CASE FOR EQUATING EDITORIAL ERRORS TO FAKE NEWS

The standards of Kenyan media outlets may really try one's patience. For many are the editorial bloopers and blunders that regularly pass through the hands of clueless gatekeepers. At this rate, fake news should no longer just be about inaccuracies and misrepresentation of facts. Throw in errors that look too wanton not to be deliberate.

In the news briefs article, presumably taken from an established foreign media entity, an inexplicable decision or indecision by the sub-editor causes an almost unbelievable and truly unfathomable piece of information to be published in a national paper.

A typo does not even stand a chance in explaining why the article begins with words:

'Ethiopia's Egypt's President...'

What in the name of how, why, who and the remaining Ws!

Then there's this other one highlighted above.

And here's a good case for not championing the Newspaper for Schools cause.

No teacher of English would want the risk of learners entrenching...um...'Am', in their compositions and essays.

Moreover, there are times the typo is so unsightly...that one might even be persuaded that the factual error is the lesser evil.

Herein lies a good foundation for equating editorial errors to fake news.

And therein the truth should be awakened!

FACTS AND THE TRUTH BEGETTING AN UNTRUTH

The moment the media puts out a news story, it develops a life of its own. If something is not clear in a particular story, clarification can be sought within the newsroom. But that is not the case with the audience out there. There's nobody to ask for further explanation, or additional context. The result could be facts and the truth begetting an untruth in a reader's mind. 

In the newspaper article above, the headline contains factual information, but at the same time, a very misleading and negative impression could be created about a 'reputable' medical facility.

Yes, a patient died at the hospital indicated by the headline.

But a reader glancing over that headline might easily conclude this tragic incident began and ended at the same medical facility.

Only by reading through the body of the story would the reader be able to know that this case started in another medical clinic, and the patient only passed on at the hospital reflected in the headline.

The medical facility would rightly take offence if this story ends up making inappropriate insinuations, by directly linking it with the botched operation and subsequent death of the patient.

In other words, the truth here begets untruths, by virtue of the way this newspaper is treating this story.

The result could be a high-speed chase, involving a reputation damage ambulance chaser!

SCREAMING HEADLINES, LAUGHABLE SUBSTANCE, CRYING SHAME

The next chapter of Kenya's political transition is about to be written, with the announcement of the date for a fresh presidential election, after the Supreme Court invalidated the previous one. The focus once again is on the electoral commission. And the local media too, will be closely watched. Screaming headlines with laughable substance continue to be of concern.

At first glance, the front page story of the above publication shouts at potential readers/buyers that internal changes are in the offing at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries and Commission.

And this, the paper proclaims prominently, is on the authority of the IEBC chairman.

Quite a juicy story one would think.

But on turning to the article, there is no reference to the IEBC chairman as promised in the headline, with regards to the 'purge' at the electoral body.

The suggested changes are actually attributed to the opposition coalition!

 A paragraph in the article also seems to contradict the headline.

 The senior official that the IEBC chairman allegedly wants to exit the polls body, is the very same one that the same story says will lead the re-organization.

 Was this a ploy to sell the paper?

Was it a deliberate act to mislead readers?

Is this even ethical or legally acceptable?

This needless name-dropping should be dropped.

DITCH FORMALITIES, CUE POLITICAL STAGE NAME

It's only a matter of days now before Kenya's General Election. The country has nevertheless almost perpetually been in an electioneering mode, ever since the last polls. The newsroom frenzy of election campaigns coverage has seen the media and politicians form an unwilling alliance. Is it surprising then that a newspaper can deem it fit to ditch formalities and just refer a prominent politician by his political stage name?

Is it a case of too much familiarity?

Maybe it is yet another attempt to try and match the style and lingo of millennials.

Or is the shortened version of the name more convenient for the available space for the headline?

Whichever the case may be, it is a tad distressing for a national paper to assume any potential reader, will understand who the person they are referring to is, be they locals or foreigners.

One is even tempted to think that at this rate, we'll soon start seeing the media having no qualms about using popular nicknames like Rao, Uunye, MaDVD, or other more disparaging references, on first mention.

