What is revolting in these kind of Amana Care programs is not what they sell. They can be excellent like other herbs or natural products. Why not.
What is revolting is to see them presented in fake programs while they can be presented in simple 20 or 30 seconds ads.
I understand perfectly the need for advertising money. But I am one of those OTV shareholders (a small one, as I never liked investing in stock, except to encourage OTV) who are deeply disappointed by this cheapening exercise. Amana Care has become a joke for my french wife and daughters (and I am a bit ashamed. I am usually proud of OTV).
I worked and still work in the Arab media. Advertising money should not scare away, or disgust viewers, or discredit the medium as such. The same applies to some press releases we hear at the end of the news. Why do you keep the usual superlatives of the press releases, instead of editing and removing all opinion elements from the
PR (like great models of such car maker or watch maker...)
Do we (as OTV shareholders, subscribers and supporters, above all) refuse advertising money? Of course not, but OTV can make special programs with real journalists about these specific products, presented professionnally, not by simply reading press release contents. That's where the advertiser comes and spends more with you, not because he is king, but because he is convinced that your program will bring him more sales and ROI. Advertisers will gain more, OTV gains more, and above anything else, the real king (readers and TV viewers!) will gain in better and more credible and reliable information quality.
For God's sake, get rid of these Amana Care programs. Make something more respectable for your viewers... and I say this because I want OTV to be above the rest in this field also, not just in its other respectable news and excellent programs such as Nokta Fasleh with Habib Younes (great, great, he makes any subject a joy to watch), or Fittafasil, Al Hak Youkal and others. Don't cheapen these great programs with Amana Care and the likes. Thanks.
7th May 2008
