‘Poaching’ Distorts Media Market – Bernard Avle

Radio presenter, Bernard Avle talks about poaching. Poaching is the hiring of mostly top radio or media personalities or journalists from one media house to the other. This happens often with enticing financial packages. However, this occurrence distorts the media space.

Avle is the General Manager of Citi FM/Citi TV. He made these statements when he appeared as a guest on KSM’s show on Metro TV.

Bernard noted that the station remained consistent and successful. This largely due to a policy to groom talents instead of hiring already-made media personalities.

According to Avle, the station’s mostly young, passionate and intelligent staff, have been at the centre of the success story. He told KSM that Citi FM did not buy into the idea of poaching radio presenters. This is because that practice was unhealthy for the growth of the company.

Bernard Avle on poaching and the media market

“Poaching distorts the market. In every market if you pick somebody and you introduce a culture of I will attract you with money – you know media is sacrifice, media is passion, media is public service, so even if you are working in a private media, every journalist in the world should be motivated by something more than money.” 

“If I recruit you and I say I’m gonna pay you twice what somebody is paying you, it is good to pay people well, but it doesn’t send the right signal because we follow stories at the risk of our lives.

A lot of journalists across the world, work at the peril of their lives. If my first introduction to media is money, I’ve laid the wrong foundation.” 

Furthermore, he noted that young people are the best for the media market.