If you feel a news story does not measure up to expected journalistic standards, bring it to the Journalism Dry Cleaner. Through our collective wisdom, we will strip it of all offensive dirt.

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Monday 20 January 2020

FACTS, FICTION AND FANTASY NEWS

The world of make belief works best in the movies business. Truth might sometimes be stranger than fiction, but facts remain the bedrock of true journalism. There is fantasy football, but there can never be fantasy news. That's why foolishly unbelievable newspaper accounts are so irksome.


It's almost impossible to explain why the editor elected to dwell in impossibilities, in crafting the article above.

Immediately after the headline, a reader encounters a strange bit of information stating:
Education ministry extends the deadline for Form One admission  to January 17.
Have you noted the absurdity yet?

I've given you a clue already. And it has all to do with the date of publication for this particular paper.

At the far-right corner...the date reads 19th January! And the deadline extension being suggested...up to 17th January.


The 'clueless' editor couldn't care less that the right information is well captured in the main article.

The reader would certainly care more if editorial judgement is not easily compromised.

Saturday 4 January 2020

OLD MEDIA ISSUES AND DICTATES OF A NEW DECADE

It's the beginning of a new decade. But old issues appear destined to remain on the Kenyan media landscape. It's been more than ten years and counting, since this platform started to highlight editorial missteps, misadventures, misinterpretations, misinformation, and the occasional media brilliance. 


However, of what value will continued critiquing of the same mistakes be?

Going forward, it should no longer be about pointing out media failures at the level of simple typographical errors, and reporting or contextual inaccuracies.

It may be a long shot, but one hopes media coverage of local and international issues will evolve into a more sophisticated venture, feeding on the latest newsroom innovations, and driven by the most modern technologies.

This, I strongly believe, will subsequently trigger a more rigorous, and elevated media criticism.

indeed, the weekly frequency of the posts here, has remarkably been consistent.

But it may now be prudent to reduce the output, so as to allow the focus to be on weightier issues, whose merit should be pegged on significant value addition, and not mere media criticism.

Let the new chapter begin!

POSTSCRIPT: 
In the beginning of the last decade, there were very few Kenyan platforms, solely dedicated to media criticism. It was easy to push out very exclusive content. And in those days, posting screenshots of editorial blunders was still a novelty in this part of the world. But at the onset of the 2020 decade, virtually anyone with a smartphone, Internet connectivity and either of the abundant social media accounts, can be an effective media critic. An error in the traditional, digital or even alternative media, can't go undetected for long. This platform therefore, feels a little less obligated to keep the media in check, and grateful to have played a role in inspiring the culture of media scrutiny in Kenya.