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Wednesday 14 May 2014

MATERNAL NEWS MISMATCH ON PRIME TIME NEWS

The experience of motherhood is very special, to many women. A newly-born baby is a source of so much joy and cause for celebration. There's nothing wrong with wanting to share the good news with all and sundry. But...at the prime(st) of time...in a live news broadcast...on national TV? That's far from taking it too far. It's nearer to near-self-interest.



The questions to ask are very simple. Was it in the public's interest, to dedicate the time before the actual dissemination of the day's main news, to laboriously let Kenyans know why a certain news presenter has been missing from the airwaves?

And was it of urgent necessity to then delve into the whys and wherefores of maternal throes and thrills, or the balancing of careers and family life, for women in the media?

How justified is it, to similarly splash pictorial snippets of one's private life, in a very public sphere, while regaling the audience with very personal accounts of what motherhood means to one particular individual, who other than being a public figure by virtue of the occupation, had nothing remarkably close to constituting part of the day's news agenda?


Yes. Words cannot even adequately express the motherhood phenomenon. The fact that it's extraordinary can hardly be disputed.

But though it may be miraculous and differentially special, to every individual involved, one thing will always remain constant:

It is not, and forever will not be the first time for it to happen!

This piece of good news as is, I beg to move, is not newsworthy.











11 comments:

Carol Gatura said...

I thought I was crazy to think this as well. I fully agree with you!

Albert Gachiri said...

It seemed odd that so much 'news' prominence, was given to what to many, might pass as a normal part of human existence.

Jack Machogu said...

I concur. The center has to move sometimes albeit not outside the necessary periphery.

Anonymous said...

i think she's happy being a mother and just wanted to share the joy.not every woman can be a mother biologically. Guys are just hating for nothing.something strange here??? don't think so.

Albert Gachiri said...

Such a personal expression of happiness about being a mother is valid, but more suitable for social media platforms or TV talk shows. Not every woman is equally thrilled by motherhood. So it should have been kept very brief and certainly without creating the impression that this piece of information amounts to very important news, to broadcast ad nauseum.

Mbugua said...

I believe giving birth is a normal & private affair, and many women give birth anyway.
Btw these news anchors even discuss on air how fun their leave was; forgetting most of their viewers are actually jobless.

Lillian said...

I completely agree with you Gachiri.I was very surprised, to say the least, that KTN believed this had to be the first NEWS item.
This is not about hating PP (Previous Poster). Perhaps if she was the first female anchor to have a baby then it would have been a big deal. Only perhaps. Think about it, why don't they extend the same display to all their reporters who have babies, male or female... What about us print reporters? How much space should we get? Oh well....

BLKE said...

The timing for that story was misplaced, pure and simple but hardly surprising in a media culture moving toward more focus on the personalities than deliver the news rather than the quality of the news itself. Such content is more at home in the morning news shows.

Unknown said...

true true Albert! news is no longer news....motherhood is a personal affair

Anonymous said...

The whole ....episode was very embarrassing. Could not wait for it to end. Even photos!! Gosh.

Unknown said...

Spot on, Gachiri. One would wonder if such media houses consider news to be the individuals they hire or the social media stories they rehash on prime time. Either way, they lost the direction long time ago.