If that is the trend, then I fear we could soon be seeing the local mainstream media disastrously mimicking social media parlance, in a desperate attempt to retain a vanishing audience, in order to remain relevant and viable.

Quotation marks would have sufficed here, but don't quote me!

FRESH DISAPPOINTMENT AND NEWSPAPERS PEDDLING STALE NEWS

The pace at which news is produced is now remarkably faster, because the work of journalists is greatly supplemented by ordinary citizens, and the digital space also demands frequent updates of posted stories. This means traditional media outlets ought to figure a way of taking significant stories forward, to remain relevant. Newspapers peddling stale news are a fresh disappointment.

So, a prominent Kenyan politician is taken ill and predictably all the major papers have this story on their front page.

The different editorial teams, it appears, had the same motivation of milking dry this unfortunate development, to whet the readers' appetite and possibly shore up sales.

Back to the content though, and one story conjures up a number of scenarios, according to the assigned headlines.

The opposition politician either is:

- still admitted in hospital due to food poisoning

- still unwell at the time of publication of the story

- out of danger after being treated for food poisoning

The date of publication of this story is Thursday 9th March 2017, the same day that the key subject was reassuring the country about his health!

Hear ye...Hear ye...!

- The former prime minister fell in on Tuesday 7th March 2017.

-  He was discharged from hospital on Wednesday 8th March 2017.

Is this an admittance of failure to get this story when it was still hot?

And if the information was released late, and privacy issues were at play, should the story still have dominated the headlines, so belatedly?

With almost all major media outlets having an online first policy, when it comes to pushing stories to the audience, it's mighty odd for this story to be prominently retold in retrospect in the dailies.

But you've got to respect the resolve to cash in on a 'freshly squeezed' juicy stale story!

EMPHASIS, EUREKA AND EDITORIAL NEGLIGENCE

Time or space are valuable factors, when putting together a news product. The selection of almost every word has to be justified in a newspaper or magazine layout, and even audio or video components are many a times edited ruthlessly, to fit a particular duration. So, it's quite surprising to see a paragraph repeated in an article. Is this notable intelligence or editorial negligence?

Assuming this was a deliberate decision by the publishers of this Kenyan daily, what could have been the main compelling reason for repeating the same information?

Emphasis- I don't think so!

Editorial negligence- Eureka!

What's more, one can get an excuse to conclude there could be an attempt to advance an agenda, which deviates from the expected neutrality in reporting such a story.

Why the repetition of this particular detail that is seemingly favourable to the central subject, in such a short article?

Notice also, the calamitous patchwork of a 'he-said, she said' reportage, evident in this story.

The repeated paragraph alluded to earlier, is actually attributed to two different people.

Is it Kamlesh Pattni?

Or is it Mukesh Vaya?

Who is saying:

"...the protracted dispute between UHDL and CBK was settled in 2008 through a negotiated settlement..."?

I say this he said he says sayings don't say much! You know what I'm saying?

PUBLIC FIGURE, PRIVATE GRIEF AND A SHAMELESS MEDIA

Personal grief is a private affair, even for a public figure. The pain of losing a loved one is no less for those in the public eye. But most importantly, anyone experiencing such a tragic loss deserves to mourn in dignity. The media shouldn't pry into this private space, beyond the confines of ethical coverage. Using such a a sad occasion for commercial gain is in very bad taste.

A case in point is the way a section of the Kenyan media sought to shamelessly drive traffic to its site using its report on the funeral of the father of a popular local gospel singer.

From the way the link was posted on social media, it appears like the target audience is not expected to empathise with the artiste.

Instead, the audience is being enticed to click on the link, with a collection of photos taken at the funeral.

From the link, which insensitively starts with:

'Check out the photos...'

... the dominant tone almost makes it seem like it was a joyous event, hence the voyeurism bait.

And the exploitative nature of the media wickedly shines through.

In a civilized society, the pain of a distressed mourner should never be trivialized!

SERMON ABOUT SUMMONS AND SUMMONSES

Kenyan newspapers published in English are expected to uphold high linguistic standards. That's why even one misspelt word can cause quite an uproar from readers. And many learners of English expect the press to help them master the language. But often times, the local media leads them astray. A little sermon about summons and summonses will suffice.

