Comedian Salvado has cried out to the media to support local talent. He called on journalists to report about the artist’s successes and not only focus on the negative stories. He posted:
“When I was in Mauritius for the Multichoice showcase, there was a day given to journalists to ask questions to the heads of BET, MTVBase, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.. And the most asked question from the non Nigerian and SouthAfrican journalists was.. How come artists not from Nigeria and South Africa are getting more AirPlay than any other country.
I was also vexed by that fact but a deeper interaction with the heads produced facts that I also agreed to.. And so it came down to me asking, how many journalists are actually proud of their own artists doing well, writing articles that promote their national artists… Follow up on any artist’s involvement on international platforms. And the sad truth (taking Ugandan journalists as a case study) NONE…
Best example is Rema not performing at the Convention in the U.S.. A journalist went as far as to forge a deportation letter just to back up his story.. It’s really sad….that we have to put down our very own just to increase likes or readership on our various media platforms.. It’s very sad.
Everytime I travel to Nigeria, I break down.. These guys really push their own… And u wonder why they get a lot of AirPlay. Patoranking is just 2yrs in the industry but he is worth $5M.. But we have even our top artists who aren’t that worth yet we are happy putting them down all in the name of being relevant to ur job and earning 900K at the end of the month.
Unfortunately we need u the media.. That’s why I cry when u do the things u do… For a change.. Let’s have a period in a year where we only report the achievements of our artists… Let’s see for a change what happens.
It’s so bad that artists now have to do crazy stuff to stay relevant in the media bse the good we do isn’t recognized… I bleed for my country. Just for once… Be on our own side.. Let’s see how it goes.”
BigEyeUg Staff