Edutainment in “Shomoyer Kotha”: A welcome change in BTV
The burgeoning talk-shows on various TV channels are making it difficult to distinguish one from the other, as the basic format and interaction are almost identical. Subsequently the resulting monotony weighs heavily on the audience. Against this backdrop, the state-owned BTV has sought to regain the lost ground caused by the misuse of the political parties who over the years made BTV into a virtual party mouthpiece.
Lately, BTV has begun initiatives to air quality programmes based on professionalism, objectivity, and substance. As part of that process, a discussion series titled Shomoyer Kotha, embarked on its journey in June 2007 with the airing of an interview of the last US Ambassador Patricia Butenis. The programme is planned and hosted by Syed Munir Khasru, a faculty member of Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University and directed by Abdun Noor Tushar. The show goes on air every Friday at 9:10 am on BTV.
In a short span of time, the programme has caught the attention of viewers with its attractive and aesthetic set design, quality substance, creative format, and rich information content.
Although BTV is a state-owned terrestrial media reaching out to the masses, common people lost touch with it due to the political element and consequent poor quality. According to Syed Munir Khasru, “BTV is an organisation run on taxpayers' money and ordinary people have the right to receive reliable information and quality analysis on nationally important issues.”
Each episode of Shomoyer Kotha features an issue or event of national significance. The topics are selected to ensure variation, trigger interest, enrich knowledge and recommend ways to move forward. According to Khasru, “Our goal is to blend Education and Entertainment or in other words to provide 'Edutainment.'"
The programme begins with the basic background information presented through a slide show which helps the audience to follow the subsequent discussion. At the end, the major inferences of the discussions are highlighted for the benefit of the viewers. Twenty episodes of the programme have been aired so far. These include Electoral and Political Reform, Anti-Corruption Drive, Price Hike of Essentials, Cricket and more. Among those interviewed are Patricia Butenis, Anwar Chowdhury (British High Commissioner) and country heads of IMF and ADB. The English discussions have Bengali subtitles for the viewers' convenience.
The year-end episode of December 28 will feature Dr. Kamal Hossain (eminent lawyer) Matiur Rahman (editor, Prothom Alo), Manzur Elahi (former advisor) and Mustafizur Rahman (executive director, CPD). Two exciting episodes on the 10 most talked-about issues of 2007 will be aired on January 4 and 11, 2008.
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