One national paper, recently carried a story that had a headline with the word 'summonses' meaning reference was being made to more than one summons.

Confusing? Probably.

A rival paper had the same story, but instead opted to use the word, 'summons' in the same context as the first newspaper.

Clearly, one of the papers is guilty of breaking grammatical rules of the English language.

And if you think the correct plural form to use is 'summons', then you better pay closer attention.

You see, the final 's' in 'summons' can easily deceive one into thinking the word is already in the plural form.

But actually, it's perfectly in order to say, 'a summons' because the word is in singular form.

So, to summarize this sermon, the plural of summons is summonses.

Don't summon me for a refresher English course, however.

The verb summon is not the same as the nouns summons or summonses!

DEVOLVED MEDIA: COMMUNITY ASCENT & DESCENT OF NATIONAL CHANNELS

Interesting times lie ahead for Kenyan media. Major players are experiencing serious challenges. Very regrettably, this has led to job cuts. Media houses should perhaps rethink their business models. And the prospects of a devolved media now look so enticing. Audiences will soon start commanding news coverage at their community level, not begging for visibility in national channels.

The perception has for a long time been that perceived important events ought to attract coverage by the big media players, a.k.a., Nairobi-based outlets.

So, one of the counties signs two major agreements with a delegation from a foreign country, and yet this hardly made news. And the county's communications department feels aggrieved.

Well, whether there are valid reasons as to why the developments were not covered, or if at all they merited coverage, is debatable.

But in the very near future, that could as well become a non-issue.

You see, the big media players (read Nairobi-based) have been pursuing expansion plans that spectacularly fly into headwinds, predictably perhaps, leaving no option but to wind up many such still-born ventures.

The advent of digital broadcasting, especially, has led to stiff competition, as new players, not necessarily Nairobi-based, begin to crowd the audience market.

And just like it happened in more developed countries, the way to go for the now vulnerable Nairobi-based media players, will not be trying to be everything for everybody.

Instead, it might make more sense for national media houses to have affiliate regional stations, or for them to acquire a stake in small but niche-rich outlets.

On a different note, I couldn't help but 'appreciate' the sense of self-worth of the author of the article above.

Maybe he needs to prove it by persuading his county to consider the idea of having a community media station.

DEHUMANIZING HEADLINES OF THE LACTATING TYPE

There is absolutely nothing shameful about breastfeeding. Even in this age of formula milk, mothers ought to proudly carry on with raising the next generation, as they deem fit. But some sensitivity is in order, when describing that vital activity by gallant mothers. And if they happen to be still active in sport, the headlines need not be dehumanizing.

Yes. We are all members of kingdom animalia. Our biological functions are identical on some level. And even though basic instincts can be subdued by humans, maternal instincts still kick in powerfully, once in a while.

But to say a human being is lactating is downright degrading, mostly because it reduces her to the level of... er... well...a cow!

You see, the reason why I find such a description repulsive, is informed and affirmed by my belief that motherhood is sacred, and one of the most selfless acts, especially among humans, (no disrespect fellow animals).

So Mr. Sports Editor, (Mrs. I highly doubt), I would rather not have my appreciation of a nursing mother, used interchangeably with that of a lactating cow.

Come to think of it, sports headlines have an uncanny way of being 'creatively' twisted for a presumed extra punch.

And the resultant effect, given the slight chances of the headline being taken out of context, can be alarming. In the above example, the editor can easily be accused of glorifying violence.

And the one below can be a ripe candidate for a heavy dose of cleansing of the spiritual type, delivered by dedicated prayer warriors.

What is fun to sports headline writers is not guaranteed to always be funny to the rest rest of us. Stories of athletics, volleyball and football can easily end up being a daytime nightmare involving the devil's children, xenophobic attacks and COWS!

TWO PHOTOJOURNALISTS, ONE PHOTO BUT TWO NEWSPAPERS

Perhaps it was one of those very remarkable coincidences. That two photographers clicked away from the same position, with the same subjects in frame, and other pictorial perspectives also being constant. Or maybe, it's a case of two photojournalists, one photo, but two newspapers.

