OF THUMPING, THUMBS UP AND A RAPID RESPONSE EDITORIAL UNIT

A Rapid Response Editorial Unit would be a welcome addition to newsrooms, to be always ready for deployment, especially during a live TV news broadcast. The job description will mainly involve swiftly correcting mistakes that find their way to the on air content. Erroneous TV graphics should not just attract a thumping, but a thumbs up for a quick recovery.

Before a budget line is availed for the rapid response editorial unit, all that is needed is a high sense of alertness for the news production crew, as illustrated above.

How long did it take to amend the typos?

Less than a minute!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, parrots and parakeets...it is very much possible to transcend editorial embarrassments, and get a thumbs up, instead of a thumping from media critics.

OF SPLITTING HAIRS AND ON AIR HAIR

It might not be the most important element in TV news delivery. The appearance of news presenters, however, could be the tie breaker for many viewers, when deciding which Kenyan channel to watch news. It may seem like splitting hairs, but on air hair grooming is critical in making a newscaster to be easy on the eye.

You should want to avoid a look that gives the impression of being untidy, unkempt and generally unsightly.

Failure to do this has a direct impact on perceptions about a media house, because there's a valid reason why on air newsroom personnel are often reminded they are the face of the station.

Any credible broadcast news channel is thus likely to have an in-house grooming code, touching on acceptable on screen dressing, hairstyles, makeup, jewellery and many other details.

And significantly also, there ought to be budgetary support to enable news anchors, field reporters or program hosts to maintain the desired look and feel of the channel.

All these efforts might appear contradictory to the need to keep the attention of the viewer solidly on the news content.

Indeed, there have been numerous deliberate decisions to tone down what could amount to visual distractions, likely to make the audience deviate from the core purpose of watching news.

Apparently, the distraction can equally come from a 'strange' or 'unusual' appearance of newscasters or other on air talent.

That's why it is more desirable to be simple but not simplistic in the choice of wardrobe or hair styles, elegant but not eccentric, or classy but not flashy.

Watching news presenters need not be a hair raising experience!

OF TV NEWS PROTECTING AND CORRUPTING PUBLIC MORALS

Kenyan TV news has a remarkable penchant for drifting towards sensationalism, in the mistaken belief that what is shocking will always gel with the audience. It's a pity that a news story seeking to highlight the moral decadence in the society, can actively add to the decay of public morals.

There's need to first point out that what adults do in private is pretty much none of anyone else's business, including the prying eyes of the media.

So, this particular TV news story sought to address the issue of perversion among consenting and supposedly non-consenting adults.

But it went horribly wrong for family TV viewing, (in spite of the warning by the news reader introducing it), when the line of interviewing, (or cross-examination), went way beyond acceptable decency levels, from the overtly aggressive journalists.

And the dirty clincher was the airing of a video clip of not so child-friendly toys!

To serve what purpose I dare ask? Was this so critical in taking the story forward, and if so, shouldn't there have been blurring or soft-focusing of the damn gadgets?

What could be of concern to the public and authorities, is perhaps the co-opting of children in despicable acts that rob them of their innocence, though this seemed to have been of secondary importance in the story.

And that's how the Kenyan media can end up violating the same moral values it's trying to ensure the audience upholds.

SOCIAL MEDIA TWEETS BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA TWITS

Social media is not a respecter of the rules of mainstream media. Codes of conduct have been crafted to regulate sharing of online content. But it seems controlled discourse is not as interesting as disorderly conversations. The situation becomes more dire, when traditional media abandon editorial processes in their social media posts. Some tweets can only be posted by twits!

Where does one begin, in trying to ascertain the source of such fantastic errors?

I've previously argued this could be a reflection of a serious deficiency of experienced journalists in newsrooms.

I've also toyed with the idea that some mistakes could be deliberate, or acts of sabotage, used to settle internal scores.

I'm losing my mind now over this vexatious issue, so don't be alarmed if I conclude there could be some element of lunacy, in these frequent goofs, gaffes, bloopers and blunders.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This post was inspired by material supplied by a source.

WHEN SECOND IS THE LEAD, LOCAL CONTENT, AND A TV RATINGS RAT RACE

That the Kenyan broadcasting industry is competitive is not disputable. So, every opportunity to brag how your channel is doing better than rival stations, is most certainly going to be fully exploited. It's all fair and square, until coming second becomes the same as being in the lead, in the ratings rat race.

If a TV station is part of a wider multi-media enterprise, you are likely to see sister platforms trumpeting any perceived success of one of their associated outlets.

