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!

TV CONTENT: NOISE MASQUERADING AS INFORMATION AND A RARE GEM

The content in Kenyan TV stations is generally believed to be formulaic, unimaginative and predictable. The many talking heads in particularly simplistic talk shows, steers the broadcasting infamy towards toxic viewing levels. But amid the noise masquerading as useful information, some gems do stand out. It's a pity if they are not accorded a befitting recognition.

A good example is a recent brilliant attempt to enlighten the audience on the likely scenarios in reforming Kenya's electoral process, with respect to practical timelines.

The show was amazingly informative and the panelist were well versed in the topic at hand, with the added bonus of an actual involvement in the electoral process, be it on the administrative front or in direct elective politics.

The chosen topic was immensely timely, given that the next national elections in Kenya are slightly more than a year away.

There has been a clamour for an overhaul of the institution charged with conducting the polls, but a sober reminder of the diminishing time to implement the desired changes, is a useful addition to the political discourse.

Again, it's a pity that this weighty discussion was in a morning programme, in one of the local channels, hardly the appropriate time to engage a greater portion of the general public.

In such situations, station managers ought to have the wisdom to edit a stand-alone news item for use in later news bulletins, with appropriate updates, and further analyses or reactions.

The entire discussion can also be re-broadcast later or even on a different day.

Unless this channel has decreed that only entertainment-based programs will be re-aired, to generate maximum interest in the public, despite the minimal public interest.

FROM SIMPLE ERRORS TO COMPLEX EDITORIAL INADEQUACIES

Explosive. The meaning implies a potential to blow up, but it's not so big a word. Yet a newspaper sub-editor, with his or her back-up copy perfection squad, can somehow still misspell it. Simple errors in the press, can be indicative of complex editorial inadequacies. 

These could arise from:

- wanting staff competence levels 

- abnormal propensity to publish mistakes

- aversion to attention to details 

- quality control systemic failures

- internal sabotage by newsroom gatekeepers

- overworked and underpaid dedicated employees

Or could this just be the product of pompous media critics like this one right here? (Yes..me!).

But any mortal ought to cringe at some of the content pushed out by Kenya's mainstream media.

If it's not being misled into looking for non-existent photos, (none of the 3 faces on the left, in the page above, come even close to Kenya's former Chief Kadhi)...

...it's an exhibition of gross violation of historical facts, in the era of powerful and available search engines.

The 1986 World Cup was held in Mexico, so its absurd for the article above to state that:

'Germany celebrations did not last long as Italy won the Madrid final 3-1.'

Neither is it sane to say during the 1982 World Cup in Spain, it is:

'...West Germany who went on to lose the final to Argentina 3-2.'

Go ahead...cry for Kenyan media.

OF MEDIA REPORTING ABOUT MISFORTUNES OF FELLOW MEDIA OUTLETS

For a long time, there had been an unwritten rule within Kenya's mainstream media, about not reporting the not so rosy internal affairs of any media house. But nowadays, tribulations of one media company are no longer a no-go zone. And sadly, beneath the veneer of projected sympathy, the coverage at times borders on rejoicing about a rival's misfortunes.

Job losses in the media industry are an emotive subject, hence perhaps the justifiable need to highlight this issue as public interest.

The press after all, routinely provides copious coverage of reorganization, resizing or restrategizing decisions, both in public and private entities, which result in redundancies.

But in so doing, there's little room to speculate that a media house could not be neutral in its coverage, although some vested interests in the downfall of particular establishments, cannot be entirely ruled out.

Some other factors, however, come into play, when it comes to one media house reporting about the goings-on in another outlet, possibly a direct competitor.

Should the struggles of one media company be viewed as an opportunity to shore up ratings or perceived superiority by its rivals?

I sincerely hope this is not, has never been, and will never be the case.

In the end factually, what goes around comes around.

Think of the manner in which one evening, a TV station stretched its coverage of the alleged disbandment of the Kenyan presidential press team.

The same channel was 'forced' to report news of it's own parent company's 'massive' layoffs, barely 24 hour later.

I should know a little bit more about these situations.

Sometimes back, on a very rare occurrence, I was sitting in the interview panel that was recruiting reporters for a then yet to be launched TV station, which has now just been closed down.

One of the applicants had unilaterally left previous employment, and I sought to know why.

"Are you a quitter?" I self-assuredly enquired, proud to be a direct hitter.

The very next day, I was handing in my resignation letter!

The Almighty has a way of humbling us...and we should be grateful it does not entail eating grass like Nebuchadnezzar.