It definitely is that classic portrayal of one significant moment frozen in time. And even a momentary glance offers ample evidence why the picture was splashed on the 'coveted' front page spot(s).

The subject in the foreground is just about to kick some bu...wait...the bu...hold on...yes, has kicked a ballot box... or presumably some other election/nomination related material.

And because the Kenyan press is possessed with posturing, such a photo had to be given prominence, so as to profit from pandering to partisan politics.

Now swiftly getting back to the two photojournalists, one photo but two newspapers-

- is it remotely possible that one identical scene can be captured simultaneously by two photographers, and be similarly framed but differently cropped?

Maybe....not!

Looks can be deceiving but deceptions can also look alike.

EMACIATING EDITORIAL TO FATTEN ADVERTISING FATCATS

Whoever pays the rent gets the master bedroom, right? That seems to be the thinking in newsrooms as well. So advertisers can get the choicest of spaces, because they help the newspaper to meet its bottom line obligations. Where commercial interests lord over public interest, emaciating editorial to fatten advertising fatcats is fine.

Many Kenyans have been calling for changes in the state security structures.

And when that finally happens, albeit after the tragic loss of many lives, does that story warrant front page prominence?

For all the major dailies, that was an easy decision to make. But one particular paper opted to seize the moment and pull a 'brilliant' marketing stunt.

The headline was there alright, just to show the editors were aware of the biggest news story then.

But it looked as if the single sentence was intruding on the space reserved for a 'glorious ' advert.

Why should even a good story, laden with public interest elements, come in the way of a full colour sales pitch, and ruin the chance for the audience to grab a great bargain?

Sadly, you can't entirely blame the paper for focusing on who butters their bread. Somebody has to pay their bills you know, and leave sufficient profit to excite shareholders.

Enter the reign of adverts, exit news content being king!

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!

SCORING EDITORIAL OWN GOALS AGAINST MEDIA TEAMWORK

It's amazing how many Kenyan media outlets just never seem to permanently want to deal with quality issues. Revise editors, sub-editors, news editors and any other similarly titled newsroom 'officers' tasked with cleaning up print or broadcast stories, need to 'grammar up' their gate keeping. Failure to do so amounts to scoring editorial own goals against their media teamwork.

So, if the publisher of the above 'starring paper' is to be believed, when Southampton scored eight goals against Sunderland in the English Premier League, one of the goals was called 'Wanyama.'

In other words, the captain of the Kenyan football team was not among the goalscorers of Southampton, because in the land of the semantically challenged, he was instead one of the eight goals.

Such carelessness raises credibility doubts because, if a newspaper or TV station mistreats the manner of transmitting or displaying information to the audience, then who knows if factual elements are also ill-treated?

Take for example, this 'gallant' attempt by a Kenyan TV station, to give rare prominence to news events happening elsewhere in Africa. Apart from the Nairobi studio analysis, there was also a live signal from Pretoria.

However, there was one glaring eye-sore of a mistake, during this particular duration of the live coverage. The name of the main subject in the story was spelt wrongly.

This court case had been attracting copious global media attention and yet a respectable local media house has the guts to get the spelling of 'Pistorius' wrong on air for so long!

But such shortcomings have become a frequent sighting in the local press. And, as captured by my colleague, some errors are too comical to be considered tragic.

But whether it was a slip or the editor was asleep, it remains awfully sloppy

BE BANISHED OH IGNORANT BRAND OF JOURNALISM

Is it possible for the media to invent facts and project them as actual reality? Very much so, it seems, when it comes to the press in Kenya. It is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers of media content to separate the truth from half-truths and non-truths, partly due to the ignorance of journalists. The mix-up over the marking of the Day of the African Child, in one local daily, aptly illustrates this.

According to the writer and/or editor of the above article, the 'world marks the International Day of the African Child.'

This, on the face of it would be such a worthy cause to generate maximum awareness around. But unfortunately, the 'International Day of the African Child' simply does not exist.

