NEWSROOM NONSENSE: WHY CONFIRM THE OBVIOUS?

Confirmation. A very important piece of detail that every serious news establishment should try to get, before publishing or broadcasting, especially potentially controversial issues. Stories from the newsroom have an uncanny way of at times finding their way to courtrooms and confirming facts could be a legal lifesaver. But confirming the obvious is over-stretching it.

A television news item, for example, shows images (at times graphic ones) of a shootout between suspected criminals and the police. There are a couple of bodies, firearms and spent cartridges being alluded to or shown directly.

Then you hear the reporter saying something like, 'The police have confirmed the incident..."

Is it that the images just splashed and the reporter's account of the incident are not to be believed initially, or is it that for them to be believable, somebody in 'authority' has to confirm them first?

Using that annoying statement of 'Confirming the incident,' even for a print story, adds no value whatsoever in the overall reportage, not unless perhaps there was a denial of what is being reported, in the same story.

So if the Kenya police, for example, deny there was a grenade explosion  somewhere, in the on going war on Al Shabaab, and the reverse is true, it would be perfectly alright to mention the Kenya Defence Forces, as having confirmed the incident.

Why then confirm that which has not been denied in the first place, like what is witnessed in many a Kenyan news story? I just don't get it.

Perhaps it is a hangover from our political past, when information meant for public consumption, had to be dispensed with all protocol observed, lest one found oneself on the foul side of the dictatorial divide.

GREAT ANTICIPATION, UNFULFILLED EXPECTATION: A NEWSPAPER'S IAAF NIGHTMARE

It would have been a great story. Celebrating another fine run by a Kenyan long distance athlete. All indications had showed Vivian Cheruiyot was going to be crowned the world's finest 2011 female athlete, and an article had been written in advance. But alas, the IAAF declared a different winner, just as the earlier story was about to appear in print.

The result. Embarrassing, yet almost inevitable. The highest selling newspaper in Kenya hit the stands with two contradictory stories. One proclaimed Vivian's win and explaining in great details, her exploits in 2011and the elaborate award ceremony in Monaco. It was the centre pages' main attraction.

The other story, tucked in the sports pages at the back of the Sunday paper, had a totally different and more accurate account of what had transpired at the IAAF award ceremony. Vivian had been vanquished.

The honour of the best female athlete was bestowed on Australia's Sally Pearson, with Jamaica's sprint sensation Usain Bolt running away with the finest male athlete title.

So, it was almost practically impossible to completely change the content of the Sunday paper's Lifestyle magazine, carrying the erroneous story of Vivian winning the title, that was all set to appear just as Pearson was being declared the winner, on the preceding Saturday evening Kenyan time.

And the situation was made worse by the fact that both stories were written by the same person.

Should the popular paper have shelved the inside section in light of the latest development? As aforementioned, this was probably not practical.

Should it have withheld the new input to avoid contradicting the now misleading anticipatory article? No. otherwise it would have no business being in the news business.

But I strongly feel there should have either been an apology or explanation, even if as a footnote, somewhere in the Sunday paper, because that would have helped minimise the confusion to readers and speculation and castigation thereafter, especially on online social platforms.

POWER OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM A LA KTN

It has become a television news phenomenon, widely praised for its bold and courageous reporting. Rarely do you find the public expressing fears about journalists exposing themselves to serious potential harm, in the course of their work. And that goes to show KTN's investigative team's recent expose on Kenya's biggest drug haul was top-notch. 

Dennis Onsarigo and Mohamed Ali's painstakingly undertook to piece together information touching on sensitive issues regarding what they allege to have been an elaborate government cover-up, in the wake of the largest narcotics seizure in Kenya.

Critics can point out the stories were more of personal accounts or opinion than unconfirmed facts, or that even the narration style of the two reporters was irksome, but there is no denying the expose was stinging, focused and incisive.

I salute the KTN duo for a job done exceptionally well. Below is a sample of the reactions about their story, in the social media.