Admittedly, the exaggeration itch is often very difficult to ignore, and one is bound to see an overdose of gloating and showboating.

The context it seems, can be easily manipulated to create self-serving favourable content.

But fidelity to facts should not be in question, even when reporting real achievements or pseudo-accolades.

It therefore requires some stretching of the imagination, for one to believe that coming number two, justifies a headline expressly stating a channel:

"......leads in airing local content."

Even the first paragraph of the self-aggrandising article is alive to the fact that this particular TV station is only among the leading pack.

Such distortions of the truth in the ratings rat race, can never change the fact that being second is not exactly the same as being the leader.

The one who is first reserves all the rights that appertain to leading, being number one, the best, and other allied top drawer rankings.

I AM NOT A WOLF: HIV AND THE ILLS OF SOCIAL STIGMA

I am not a wolf. News about corruption allegations has recently dominated both mainstream Kenyan media outlets and social media platforms. Any other story hardly has a chance to standout. And yet I can't stop thinking about an investigative feature of the little boy with HIV, who has been made to feel as if he is a wolf. That's how low social stigma can descend to.

In a masterfully pieced expose, Stigma Academy, the despicable practice of discriminating against people living with HIV, is brought to the fore.

The administration of a school shamelessly refuses to enrol a 12-year-old boy, after learning he has HIV. The pretext is that there's no admission vacancy, but the institution readily offers a chance to another decoy child, fronted by the news crew.

The audience is let in on the intention to prove there is discrimination, so it's clear everything is staged.

But then the sequence begins to be more gripping, when the boy's mother expresses the pain of seeing her son being denied the chance to get a decent education, on the basis of his HIV status.

And the depressing level of human hatred sinks several notches, when the young boy concretises his battle with social stigma.

"I am not a wolf." 

These words should forever haunt the perpetrators of stigma. And may they also provoke concerned authorities to do more in their effort to eradicate all forms of discrimination against people living with HIV.

After all, the boy is indeed not a wolf. He's just as human as you and I.

The real wolf is the source of the stigma.

CUE DOUBLE DOSE OF SAME INFORMATION, CUE AUDIENCE DOZE OFF

The Kenyan president makes an address to the nation, broadcast live in all major channels, during which changes in his administration are announced. The event ends less than half an hour to prime time news bulletins. Then, newscasts lead with a lengthy recap of the presidential briefing. This double dose of identical information is a cue for the audience to doze off.

Is the news significant? Oh yes, very important. Must it be re-aired in its original format and the content of the presidential address regurgitated on an ' as is where is' basis, so soon after the live broadcast?

Yes...in the land of dead journalistic analysis and media allergies to interpretative value addition on information being conveyed.

But that's not to say you lose focus on the fact that TV is a visual medium.

So having a news presenter on a prolonged solo talking spree makes it hard to distinguish between facts and personal opinion.

It is hard to imagine that within one hour, local channels weren't able to line up analysts or experts to interrogate the Cabinet reshuffle, despite big hints that major changes were in the offing.

And if all fails, even in-house 'editorial authorities' can be roped in to broaden the discussion, as opposed to the tiring studio monologues.

It's important for a news story to be taken forward. And the media can be proactive in seeking to raise and find answers to the 'so what' question.

That 'lazy' newsroom pattern of waiting for reactions a day after, ought to be discarded.

That's why it was so refreshing to see one of the channels airing a Cabinet Secretary nominee's initial thoughts, shortly afterwards.

Those visuals came from Europe...

...And you want the audience to think it's impossible to get a relevant comment from the neighbourhood?

SOBER APPROACH TO SMOKE OUT UNDERAGE DRINKERS

It's highly regrettable that a section of Kenyan children have been found indulging in 'adult' misbehaviour. And the media has been quick to jump on such stories, riding on their potential to shock and jolt the nation's conscience. But not every news story adds value to this issue. A sober approach is needed to smoke out the underage drinkers.

So, a media house gets word that pupils of a certain school have been more than quenching their thirst for knowledge, by imbibing fermented beverages of the illicit type.

A TV news crew is dispatched to the school, (or as is reported, 'pays a courtesy call'), interviews are conducted and material gathered used to assemble a ' Drunk in Class' news story.

It's perhaps hoped the emotional hook will align the morality compass in the audience, to point to the falling societal standards of raising children.

But the substance collected during the news gathering process needs to support the weight of the final content being broadcast.

It's one thing to say children attend school in a 'drunken stupor' but it will require more than the claims of school authorities and 'blurred' interviews of pupils to make the story fully convincing.