June 16th was the date set aside in 1991, by the OAU/African Union, to mark the Day of the African Child, in commemoration of deadly protest by schoolchildren in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976.

It should thus not have been merged or confused with the 'International Children's Day, usually marked on June 1st in many countries, or even the 'Universal Children's Day', which falls on 20th November.

It seems like this particular paper fell into the trap of trumpeting the agenda of International Day of African Childhood, IDAY, a network of civil society organisations, riding on the 'Day of the African Child' theme, to probably boost its visibility.

Such editorial missteps greatly water down the credibility of news organisations, more so because relevant and verifiable information often reside a click or two away, in the Internet, (which unfortunately is also a great source of misinformation).

In the wake of the heinous attacks in Kenya's Lamu county, local and even the international media exhibited similar behaviour of mixing real facts with 'official facts' and 'invented facts' in their coverage of the senseless killings.

On a different scope, the noble goal of packaging news in the present tense, to suggest freshness of the information, should not lead newspaper editors into the terrain of absurdity.

So yes. To say, 'The giant male elephant named Satao has been killed', denotes this beastly act (pardon the pun), happened not so long ago. But if the information is being published on June 16th, and the next paragraph states:

'He was felled by a poacher's poisoned arrow in Tsavo East National Park on May 30'.

...then, Wayaki Way, we have a problem.

And as for the eyesore below, you are on your own.

Only you can explain this mouthful of a non-erudite headline.

And this particularly 'smart' paper appears to be on a roll, when it comes to churning out howlers.

Now this is one expensive editorial disaster!

DEATH DESENSITISATION IN THE MASS MEDIA

I regret to announce the death of death in a dead Kenyan newspaper. In yet another display of malevolent ineptitude, many readers have been left aghast by a sickening assault of ethical photojournalism. For all its editorial worth, the front page picture of a dead body robs humanity of the essence of being alive.

By eroding public sensitivity about the phenomenon called death, one runs a very high risk of also diminishing the value of life. That's what the editor elected to overlook.

Yes. Many have argued that the subject in the picture seemed to have been beckoning death with open arms, given his controversial views on recent terror attacks in Kenya.

Yes. Many people felt threatened by his direct and confrontational approach to resolving 'quasi-religious' differences.

Yes. The country's security apparatus was feeling immense heat from a public in dire need of reassurance that safety concerns are addressed decisively.

But.....

No. Elimination of perceived threats, without following the normal channels accorded by the country's legal system, undermines the rule of law.

No. The media must not spread further panic or augment animosity by stirring negative emotions.

And No. If the picture of a lifeless prominent person results in a newspaper selling all its copies, then there's something morbidly wrong with the paper's editorial policy.

SMART READERS EXPECT SMART MISTAKES IN THEIR NEWSPAPER

That mistakes in Kenyan newspapers come in high frequency, is hardly debatable. Even a committed media critic can drift towards apathy. But then a gem of a howler vigorously awakens the need to deconstruct and dish out some disgust discourse. If a paper's target is smart readers, then it better confine itself to smart mistakes.

The above story, appearing in a national paper, ranks among the worst articles I have ever had the (dis)pleasure of analysing. Right from the crafting of the headline, some not so well-meaning force seems to yearn for a fist to face encounter with the sub/revise-editor.

"Kibwana tells Makueni diaspora investment"...what?....to do what?.....what?......TO DO WHAT? Suspense is good, but not when it borders the bizarre.

And just what entity is 'Makueni diaspora investment' anyway? Maybe there's clarification within the body of the story. Maybe not!

The all important first paragraph takes the confusion to dizzying heights. There's truly an exceptional effort to annihilate the English language, if it's not a deliberate act of editorial sabotage.

Governor Kivutha Kibwana has told on Saturday met Makueni residents in the disapora to invest back home. 

That such gibberish got published, is a wonder to behold. So Kibwana, it has been established, is a Governor. Everyone knows of which county, right? And there's more serving of literary disasters.

Kibwana was addressing the residents in in New Jersey, US on Saturday.

In the same illogical pattern, does the double 'in' translate to an 'out'?

No doubt I'm out now, on the double!