INTERNEWS DIGITAL JOURNALISM WORKSHOP

SOLUTION JOURNALISM FOR DEPTH AND PURPOSE

Journalists are chroniclers of major occurrences that are measured against the yardstick of known news values and found to be worthy of bringing to the attention of their audience. A new model of Solution Journalism seeks to transform media coverage to make it have more depth and purpose.

This would especially be helpful in Africa, where both local and international media coverage is always often dominated by negative news about this and that problem, with a very heavy dose of doom and gloom-inspiring content.

Very rarely do you find a lead story that is positive, one that would make the audience smile, laugh or cry...genuine tears of joy. I know for example, if Kenya wins gold in a major global competition, that nowadays is guaranteed of commanding the number one TV news slot.

This shows that in such moments, there is recognition that the feel good factor carried by such stories is beneficial and more important than the deaths, disease, conflict and other calamities, including what the politicians have been up to, that regularly hog the airtime and newspaper front pages

Solution Journalism would thus be a welcome addition in our situation, because where a problem is highlighted, (and there are always very numerous), a deliberate attempt will naturally be made to point to a way out of whatever predicament, disaster or misfortune being captured as news.

As eloquently argued by Ann Babe, writing for the Centre for International Media Ethics :

"The media, when solution-oriented, can actively function as a platform for social innovation and positive change."

Moreover, most local media outlets do try to balance the good and the bad sides of an issue, but often they are treated as separate stories, e.g., famine in one part of the country and surplus harvest in another part.

The challenge then is to make one story out of the problems and solutions. I've for example received many calls, after a needy case is highlighted in a TV news story, full of inquiries about how help can be channelled to the person in need.

But if this detail was also captured in the news story as well, then the impact and subsequent assistance pledged would be greater.

Like the name suggests, Solution Journalism is a gem that can bring back the glitter in news coverage.

GADDAFI: FROM REPORTEDLY KILLED TO DEAD

Muammar Gaddafi is dead. He was formerly reported killed, after first being said to have been captured and wounded, in his hometown of Sirte. That was how this story was covered by the international press, with every care being taken not to appear too certain, about the fate of the ex-Libyan leader.

Whereas it is commendable for the media to want to first confirm its facts, it reaches a point, in my opinion, when making reference to unconfirmed reports throughout, ceases to have its original value.

Why would CNN for example insist on first having a confirmation from the US government about Gaddafi's demise, and keep mentioning this fact over and over again in their coverage, while acknowledging that Libyan sources had confirmed Gaddafi's death?

In my part of the world, waiting for a confirmation from the government on any issue, would take close to forever, and you might end up getting the complete opposite of what actually happened. That could perhaps explain why the CNN modus operandi astounds me.

Below is a sample of how this story was first covered by the global media, in the initial stages.

MADE IN KENYA TV SOAP: BORING OR BUBBLY?

It is no longer a secret. Television soap operas are some of the most popular programmes in Kenya, which explains why every local channel has a catalogue of them. Along comes a made in Kenya TV soap, which could either be bubbly and popular like foreign imports, or similarly boring to some people.

It seems those who hate soaps do so with a deep passion, whereas fans passionately follow the unfolding drama so religiously, so much so that their tears could flow freely just from watching a character's misery unfolding.

And men need not pretend any more that soaps are for dames and madams. A good number of avid followers come from the masculine side of the gender divide.

As a matter of fact, I have had the opportunity of answering a very late caller to NTV news desk, who was bitterly protesting that the soap being aired at that point was a repeat. A quick time check told me it was approaching midnight. And the voice was distinctively male.

So, will ' Kenya's first soap' continue to tickle the fancy of viewers, with the usual mix of people losing their memory only to gradually regain it to the detriment of the lead actor or actress, a glamorous wedding between people with sinister motives camouflaged as love, lot's of crying, and other staple soap plots?

Or will the interest wear out as the plot thins out?