Talking heads only, and not even a local social worker or a medics's expert diagnosis, waters down the potency of the story.

And ethically, you don't violate the privacy of minors, by pin-pointing pupils in class, whom the audience is supposed to believe are inebriated.

That is not a sober approach to smoke out underage drinkers!

TV NEWS FAIL: HISTORICAL TRUTHS MINUS GEOGRAPHICAL REALITY

Is it a virtual deception? Then maybe all that is required is a computer-aided correction. Or is it a physical misrepresentation of facts? Then it's humanly possible for a set designer to mend the mistake. But if the broadcast station is in denial, then historical truths need not change the geographical reality. So in this TV news fail, let there be one Sudan, for the South never parted with the North.

That's the impression created and propagated for months, by one of the leading news channels in Kenya.

And this inaccuracy continues to be beamed authoritatively to the local audience, during the channel's prime time newscasts, and globally through various online platforms.

An untrained eye can hardly fail to see the graphical obliteration of the territorial integrity of an independent state.

For any single trained mind not to have noticed the discrepancy internally, it's a travesty of canonical journalism, reeking of professional negligence and editorial irresponsibility.

Attention to details, (demonic or angelic), after all, is at the core of the news business.

And if you can't even get your own station identity right, why should one expect you'll not go wrong with dissemination of information in the public's interest?

I'm not familiar with a channel called Kenya's Television Network. But I'm willing to be welcomed home to be schooled, and hopefully not miseducated.

OF MEDIA SIDE STEPS AND STEPPING ASIDE

Names have been dropped impulsively, after Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, asked those implicated in a graft report to step aside, pending investigations. But what does stepping aside mean? Resigning, being suspended or waiting for the storm to quieten? No one seems to be sure, meaning even the media could be making side steps in their reportage.

And the local media could hardly contain the itch to share the supposed juicy details of who could be a prime suspect in the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission report, in spite of a proper parliamentary process of disclosing such matters being in place, (delays notwithstanding).

It will be interesting to compare the information hurriedly released, with what will actually come out through the formal or official channels.

Only then will it be possible to say whether such a reaction was fast and furious in the public interest, or swift and spurious to merely interest the public.

DIARY OF GRAFTED GRAFT DIARIES AND OUTSOURCING NEWSROOM BRILLIANCE

The main Kenyan media houses appear to have taken a no holds barred approach, in highlighting ills bedevilling the various arms of government. Granted, Kenyans should be the winners, whether it's Corruption Central or Graft Diaries, dominating newscasts. But are the competency levels in these TV channels adequate or should the newsroom brilliance be outsourced?

It's relatively easy, for example, to do stories hinged on regurgitating 'supposed' findings of reports by parliamentary bodies like the Public Accounts Committee.

But I feel there is a mistaken belief that doing so adds so much value.

Such reports may not be widely distributed, but they are in the public domain, and merely picking out cases with the highest perceived potential to shock the audience, amounts to sensationalising the findings.

You may want to sound or appear to be hitting the government hard. But it's hard-hitting substance that is likely to have the most impact.

I would be more at ease if the assigned journalists would incorporate the input of financial, accounting or forensic experts, to better interrogate and interpret the findings, (and ascertain we are dealing with authentic statistics).

Not so long ago, after all, a 'presenter' at the TV station above, used an elaborate video wall-assisted computation, to momentarily hoodwink the audience into believing more than 7 million pupils enrolled in class one in a given year, and only about 600,000 went on to sit the primary leaving exam, leaving us to ponder over the missing 6 million plus phantom pupils.

Numbers never lie, but a lying media kills the goose that lays the golden credibility egg.

I REBUKE THE MEDIA FOR PERSONIFYING THE KENYA WE DON'T WANT

It's becoming clear the Kenyan media is degenerating. The competitive nature of the news means content is now constantly being primed to generate profits, pageviews, viewership, readership, ratings, retweets, likes and online hits. I rebuke the local media for personifying the Kenya we don't want.

I rebuke the media for being opportunistic: 
Journalists conveniently overlook the fact that they are in a position of actualising positive change, given the nature of their careers. They instead choose to score points by posing as the conscience of society. And yet a glance at Westgate attack coverage, shows the shameful prejudices being castigated in the media, are frequently perpetuated by the same media.

I rebuke the media for being selfish: 
Laws become draconian mostly if they threaten the profit margins of media houses. For any other sector, the aggrieved are encouraged to move on.

I rebuke the media for being inept at portraying the big picture:
The President might have been away from the country, but the Presidency was very much around. If the Deputy speaks in the absence of the President, the Presidency can be said to have spoken.

