SNTV - Somali National Television.

[VeiledGarbasar]

Waa idin wada salamaay, Asalaamu alikum!

Just in case you lot didn't know, Somalia has a national television and I believe they are based in Mogadishu. I watch it sometimes, for the funny 'short' ruweyaads, and for their special coverage of Mogadishu.

Just today, I saw the female basketball team and their coach who was interviewed, they also did an interview with ciidaanka amingaa (The police basically).

http://www.livestream.com/SOMNTV

Live stream there ^^

[metamorphosis]

Thanks.

[VeiledGarbasar]

Your welcome.

[Lamagoodle]

I am against the notion of governments owning media. Instead of objective news, government owned media in developing countries become a mouthpiece of the government.


Be ready to watch wasiir hebel ayaa xaaray; madaxweyne hebel ayaa dhuusay; Raisul wasaare hebel ayaa safray etc.


Did you notice that the difference between democracy and dictatorship is free media? Almost all developing countries have a minister of information

[SOM1960]

I am against the notion of governments owning media. Instead of objective news, government owned media in developing countries become a mouthpiece of the government.

privately owned media doesn't necessarily mean its will provide more objective perspective on current events.

[greenday]

I like it, they show alot of cultural stuff, along with the development and state of Somalia, they do promote a positive imagine of Somalia maybe some see that as a propaganda.

[BlackVelvet]

I like it, you get to see changes and positive images for a change.

[Lamagoodle]

Som1960, beat it!

Blackvelvet, A TV channel is not a measure of a nation's success. We are a poor nation and as such have a myriad of priorities for our scarce resources.

We should build schools, hospitals and lift the people out of poverty. The governments role should be to govern and not engage in creating a propaganda machine.

It all depends on the vision one has for Somalia; my vision is a strong Somalia where democracy reigns and where the governmet spends every cent wisely and on tangible things.


BTW, is it true that Tarzan has threatened to fight shabelle network? I read somewhere that he claimed as a product of an orphanage will kill shabelle network. If that is true, he is bound to reverse his image of Mr. Muqdisho

[UlteriorMotive]

Lamgoodle,

I agree that we have a lot of problems we should be tackling. However, two things:

1) SNTV only came about because the government was losing the propaganda war against shabab. Shabab had basically silenced all media and the general populace were being bombarded with jihadi rhetoric. You forget that Somalia is a state at war. Tell me one country which wasn't disseminating propaganda in times of war.

2) You give the west too much credit. A lot of the classical theories and ideals (e.g freedom of speech) we are taught in the west though noble are often violated here. You just have to refer to the recent furore surrounding the Murdochs in the UK which involved hacking, police corruption and bribery. If the same situation occurred in Africa it would be written off as third world corruption.

[Lamagoodle]

Lamgoodle,

I agree that we have a lot of problems we should be tackling. However, two things:

1) SNTV only came about because the government was losing the propaganda war against shabab. Shabab had basically silenced all media and the general populace were being bombarded with jihadi rhetoric. You forget that Somalia is a state at war. Tell me one country which wasn't disseminating propaganda in times of war.

2) You give the west too much credit. A lot of the classical theories and ideals (e.g freedom of speech) we are taught in the west though noble are often violated here. You just have to refer to the recent furore surrounding the Murdochs in the UK which involved hacking, police corruption and bribery. If the same situation occurred in Africa it would be written off as third world corruption.

Dear UlteriorMotive,
I agree that Al-sheydhaan needs to be even fought with words/rhetoric. But, please be reminded that there are several media outlets out there which are not run by Al-sheydhaan; Universal, shabelle, Simba, horn of Africa are just examples. Somalia is at war with itself my learned friend. We should be careful when describing the somali problem. Comparing somalia to any other nation on earth is an intellectual fallacy.

I think your knowledge about the so called government, parliament is limited; it(they) is sustained by donor money and earmarked for security, governance and meet basic needs. If that money is used to finance a propaganda channel be ready to read a statement of condemnation soon

As regards your second point, I think you are quoting me out of context; I did not make a case for the west. Democracy is not a western phenomenon. Yes, western nations have violated the basic principles governing concepts such as democracy, freedom of speech, faith etc but that does not mean that we shouldn't aspire to have it.

[UlteriorMotive]

Lama,

If you hark back to 2010, many people were criticising the government for not having an outlet. A lot of the independent media networks were repressed through bombs and assassinations. Al Shabab even took over some of them to broadcast their views.

How is the government supposed to counter that with no media arm? The battle for hearts and minds is nearly as important as physical battles.

Another point regarding governtments owning media, the BBC one of the most respected news netwroks in the world is basically owned by the British government and financed through direct taxation.

[greenday]

Lama have you watched SNTV? they dont show more of the government than universal does, I would say radiomuqdisho rather than the TV, but without it sidee kala dadka lagu baraujinaa? i dont remember last tine i saw a new photo beladweyn or beydhabo and seeing them installs hope in people and shows the level of work needed, when something is private they are not working for the public and time is money so, slots are given to he highest bidder.

[Lamagoodle]

Greenday, inadeer, I don't watch somali TV channels (except when I am called for ZAB). In fact, I only read Hiiraanonline to see if there are some breaking developments. The little I have seen on Universal is not that bad for the government.

UlteriorMotive,
Saaxib, BBC has a long history. We cannot compare it to government propaganda channels. I think we differ alot as to what role a government should have my friend. If you read our short history, you may recall that government propaganda is what brought us this mess.

A critical and independent media is a prelude to economic and social development.

[UlteriorMotive]

Lama, I agree.

I was trying to make the point that government founded media doesn't necessarily preclude impartiality. In time, SNTV may even become privatised. I am certainly not in favour of having Stalinist ''state news'' networks.

However, we currently need SNTV.

[greenday]

I cant think of people with more independent media than Somalis, every man publishes what he wishes. You think not being owned by the government makes media independent from other influences? People are more weary about government owned media and take everything they say with a pinch of salt this is not 70s when Somali people had trust and were naive. If you followed the sh1t that goes in UK media you would be shocked.