Shoot the messenger

Some two to three hours into the forensic examination of our first bomb blast site in Frederick Street, the Police Commissioner and the Head of the Special Anti-Crime Unit arrived by helicopter.

After the helicopter left, the forensic specialists continued their work. Whatever has been said, this contrasts with the No 30 bus in London which was subjected to several days’ intensive scrutiny in situ, before being wrapped up and taken away for longer term, detailed study.

No doubt our senior security officers quite understandably wanted first hand knowledge, but probably also felt that they had to be seen to be doing something, even if landing a helicopter in an active crime scene was an unconventional way of "leaving no stone unturned" in the investigation.

However, this was just one example of a more widespread situation, most clearly demonstrated by public information and awareness advertisements on TV.

A well understood and universally followed principle of effective advertising, is that the final visual and/or auditory message of a commercial, must be of the product being sold, because those concluding images or words are most strongly retained in the memory of the audience; the finale enhances the whole.

The brilliant Guardian Life advertisement with David Rudder and Mungal Patasar ends with the GL logo, not a credit to the advertising agency which produced it. Whatever one may think of the quality of Courts’ advertisements, there is no ambiguity about the product. The same is true of public information.

Last year, CMC carried an advertisement on hurricane preparedness. I still do not know who produced it, but I clearly remember the image of a young man discussing the necessary measures with a group of attentive children. The regional road safety campaign is funded by PAHO, and although its acronym appears at the bottom of the ultimate screen, the lasting image is that of silhouette a beautiful girl with one leg.

Confusing Message

In Trinidad and Tobago, when Government Departments and State-appointed agencies wish to communicate with society at large, there seems to be considerable confusion over whether the message is public information or public relations.

When NEMA advertises measures for disaster preparedness on TV, the final image is the NEMA logo, full screen, and a voice over, "A message from the National Emergency…" An advertisement on ways of reducing mosquito populations to combat dengue ends with the National Coat of Arms and the EMA logo, with a voice over saying, "A message from the Ministry of Health and the Environmental Management Authority".

I cannot recall the details of the advertisements without thinking hard, because the abiding memory is of the messenger, not the message.

EMA, Tidco Diluted

The EMA’s anti-litter ads with Nikki Crosby were compromised by the final message being the EMA logo rather than Nikki’s opprobrium and the litter-bugs’ shame.

In the past the THA, the Ministry of Tourism and TIDCO have done the same. In fact, as far as I can observe, most public information broadcasts on TV in Trinidad and Tobago, that are funded by a Government Department or State Agency, end with the logo and name of that department or agency.

The alternative option of beginning the advertisement with "The following is a message from the EMA/Ministry of Health/THA/TIDCO..." has not been adopted, presumably because the funding organisation is more concerned that they are remembered than that the message is communicated. In essence, the finales of our public information announcements are being hijacked for public relations, confusing and diluting the message. As these info-commercials are probably financed from a specific budget, their adulteration with a public relations message could technically amount to misappropriation of funds.

Publicity bounds

This need for good publicity is symptomatic of a greater malaise, which seems to be a global human characteristic, but one that has become magnified here: our lust for bad news and negative images. Perhaps this makes us feel better about our personal inadequacies and struggles, but whatever the reason, the media panders unashamedly to our lust.

Whilst the role of the Fifth Estate in publicising corruption, idleness and stupidity in public life is an important one, it needs to be balanced by also publicising the hard work, skill and successes of public bodies, when they occur. We are all guilty. Some years ago in response to inappropriate signs erected by TIDCO, my letter to another newspaper was sufficiently biting and sarcastic to be put on the leader page. If I now wrote that TIDCO has now done its job well, would that paper still put this under the editorial, or even publish it at all?

Listening to a radio bulletin on the evening of the bomb here, I was aghast at a reporter screaming questions at ministers visiting the site shortly after the explosion, demanding that they confirm or deny statements he put in their mouths. That low level of hysterical unprofessionalism gave the media the appearance of having a political agenda that they should not possess. But whilst the media concentrate almost exclusively on propagating the negative actions and inactions of public life (and there are plenty of them), they create a situation where the positive stories can only reach the public via paid commercials, eye-catching photo-opportunities and newsworthy actions. This creates the atmosphere in which it becomes more important to be seen doing one’s job than to do it to maximum efficiency.

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Guardian Life. You are invited to send your comments to guardianlife@ghl.co.tt