I have done my bit on ‘#theTrend’, it is time to let others take over

I had been discussing leaving the Friday night NTV show, #theTrend, with close friends and family for several months.

Most were understandably baffled as to why I would want to walk away from a marquée programme at the height of its popularity for what they considered unsatisfactory reasons. The overwhelming public reaction to my exit surprised me with the true sense of loss many people feel about a host they have never met, but have a connection with, anyway. For a show that ended up on my lap by accident, I never imagined it would ever resonate with anyone, let alone become a television institution.

Back in December 2012 when I started my “second coming” at NTV, my colleague Smriti Vidyarthi was doing the show after James Smart left. She was away one week so I offered to sit in for her as I wasn’t on a regular anchoring schedule yet, but she wouldn’t take it back. It was a respectable current affairs and politics broadcast then, not the hot mess of pop culture and pettiness that I have left behind.

“I’m going to do this my way,” I said on air the first time I hosted. “It will always be a work in progress.”

In the four-and-a-half years that I was lucky to present it, we took it apart countless times, tried different formats as well as guests and never quite settled. While The Trend with Larry Madowo has established itself as a studio show, we would often throw out the rule book and host a town hall, a debate on a major national issue or even a concert at a university, as we saw fit.

We took it on the road around the country, going live in such places as Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nyeri and Murang’a to meet our loyal viewers face to face. Sometimes, we got our passports out, hopped on a plane and staged broadcasts live from such exotic places as Cape Town or Mauritius, as well as twice from Kampala next door. We interviewed a president, a Grammy winner or four, an Oscar winner, a Nobel laureate and more diverse guests than all of our competitors combined.

BAND OF REBELS

Where else on television could you watch a conversation with Lupita Nyong’o one week, President Paul Kagame another or Akon the next? On our little window of Friday appointment viewing, we were just as interested in the legendary jazz musician, Hugh Masekela, as we were in the Kenyan football star, Victor Wanyama. Everyone has a story to tell if we bother to listen and go beyond the hype.

Muthoni the Drummer Queen has some of the most radical thoughts about leadership in Kenya, but if only you  invite her to launch her latest single, you deny the public the beauty of her brains. In a generation that thrives on amusing ourselves to death, I wanted to create a brand of infotainment that was both engaging to watch, but also challenging enough to be uncomfortable.

When a major musical group has genuine concerns about the royalties paid to them and unearths a major scandal at a collective management organisation, that should have a spot on prime time. We did that with Elani and when a self-appointed moral police proposes outdated legislation that could kill an entire creative industry, we were happy to dedicate time to dissect the issue without worrying about how that would affect ratings. #theTrend became a canvas on which my team and I could express ourselves as young Kenyans who are fans of the arts, supporters of doers in our midst, but also interested in moving our country forward.

Shortly after I took over, I tapped Jackson Ndirangu to be the director of the show because we could work on our creative vision together. Kevin Gitau soon joined us as producer and they deserve all the credit for what we achieved because they did all the work and put up with me. Both were unusually young for their roles but they exceeded my expectations and helped me build the highest grossing show on TV.

They, in turn, mentored other colleagues as our team grew and our handpicked band of rebels produced this thing we could all be proud of, one bad pun at a time. When we failed upwards and took over the 8pm hour, we got some great minds to bring their unique perspectives to The Trend Trending Talkers, or TTTT as we call it, a show that will also outlast us.

Leaving something that has meant so much to me was one of the hardest decisions of my career. Occupying such an influential place in the culture was a blessing but there is much more that this village boy has to do. With multiple tabs open at NTV, this column and international speaking engagements, I had to drop #theTrend so someone else can have that opportunity.

Thanks for watching all these years.

******

FAKE OPINION POLLS

Where are the other presidential candidates? 

DR EKURU Aukot addressed his first public rally in Naivasha on Sunday from the back of a pick-up, with a mammoth crowd in attendance. No, not really. There were several dozen people there who appeared to have come more out of curiosity than because they are real supporters of the Thirdway Alliance leader. That was just two days after an Infotrak national poll gave him a staggering 0.1 per cent support so naturally, he quickly dismissed it.

“A journalist like you still believes in fake opinion polls?’ Don’t go that low boss; just check facts and report the difference,” he tweeted me.

I had tweeted a picture of the sparse crowd just to upset him because he is among the minor presidential candidates who blame the media for not covering them fairly. The media — especially we in broadcast — don’t have infinite resources so we have to prioritise who has news value.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are drawing crowds, have plenty of political history between them and have obvious national support. This two-horse race narrative was not created by the media; it is the people out there every day showing who has influence and the other candidates just don’t have it. No amount of coverage will change that. 

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RICH POLITICIANS?

Bobi Wine elected to Parliament 

THE “GHETTO PRESIDENT” is one step closer to being a real president after he was elected to the Ugandan Parliament. Musician Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi, or Bobi Wine as his fans call him, easily won the Kyadondo East by-election last Thursday.

The victory is even sweeter because he beat the incumbent, Apollo Kantinti, whose victory was set aside because of irregularities in the poll. Bobi Wine’s colleague and rival, Bebe Cool, was gracious enough to congratulate him when we spoke on Friday, hailing the fact that Kyagulnanyi used his numbers to ascend to public office.

Cool hopes Kyagulanyi can now use his new position to influence policy in favour of musicians and other artistes who are often ignored by African governments.

But would he run for office himself?

“I like being rich, and I don’t think politicians can be rich,” he shot back. That’s a solid no but he’s clearly never met a Kenyan politician.

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FEEDBACK: On the self-absorbed 11th parliament

Larry, your article was splendid. I remember when you “broke into TV”, I wasn’t a fan of yours. My brother and I would make fun of your name and the way you presented the news. We found you conceited and egoistic. In retrospect, however, I have realised that we are more alike than I could  ever have imagined then, and our “hatred” probably emanated from a tinge of envy we must have felt of you, seeing that we are your age-mates (I’m 30 my brother is 28). We felt you should have been humble, being in the spotlight. Perhaps Kenyans project their insecurities and jealousy  by “bullying” other people so that they can lower themselves to their level.

James

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Larry, your article made my day.

Kenya is in the mess we are in because we “refuse to be accountable for our actions”. Anyone asking the hard accountability questions or sees the elephant in the room and draws attention to it is ignored or punished, with no one raising any questions.

I choose to stand up and speak the truth, but I will also allow others to state their truth. But, let’s not harass or intimidate others because they see a different truth from ours. This nation can only progress if we allow ourselves to interrogate the status quo.

Lucy