I rebuke the media for being inconsistent: 
One moment the President is praised for being accessible to the public, then it becomes excessive PR, before selfies become despicable.

I rebuke the media for being shortsighted. 
Media representatives are invited to State House and despite very ominous signs, hardly anyone has the foresight of raising the issue of insecurity, preferring mostly to wallow in shameful soliciting for state appointments. How then does one transform into a latter-day saint for reminding the President to firmly deal with insecurity?

I rebuke the media for being a philanderer: 
Maintaining close links and benefiting from illicit relations with political and commercial interests, while public interest and editorial integrity wither in the background.

I rebuke the media for being insensitive: 
Reporting about a horrific tragedy, with the dominant image of a smiling face.

I rebuke the media for being incurably reactive: 
The strange irony of castigating the government for only scrambling to contain a bad situation, long after the diabolic event. Yet that's exactly what the media does, when providing coverage, in spite of the tethered hordes of resident analysts.

I rebuke the media for being gifted in parachute reporting:
Pretending to understand the underlying issues shortly after landing in a conflict area.

I rebuke the media for being quick to misplace priorities: 
Irresponsibly reporting about weapons being allegedly found in places of worship, and then wailing the loudest, when radicals use the skewed coverage to justify the massacre of Kenyans.

I rebuke the media for being allergic to reason:
The media allocate acres of space and tonnes of airtime to highlight maniacal and debased sexual assault in the guise of upholding decency standards. But ignores its own contribution, through its hyper-sexed news delivery.

I rebuke the media for allowing politicians to frequently set its agenda:
The relevance of an issue is many a times, inversely proportional to how many politicians have raised it, and directly proportional to the square root of nonsense!

HOW TO RE-INVENT INVENTIONS IN TV NEWS

Media outlets in Kenya like publishing or broadcasting 'wonderful' news. A feel good story helps to reduce the impact from heavy bombardment of negative news. But alas! Local TV news channels can also re-invent known inventions! Behold the 'inventor' of the aeroplane from South Sudan!

Inventors are known to have played a major role in transforming the world and greatly enhancing the quality of life. Take flying for instance, so much convenience has rarely taken to the skies.

It apparently is not common knowledge, however, that the aeroplane was 'successfully' invented in the early years of the 20th century.

If the lower third tag of this TV story is to be believed, the Wright Brothers had nothing to do with the invention of the first airplane flight, right?

Wrong!

The closest that the story comes to an invention, is either the TV station's decision to 're-invent' historical facts, or its spirited attempt to alter the meaning of 'invent' from:

"...to design or create something such as a machine or process that did not exist before."

Now let's drink to that. So, will it be whiskey or whisky?

Yet again, another local TV station felt it was proper to use the two terms interchangeably, when referring to a made in Scotland drink.

Let's toast to media mediocrity!

MAN UNITED IN THE WORLD CUP AND MORE MEDIA MADNESS

The World Cup is upon us. This top global sporting spectacle has a lot of history and rivalry behind it. And the 2014 edition in Brazil will dominate newspaper pages and broadcasts across the planet. Sadly, there are already signs that the Kenyan media might lead their audience astray.

How can a script from a journalist be edited, sub-edited and revise edited, and the article published, with such errors? The fact that it's a direct quote is inconsequential (there's no 'sic' even). The embedded facts remain as repugnant to any lover of the beautiful game. The vile section above reads:

"I must watch Suarez play Rooney in the match between England and Manchester United, and Ghana verses Portugal..."

It's unbelievable how mismatched facts can be stitched together, to yield such irrelevancy.

Manchester United...featuring in the World Cup? Match between England and Manchester United?

If the local media propels ignorance about the World Cup to such dizzying heights, what terrible fate awaits the not so knowledgeable readers, blindly trusting the veracity of such a story?

And it does not end there. Broadcast coverage of the World Cup is already sinking in the sea of uninformed news.

Maybe we should blame it on the erosion of institutional memories in Kenyan media houses. The rate at which youthful personnel are being thrust into the TV limelight, definitely has its downside.

Having a few 'old' hands capable of individually recollecting significant events of the 1970s, might be a tall order. But the discerning viewer has a right to feel short-changed, if a TV presenter appears unaware of salient facts about a World Cup held in the mid-1980s.

Broadcast news production being a team effort, it means the news producer, director, editor, and the graphics guy on duty, are also clueless about when exactly Diego Maradona wowed the world, with his 'Hand of God' goal.

Imagine the agony of those who watched that memorable match in 1986, and were tuned into this particular broadcast..especially on hearing the presenter verbalise the mistake, repeatedly!

