THE PAIN OF DANCING TO MEDIA DISCORDANCE

The importance of a sensible flow of thought is increasingly being overlooked in the Kenyan media scene. This should be factored in from the crafting of news stories, to the packaging and delivery of the same. Failure to do so will unleash upon the audience, the pain of dancing to media discordance.

Why is it possible, e.g., for a Kiswahili newscast to have a 'Breaking News' banner entirely written in English? Is it impossible to translate the information and deliver it in the same language the presenters are using to communicate with the target audience?

And why should a newspaper use words that twist the meaning or context of a depicted situation, to create a false impression? The headline of the above article heavily suggests the late Senator Mutula Kilonzo spookily spoke his last words to his wife, while anticipating his imminent demise.

This blatantly contradicts what the main body of the story clearly states. And since the context of Mutula's statement is so evident in this section of the article, one can only speculate about the competence of the headline writer for this moving story.

And just how can a national paper be allowed to go to print with such 'grammarcide' and confidently hit the newsstand?

INSECURE WITH THE WEST AND THE ALLURE OF THE EAST

Reactions, after reports that American President Barack Obama will once again skip Kenya, in his second tour of Africa, have exposed how the East African nation is insecure in its relationship with the West. But the East is beckoning and its allure is gaining traction locally, if not globally.

- The Chinese have incredibly found a way of fusing millennia-old traditions and the trappings of modernisation.

- The people are friendly and very welcoming, when it comes to interaction with international visitors. Perhaps curiosity plays a big part but there is no belittlement or lack of dignity and respect in the engagement.

- Every effort is made to ensure that huge pubic investments, like the Beijing Olympic Park, continue to generate revenue, years after the games closed shop.

- The citizens derive great pleasure in visiting landmark sites like the Tiananmen Square...

...and exploring the rich history of the Forbidden City......

...to the ancient wonder of the world that is the Great Wall of China.

- And let no one fool you that doing business with the East is perilous. The West itself is already deeply immersed in trading with China, (the numerous KFC outlets in Beijing are an apt indicator).

APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED! THE ON AIR ERROR AND THE NAIVETY TERROR

For more than 15 minutes, a national TV station saw no need to correctly state, who is Kenya's Head of State. From the start of the live newscast, a grossly misleading on screen graphic, was prominently displayed. The apology came much later, and its delivery was even more shocking.

In the first instance, did the error completely elude the attention of the entire production and editorial crew involved in preparing this particular broadcast? And if one or more people noticed it, was there no way of raising the alert promptly?

And if the 'little monumental' mistake found its way on air, one would expect somebody would have detected it, simply because it was staring right back at whoever cared to look at it.

In spite of all the complexities associated with a live news broadcast, there is just no excuse for the attention to details and presence of mind elements to be so grossly overlooked.

But the clincher came, about 17 minutes later.

Somebody eventually realised something had gone wrong. And I can risk a hefty bet that the clue must have emanated from the social media circles.

Soon after, the news presenter offered the station's apology, but almost as a by the way, matter of non-importance, needle in a haystack inconsequential serendipity...with a chuckle!!!

And that is why in my books, the apology is not acceptable! (it's also negating the viewer's intelligence by saying the error was a typo: 'Raila' and 'Rais' are at most distant cousins lexicographically).

DID THE MEDIA FALL WHEN THE PRESIDENT FELL?

The live broadcast of Kenya's former President falling down, during a public function, has been interpreted and interrogated from conflicting perspectives. But should those images have been beamed as is, or should the TV cameras have been turned the other way?

Well, it does raise some ethical considerations for media houses. However, the incident just happened after Mwai Kibaki had given his address and the cameras were still trained on him.

I'm sure no local media house intended to embarrass the former Head of State. Perhaps an astute director might have been able to choose between carrying on with the live pictures of Kibaki falling, and taking a cutaway.

That aside, the reactions in social media circles ranged from the humane to the deranged.