The Chief Press to the Oyo State Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, on Tuesday, told newly elected local government chairmen and vice chairmen in the state that the success of their administration is tied to having the requisite media management skills, adding that the media has an unimpeachable role in the political setting and cannot be sidelined in governance.
Adisa made this known while speaking on the topic, ‘Media and Communication Strategy Management’ during activities lined up for the second day of a two-day retreat for local government chairmen, vice-chairmen and head of local government administration (HLAs) at the Ilaji Hotel and Sports Resort, adding that there is an inseparable form in the nature of the relationship between the media and politics.
The retreat themed, ‘Ipa Ijoba Lese Kuku’ was organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on Strategy and Political Matters in conjunction with the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters with support from Forsterfield Consulting, to prepare them for the task of keying into the cardinal programmes of the present administration to make life better for the citizenry.
According to him, in politics and political settings, media practitioners are forever present and the relationship is like that of the sailor and the sea, adding that “the politician and the media are highly intertwined. We must therefore agree that the media has a role that is practically unimpeachable in the political setting.
The role of sharing information to inform, educate, enlighten and mobilise are clearly of good service to the political setting, something which the political actors must associate with as a matter of duty. The inseparable nature of the relationship between the Media and politics is well noted by Dennis McQuail, in the 6th Edition of his work, Mass Communication Theory, when he submitted that there has always been an intimate connection between mass communication and the conduct of politics, whether in totalitarian, authoritarian or democratic societies,” he stated.
He advised the chairmen to adopt a media strategy that will be effective in the society they have found themselves in, urging that as local government administrators, they have to adopt a paradigm that works which is the ‘Talk and Do’ system as silence kills the business of governance and there is a need to allow people know what they are doing, why and how it is beneficial to the society.
“You are not just the chief executive, deputy Chief executive or head of the department as the name ordinarily connotes, effective communication strategy management would see you as a marketer of your council and to do that, you will need to listen to Leslie Perlow and Stephanie Williams who noted in the Harvard Business Review on Communication that silence is extremely costly to both the individual and the organisation.
“In other words, silence will kill your business, you cannot afford to remain silent if you are to be seen as maintaining an effective communication strategy. It is, therefore, given that the marriage between the media and the different levels of government is inseparable but there is no guarantee of a smooth ride all the way,” he said, recommending the use of close-knit teams with clearly identified agenda.
“Thus, even as the operatives at the chief executives at the local government levels, the imperative to communicate and do so effectively is undeniable. You, therefore, must put in place efficient information dissemination machinery.
Since it is confirmed that the relationship between the media and the political class is intertwined, political office holders can only act like the sailor, who rather than complain about the sea, must learn to cope with the tides.
“As chief executives at the councils, you must cultivate relationships with different levels of media men. Note that friendship is different from a relationship based solely on pecuniary benefits. Media management in all is far different from money sharing,” he advised.
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You can’t succeed without media management skills, Oyo CPS tells LG chairmen