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Larry Madowo’s ‘The Trend’ finally trots to an end

STEPHEN NDEGWAJul 6, 20171.9k

On June 30^th, the curtains closed on one of the most popular entertainment shows on local television. The fourth and final season of “The Trend”, which premiered five years ago on NTV, was aired last Friday by its industrious presenter, Larry Madowo.

It was a covert emotional farewell from Madowo to his league of fans, who become accustomed to the presenter’s innovation in television anchoring. The programme, whose first episode was broadcasted on April 6^th, 2012 had recorded 173 episodes as at October 2^nd, 2015.

Neither the Nation Media Group, nor Madowo himself, has given any definite reason for the termination. Madowo’s initial, albeit hurried Tweet and Facebook post on the matter a few weeks ago simply stated that he would be moving on to something different, bigger, better? In the absence of any official line, however, this loud silence seems to carry undertones of some deep-rooted issues.

I cannot underestimate the impact of vicious internal politics and newsroom jealousies in our local media houses. These twin evils have killed the illustrious careers of many ambitious journalists in Kenya. Could it be that Madowo had become larger than life, and someone thought it was time to cut him to size? Or, may be he almost got to a point where he thought he owns the place?

He announced his exit on video

Anyway, Madowo is an inspiration to a big number of young and aspiring journalists, especially those planning to start careers in TV. Coming from a humble background, he has unapologetically risen to stardom through sheer determination, style and courage. In his last comments, he mentioned that The Trend was the highest grossing local TV show ever in Kenya.

Do not forget that The Trend won best TV show in the recent 2017 OLX SoMA Awards. This could have actually been his undoing if he might have asked for a slice of the advertising revenue, rather than the usual salary. My vision would have been for The Trend to become a syndicated international show like The Daily Show and Madowo’s profile equal to its presenter Trevor Noah. But then again, we all do not think alike!

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Written by

STEPHEN NDEGWA -

Stephen Ndegwa is an experienced media practitioner specializing in thought leadership. He has written for various media houses and publications, both locally and abroad. Ndegwa is also a strategic communication expert, with skills across the public relations and marketing mix. He is an author, blogger, poet and university lecturer in communication. Email: [email protected] FB: Stephen Ndegwa Twitter: @Ndegwasm