touted transportation savings made from using rail to transport fuel would be reflected in the prices of fuel.  But alas, for nearly 90 minutes, nothing was announced because there was nothing to announce and therefore the press conference was just a waste of time.

Perhaps, Nocma’s announcement that fuel prices will keep rising until December 2022, ndipo mumva mbebe a Malawi, was the main message?  If yes, then it was poorly communicated because not many people picked it.  From today on government should stop coming to face Malawians unprepared.

Leave us to ‘mourn’ and regret in peace..