US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO1323

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001323 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/PD (LMING); AF/S (HTREGER) 
PARIS FOR ARS 
STATE DEPT PASS TO BBG 
BBG FOR VOA (GWENDOLYN DILLARD) 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT, OIIP, KPAO, MZ 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBICAN "IDOL" SHOW CELEBRATES NEW ORLEANS 
IN KATRINA AFTERMATH 
 
1. SUMMARY. The United States received a huge vote of 
sympathy when Mozambique's most popular television 
entertainment program, the Fama Show, devoted a one-hour 
special to celebrating the spirit of New Orleans in the 
aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The September 26 
live broadcast, based on "American Idol" and coordinated 
with PAS, featured a mix of well-known songs about New 
Orleans, music written for the occasion, and brief remarks 
by the U.S. Ambassador. It reached an audience of about 
500,000 largely young people, expressing the remarkable 
empathy that Mozambicans feel towards the American victims 
of the hurricanes, feelings flowing from their own 
disastrous floods in 2000. PAS has sent a DVD copy of the 
show to AF/PD END SUMMARY. 
 
THE MUSIC IS THE MESSAGE 
2. At 1730 on Monday, September 26, the country's most 
popular entertainment series, the Fama ("fama" meaning fame 
in Portuguese) Show, aired a one-hour special dedicated to 
the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Repeated on 
October 4, the show opened with a background video footage 
of storm damage and victims, set to a narration by a Fama 
master of ceremonies. Next STV CEO Daniel David and 
Ambassador Helen La Lime made brief statements. David 
emphasized the program as a statement of solidarity on the 
part of Mozambicans. Ambassador La Lime noted that 
Mozambicans had suffered from floods in 2000, and understood 
exactly what this kind of natural disaster meant. She 
averred that it was especially appropriate that Mozambican 
sympathy be expressed in music, considering that New Orleans 
is the birthplace of jazz. 
 
3. The rest of the program featured a series of songs about 
New Orleans, solidarity, and one poem set to music - 
"America" - written for the occasion. The music included: 
We Are the World, Don't Let the Sun Go Down, House of the 
Rising Sun, Heal the World, Tears in Heaven, Show Me the 
Meaning, a Mozambican song, Chove Chuva (Rain Rain), We 
Shall Overcome, and a rousing finale of "When the Saints Go 
Marching In," with full audience participation. 
 
CONCEIVING THE PROGRAM CONCEPT 
4. Soico TV (STV) CEO Daniel David came up with the original 
idea. He explained that he had reacted just the way as other 
Mozambicans to the powerful footage of Americans of 
predominantly of African descent caught up in the storm 
damage. The U.S. and the world reacted boldly five years ago 
to help Mozambicans; he was inspired to find a way to convey 
the empathy felt by Mozambicans, and their desire lend a 
helping hand in any way possible. 
 
PAS IN ON THE TAKEOFF 
5. David and PAS already had established an excellent 
relationship. It seemed only natural to run the concept by 
PAS, which immediately backed it and offered to generate 
American participation. With PAS on board, the Fama special 
took off with wings that would set it apart from the regular 
Friday night program. The time would be crucial. He chose 
the 1730 time slot on a Monday holiday because an unusually 
high number of middle-class families -- notably teenagers, 
the target audience -- would be at home. 
 
6. One important difference was the decision to jettison the 
usual competitive aspects of the show, such as a panel of 
judges. Singers who had already performed on Fama and thus 
were well known agreed to participate. STV and PAS together 
produced a video montage of post-hurricane images to open 
the show. In addition to arranging the Ambassador's on- 
camera appearance, PAS identified an American USAID employee 
who volunteered to sing "The House of the Rising Sun." 
 
SOICO TV: THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE TO STATE MEDIA 
6. Soico TV is one of two private alternatives to official 
TV Mozambique (the other is the church-affiliate TV 
Miramar). Broadcasting in Maputo, Xai-Xai, Inhambane, and 
Beira, its prime-time ratings often surpass those of TVM. 
Funded entirely by Mozambican investors, it exemplifies what 
can happen when the airwaves open up to private enterprise, 
a formula for marketing success similar to that used by 
networks elsewhere: Low-brow entertainment in the form of 
Brazilian soap operas and Fama, plus fast-paced, sometimes 
sensationalist news. 
 
7. The Fama Show special married STV's mass entertainment 
and public affairs strengths. By attaching the brand name 
"Fama Show" to the broadcast, STV guaranteed itself a young 
mass audience. By dedicating it to the victims of the 
hurricanes and invoking a legacy of great music, Fama 
morphed into a public affairs show. Because the initiative 
came from the top (the CEO), it happened fast. But without 
the involvement of PAS and the Ambassador, it probably would 
not have happened at all. Our role was essential 
symbolically as an expression of the American people. 
 
THE ULTIMATE TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY 
8. COMMENT: PAS could not have chosen a more effective 
public diplomacy vehicle, a mass media target of opportunity 
with a huge built-in youth audience. We were ready to seize 
the moment because of a strong pre-existing relationship 
with STV; all we had to do was to say yes to the core 
concept, and move forward. Money was never an issue since 
STV covered all expenses. PAS simply helped a local 
institution to do what it wanted to do anyway, and 
accomplish the job with a credibility that the USG never 
could have had on its own. Consequently and perhaps 
paradoxically, the Fama Show special demonstrated that the 
hurricanes have had the effect of softening the image of the 
U.S. among Mozambicans by humanizing us. 
Dudley