But to err is human, and the dwindling pool of perspicacious local journalist notwithstanding, we should all enjoy this massive experience that is the World Cup.

NB: The presenter in question did acknowledge his mistake at the end of the newscast, after it was pointed out by a keen viewer. (I'm not sure if it was a 'valid mistake' though!)

NEWS YOU CAN USE AND A BOTTOMLESS BOTTOM LINE

The conversation continues. Conversation this...conversation that. The narrative...interviews... and more talking, is what you're likely to find in abundance in Kenyan news broadcasts. Good old news you can use is evidently preferable to a bottomless Bottom Line. And one local channel might be onto something good.

It was quite refreshing to watch a very informative segment, ensconced within an 'oddly' named newscast the other day. Either out of pure curiosity or even serious interest, many Kenyans are likely to be keen on knowing the inner working of the matatu industry.

It was thus a viewing pleasure to watch and learn so much from, 'That's what it takes' especially due to the simplicity in the delivery of key elements that drive the public transport sector.

And the producers were not done yet. What followed was another example of how news can be empowering. The story laid bare the secrets of successful farming of onions.

In these days of scarce employment opportunities, it is indeed vital to disseminate viable income-generating alternatives.

Moreover, the important role of capital or credit facilities in such ventures cannot be gainsaid. It was immensely appropriate to then have a studio discussion about interest charges in formal banking.

I again applaud this particular brand of responsive journalism.

This sharply contrasts with another channel's 'gallant' effort to have all voices heard, with regards to a perceived pressing problem.

The concept of bringing together a multiplicity of views in a TV platform, to interrogate an issue from a broad perspective, is not entirely bad. Great ideas can emerge and the engagement can yield possible solutions to problems afflicting the society.

However, I have misgivings about letting people only express themselves in front of cameras, and hoping by so doing, their problems would be magically solved.

After all the talking and the TV crew packs up, claims of healing rifts and fostering reconciliation, remain just that...CLAIMS!

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.

REVEALED: WHY DEATHS FROM LETHAL BREWS SHOULD NOT STRIKE AGAIN

It's been a tragic period in Kenya. The local media has been awash with stories of death and anguish, attributed to the consumption of lethal brews. The press has also tried to give some analysis. But it being a familiar calamity, the media should go further in demanding corrective and even punitive action against the culprits and culpable state officials.

Unlike what is stated in the newspaper headline above, I think there's really nothing major to reveal about the, '...poison that killed 76 brew victims.'

Indeed, from the nature of the deaths and particularly the fact that many survivors had reportedly lost their sight, an almost obvious clue is evident from the very beginning. It has happened more than one time before, remember, and so there was hardly anything new to report about the cause of the deaths.

At times I think such stories reflect some symptoms of lazy journalism. Lazy because it's like the journalists have just chanced upon an event, and have the not so difficult task of working backwards, in piecing the details together and infusing comments, quotes or expert opinion.

We need a more forward looking approach. That's our best shot in preventing a re-occurrence of these killer brews tragedies. And follow-up stories need not wait for calamity to strike again.

2 years ago I did a feature #SistersofDeath that exposed #KillerDrinks and their trade.What has Govt done since? #Nacada #KEBS @ntvkenya
— janengoiri (@janengoiri) May 8, 2014

The Sisters of Death expose was a real eye opener, but sadly, it apparently then was reduced to a mere TV news edutainment, after the initial shock wore off.

However difficult, relentless attempts should have been made to rope in concerned government officials, at that time, instead of asking why action has never been taken, two years later.

Prior to the illicit liquor deaths news, a broadcast news station aired a story of some men spending all the money earned from doing menial jobs, in dingy drinking dens. No effort was made to try and establish the nature of the drinks being consumed.

In other words, the media needs to do more than just mere reportage, (and saying death seems to be the least of their concern).

We pontificate about the underlying issues that drive people to partake of unlicensed brews, as if we truly can feel their subverted inspiration or desperation.

But a greater service to the country will emanate from a sustained effort to prevent a repeat of such tragedies, by ensuring the lessons that need to be learnt, need not be relearnt again.

UPDATE
The Kenyan government has now interdicted 52 officials. The minister concerned has also announced a raft of measures, which hopefully, will prevent a repeat scenario of illicit liquor claiming the lives of Kenyans.

Not surprisingly, Kenyan media outlets have started to headline this development. The fact that it has taken 4 days for the state to issue an official response, over 80 deaths later notwithstanding, seems not to have appeared odd for the local press.