We can't assume that independence in presidential coverage will carry over to other hot topics in this rapidly changing country. Case in point: Valentine's Day.
Every store in Male seems to be running a special promotion of flowers and other gifts for your sweetheart. It's a booming business! Problem is that it's fundamentally a Christian or pagan holiday (the origins are murky) and definitely NOT Muslim.
If you define news as what people are talking about, this was the day's top story. The morning TV news meeting dissolved into a debate about who was observing the day with their sweetie and who wasn't. So, I assigned Shifla to put together a story about the economic impact of Valentines Day, talk to some young people who are celebrating, and talk with a religious expert about the issues involved. Bob assigned a similar story on the radio side.
Rameez put his foot down and said the story would not air. He recalled a past incident when the programming department aired a Valentines special featuring music that would put you "in the mood" with your loved one. The producer was somehow disciplined, although the exact punishment is not clear to me because there are differing reports on whether there is such a thing as the religious police. We were all pretty frazzled from the presidential coverage battle, Rameez is suffering from a severe cold that is now bordering on pneumonia due to overwork, and the last thing he needs is another battle with religious authorities.
After checking around to make sure I wasn't violating some cultural norms, I feel confident that we can do this story as long as it is balanced and clearly explains the religious view.
The picture shows one of the many displays encouraging people to buy "Love Hampers." One of the more inventive promotions includes a free thong with your purchase of roses.
Update: There were a few negative calls to the newsroom after the English language newscast aired. Afru, one of the English newscast producers, did an English version of Shifla's story. But his standup close was different! He implied that the celebration of Valentines Day has raised the question of whether Maldives is now a "secular country." Ouch! Just because you send a flower to your sweetie doesn't mean you are renouncing an entire religion for the whole country. I would never have approved this standup if I knew he was doing it. Now that TV and radio has editorial independence we have to choose our words carefully. The process of script approval becomes even more important, not for censorship but to make sure we are saying what we mean to say.
Here are some of the TVM reporters who work as one-person bands in the outlying atolls. We are bringing them to Male in small groups for training. They are a talented group and learned quickly after getting specific critiques of their video packages.
The radio station also has a small cafeteria, and it was nice to sit down with assignment editor Jameel, news director Manik and managing editor Jinah to discuss some of the issues. Radio has a much more professional working environment overall, compared to the TV station. The morning meeting has evolved into a serious discussion of covering the real news in an interesting way instead of covering the press releases. Still, there is room for improvement. Some reporters still try to cover stories from their desks intead of venturing out for natural sound. The engineer running the board is not a news person and as a result the production values are pretty low. Sometimes there is dead air when a correction must be made or a script comes in late. The music is a Maldivian folk tune which doesn't sound very "newsy." There is only a single news reader, and another person to read a section of news from the outlying atolls. A double anchor format, an engineer who is actually following the script and better production music would enhance the main 1:30 pm news broadcast considerably.
One insider told me there is "a love-hate relationship" between the TV programming and news departments. Now that we are making some positive changes in the newscasts, programming is wondering when we will get around to training them. We are a three member team and can only stretch so far, so we have permission to bring in a programming show doctor to join our program. The typical newscast lead-in is likely to be something like the show pictured above, called "How to Recite the Holy Koran." School children are taught to recite verses in Arabic and they actually have national competitions.
The 2004 tsunami has faded from the headlines in the US, but it is still very much top of mind here for the obvious reason that, in addition to the loss of life, there are many people who lost their homes.
The president's office was in a lovely buidling overlooking the waterfront. There were a couple of nice reception rooms where you could prepare for your meeting and sign the guest book. We signed in right after the delegation from Senegal.
Of course, there was security, especially in light of the fact that someone tried to assassinate the president in January. (A boy scout stepped in and saved the president from a knife attack.) Back in the 1980s, rebels from Sri Lanka tried to take over the country when they thought the president was out of town. So there is some nervousness about the idea that the president's daily schedule should be released to the press in advance. 
It was a relaxed conversation that went on for about 45 minutes and covered substantial issues, not merely a "grip and grin." After seeing so much "official footage" of President Gayoom it was like meeting a movie star to see him in person. He spoke in confident, conversational English and shared his feelings about the changes we had made in the TV and radio news coverage.
We also visited the nearby fish market where fishermen spread out their catch in buckets and on the disinfected tile floor. We were getting soundbites for a story on a company that is selling a new, more powerful motor to help the boats get father out to sea to catch tuna. The fishermen said they couldn't possibly catch enough tuna to afford the gas. Again, shopping at the fish market is considered a man's job and we saw few women.
Everybody recognized Shifla and complimented her on the way in which she delivers the news. But some walked away muttering "TV Maumoon" or "propaganda." You don't have to speak Dhiveli to understand that the station has an image problem.
We were invited to go to a fishing party on the nearby island of Hulhumale. We were interested in seeing this manmade island that is designed to eventually ease overcrowding in the capital city of Male. More on that later. 
We traveled by ferry, taxi, motorcycle and foot to a beach where small groups of people were building fires to cook fish. We made a lot of jokes about catching the fish ourselves, but fortunately, the delicious red snapper was caught by someone else earlier today and purchased at the local fish market. Fish doesn't get much fresher than this! 
Just when we were sitting down on beach sofas to enjoy the meal, a small but furious storm cell blew in. We hurried into a nearby construction office and if you look closely you will see that the fish was served on top of the copy machine!
Hilmy, who works for the film classification board, showed me how to eat the fish in true Maldivian style, picking off pieces with your right hand. The blackened crust of chili and lime is what we in the US know as Cajun style. The meat from the head was especially moist and delicious. However, I had to draw the line when Hilmey suggested I eat the eye and the brain. I felt like a contestant on Survivor Maldives, giving up my chance at a million bucks, but I just couldn't do it. 
