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STELLA DIN-JACOB: The Drug Against Unprofessionalism In Broadcasting Arrives TVC Communications, Lazy Casters On The Run.

TVC Logo & Stella Din-Jacobs.

Unprofessionalism is one virus that has eaten deep into the fabric of the broadcast industry in Nigeria today that sometimes, you wonder if certain faces we see on TV, and....listen to on Radio were ever trained at all.


My focus here maybe biased, based on the fact that I am a TV person, the only time you’ll catch me listening to radio would be when the CD player in my car refuses to play due to 2019 ELECTION. Lol.

I watch Channels, TVC, AIT (when my darling friends, Osadolor-Ehima Kambili is casting, Ma’am Lara Wise was there, Jire Kufuriji because of her tongue, Tonia Ike-Ejeye because she is my mummy), MBI those days, Galaxy TV when I have someone on air, MITV when I want to see the face of my mentor, Nonye Osi, LTV when I’ve missed the face of my friend, Adetola Kayode, Super Screen TV when I wanna see my darling Ify Ubah anchor the Launch-Hour Show, NTA when I want to see NDI AKA OCHIE, like Claire Adelabu- Abdulrazak, or Newsline when I want to feel how yellow women feel, especially when Becky Ebanehita Madojemu is the anchor.

In all these, unprofessionalism is a very big challenge I see all the time. 

A caster makes several mistakes on the News at 10am for instance, the same caster is brought back on the News at 12noon, he makes same mistakes, at 4pm, he is on air, doing same thing, MISTAKES.

Let me use this to buttress my point!

I have watched consistently ‘’NEWS XTRA’’  on NTA Network Service, which airs Wednesdays, 9pm -10:30 pm, anchored by very beautiful and intelligent Fatimah Abbas-Hassan and I am not always pleased with watching her as she is always stuttering on air.

Every Wednesday, Ma’am Fatimah repeats these very frequent mistakes of misspellings, mispronunciations, missing of her lines, going off notes and the next time you see her on the same program, nothing changes, same mistakes, making some of us wonder if there is anything like GAKE-KEEPING in the News-Room of NTA, where casters are corrected and maybe retrained in some cases, especially some of them who see themselves as both ANCIENT and MODERN.

Having said that, there is just, if not only, ONE-PERSON in the broadcast industry whom I regard as the antidote for all PROFESSIONALISM SICKNESSES in the sector, a woman who has earned for herself, huge respect as one who does not joke when getting the job done is concerned, a pacesetter whose watchword for me is, ‘’DO THE JOB WELL & WE’RE FRIENDS’’, very tough (oh, you guys who are my friends aware that I love very tough women), advocate for quality broadcasting and delivery and she is, Mrs. Stella Din-Jacob, The Director Of News, TVC Communications Ltd, owners of TVC News!

Stella Din as her friends call her, INFACT, THIS HER ‘’JACOB’’ THING SEF NO DEY GREE PEOPLE ADD SOMETIMES, is one woman who does not take half measures, it’s either 100% or nothing, especially when the caster is doing not the News Director a favor, but him or herself whom the viewers sees on TV, but always want the best on TV, which is why a lot of people, the VERY LAZY AND UNPROFESSIONAL NEWSCASTERS are always afraid of her person at all times.

From Channels TV, to MBI, LTV, STV, now with TVC, Stella Din-Jacobs has Consulted and Managed News platforms in such manner that has seen these stations stand out as the best of what they do, NEWS under her watch as Manager.

In 2005/2006 for instance, Minaj Broadcast International, MBI won TV Station of the Year, barely over a year Stella Din took over as Manager. In 2018, TVC won Station of the Year, a few weeks after coming on board as Director of News Of the station, showing to us that this lady has exactly what it takes to transform the Newsroom, which is the heartbeat of every broadcast outfit, especially those of them with News as their core-competence.

But why do practitioners such as Newscasters hate, no, let me use the word, dislike Stella Din-Jacobs in such a manner that makes some of them resign or run when she gets to a place as Manager? Does it have anything other than doing her job attached or these people feel she is too harsh to be associated with at the workplace?

Speaking to us, her former colleague at Silverbird Television, Mr. Uzonna Ononye says, “I worked with Stella in MBI and then STV and I can tell you that she only demands top quality performance from everyone”.

For the period we worked together, I studied and I understood her. 

Some of those people who feel uneasy around Stella are just too lazy to work and are not ready to learn.  If they get that fowl end of the stick, all they will talk about will be how this person did this and that. That's human though, so it does not really matter.  

I have been in STV for close to 9 years and have occupied a managerial position for over 6years. I have a few of such experience, Mr. Ononye ended.

Another of her colleague who spoke to us, Lara Owoeye-Wise says, ‘’With Stella, there are no half-measures or short-cut to doing your job well’’.

I have worked with her, first at STV and later at MBI, she is a sticker for professionalism. You must resume work when you are supposed to resume, close when you are supposed to close. You fall sick suddenly, you must call to inform the office, not zoom off and not come to work for 3 days and then one day, stroll back into the office as if you are not answerable or accountable to anyone. 

Lara continues: “I will not tell you Precious that I didn’t have my issues with Stella, but, all the issues I had with her were all professional and never anything personal. How to put my graphics better, do my voicing better, how to do my reports better, my scripts better and look, I would love to work with her over and over again, because she leaves you better than she met you. So, it is only the very lazy and unprofessional guys in this job that will question Stella’s abilities in turning around the News-Room and I am a better broadcaster practitioner today because I listened and learnt under Stella Din as my boss.

Conclusively, I am of the opinion that TVC Communications Ltd has really gotten it right this time around, especially where News is concerned and with their outing at the just concluded Nigeria Media Merit Awards, combined with Stella Din-Jacobs efficiency, winning more STATION OF TJE YEAR will come as easy as drinking chilled bottle of water under a very hot sun.

Written by the PUBLISHER!

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