TV Stations in Uganda have been really helpful to alot of Ugandans. I remember the first day I got a call from a friend to go Audition for being a presenter on Jam Agenda. Oh my word… I had never been so excited in my life. It’s like I knew once I got on there, that’s all I needed to have made it in life.
See ever since I watched Bbale Francis, Lucy Banya, Nakawunde and all the 90s TV heroes, I felt the need to be on air regardless of what it cost me. My mother (RIP) who was a teacher always had to sit and watch me present to her in the bedroom every night, it was a dream I knew I needed to fulfill. Watching Collins, Kazoora and all that featured on Jam Agenda, it was exactly my thing. I mean I mimed Unleash the dragon at JOVOC in Senior 1, so this was heaven. My dreams were to be on Jam Agenda that when I had joined Top TV earlier, I hosted a replica show called Top Jams, that’s where I really learned the art of speaking to a camera in a room full of lights and people just waiting for you to mess up. I loved it, I thrived at it like I was born for it. TV presenting has always been a bit too easy for me to be honest I think that’s why I didn’t thrive at it compared to my radio career, It didn’t challenge me, plus I have never been so confident with my look on the screen.
Back to the story, I get called and we are in a line of almost 30 that had auditioned and am at the lobby of WBS looking at pictures of GORDON WAVA,looking at the reception, I can almost still smell the scent of the office. I get called in and it’s a half circle of people and me standing in the middle, they ask me to introduce myself and present. Now for those of you who went to St Lawrence, it was exactly like what Prefect interviews looked like. Now in my Senior 3 I had interviewed for Entertainment Prefect and even had to dance, so this was like something i was very well prepared for, it felt like I was standing right infront of my mom and boom.. I killt it, ofcourse i got the damn job, i was told to go to the accounts, set up a bank account, get clothes because we were going on air the next day. Mbwenu… you can’t imagine the taxi ride back to hostel. I called my friend first because if it wasnt for her, I would never have got there, then I called my girlfriend and I cried on the phone. You know that Will Smith moment in pursuit of happiness, I felt that.
I was paid 800k per month (1hr a week), I ended up working with WBS for 4years until the “issues”. We often had meeting with Chairman about the future of the Station and his vision of our shows, we had some serious editors, managers, a basic good team (before Naguru). I miss Kasoozi. Basically my entry into Ugandan TV was a beautiful one and I learnt so much, despite not being given a complete chance with Jam Agenda at the start, I was glad working for the TV and never complained, my salary came on time but most importantly, I got known by so many people. Infact I think half of the people here got to know me from TV show and that was then. It was such a huge step, it gave me the voice I have today. I am able to have an influence in society, be creative, feed and school my child, be educative to many and help those I can just because of that opportunity that I grabbed with both hands at 21yrs old.
If I was a teenager, today the TV Stations I would be looking at would be NTV or NBS obviously, it would such an honor to host a big show on any of the TVs, something that I was close to doing in my own career, so it’s really such a great opportunity to be on the TV, first of all for personal growth but also for the purposes of getting that voice, that brand that you could use for life. Does it matter how much I am paid, yes it does, my facilitation must match my time if I am part timing and not full employment. The negotiations depend on me availing myself at the station and not to pay my rent. In other words I am only needed at the station during my.work hours, I can do anything else aslong as its not in competition. So a 50k seems very very good, bare in mind I can use this chance to strike a clothing deal or a make up deal (ladies) because TV Stations agree to this. So it’s really my time to shine while being facilitated.
Now depending on how big I work for my brand, I will obviously work towards the bargain of how valuable I have made myself with time. So if I started at 50k, I could get to 200k per show depending on how much business I bring in as a brand. So I need to really be sharp and make sure I invest in this journey. Or else I risk losing it all by complaining that 50k is little money to pay for my rent and my fuel. you must anchor your plan if you believe in it.
Now that said, my story was a mess, I spent much of it on “friends” in the bar until obviously i got my child and that also took me a while to grasp. See many of us believe Talent should save us and feed us but it’s wrong, my uncle Mr. Narcis T. Rwangoga once told me that you must learn how to use your plan B to get to plan A. Financial independence is important and consistent income is one way to attain it, it builds with time and I wish I knew this when i was 20yrs old in the WBS lobby, I would have done much better but I dont regret a bit of it too because I am hoping it can be a lesson for others like it has been for me. We can’t depend on businessmen to pay our rent, we need the income true…and that’s all they can give but they can’t give us financial freedom. Even NBA players go broke after million dollar deals, you must have financial discipline and plan on how to double up that income with time. The rest will be consequences growth.
I don’t believe in the narrative that Media Owners pay peanuts, they are businessmen, its all about your value negotiation. You better know your value or it will be used.
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