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.

WHEN FAILURE TO AUTHENTICATE AUTHENTICATES FAILURE

The airing of an election-related expose, in one of Kenya's TV stations, has elicited sharply divided opinion, with some questioning its substance, level of fresh content as well as the timing. Still, some hailed it as the indictment of a flawed 2013 electoral process. The verdict would have perhaps been unanimous, had there been no failure to authenticate.

It has all to do with the alleged secret recording of a senior election official in a conversation with an unidentified person named Mr X. From the investigative story, it is clear that the official denied being the one captured in the audio recording.

In the English version, the reporter also admits the voice on the recording had not been verified as belonging to the currently suspended official.

And therein lies my main concern. Why was there no indication of a serious attempt having been made to independently authenticate the recordings, so as to establish whether it could be correctly linked to the official?

The audience is thus left with some doubt, with no proper way of making an informed conclusion as to whether the expose was dwelling on fact, conjecture or mere speculation.

In between interviewing sources in Ghana or South Africa, it would have been prudent to engage the services of a voice identification expert, if the same could not have been found locally.

Below is a sample of the reactions on social media platforms.

AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISTS SHOULD GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO THEIR STORY SOURCES

Many award-winning journalists take pride in dedicating their success to the sources of their stories. The mention at the podium could be based on the hope that highlighted problems will attract the attention they deserve. Or the showcased success would be celebrated and even replicated elsewhere. But is that enough?

There is no denying that in meriting recognition for outstanding journalistic work, some media practitioners go through lots of difficulties and even direct threats to their very existence. Undercover or investigative reporters could definitely expound on this issue.

Others cover great distances before accessing remote areas that eventually produce a gem of a story, worthy of critical acclaim. And even after getting the raw information on the ground, accomplished journalists have been known to infuse their own brand of story-telling magic to make their coverage truly stand out.

My 2007 CNN African Journalism Award

So the moment journalists get honoured for their exemplary professional achievement, they can't be faulted for taking it as their personal source of pride and ample proof of their credentials as worthy scribes.

Of course many will remember to thank the Almighty, family, colleagues and a word or two is reserved for the subjects in their award-winning pieces.

 I can't help but imagine how much better it would have been for me to go back to that community of Mwingi, in rural Kenya, that provided the setting for my winning environment entry at the 2007 CNN African Journalist Awards. It's a crying shame that I have never privately gone back to say thank you and share with them my success.



Likewise, this years' winner in the Economic and Business category, NTV Kenya's Kaara Wainaina, can perhaps spend some time with those hearty and astute grandmothers, whose model banking system earned him his trophy. 


Rose Wangui from NTV also, could share her success on the ground with the children, whose moving tale of a troubled pursuit of education, earned Wangui her TV News Bulletin accolade. 


The same goes to the likes of Sarah Kimani, formerly of NTV but now working for SABC and the overall 2009 CNN African Journalist of the Year, who recently switched to NTV from KTN, John- Allan Namu, as well as other Kenyan winners of the prestigious awards. 


As a matter of fact, the sponsors of the competition should consider setting aside some cash token or material benefits for the subjects or communities, whose coverage yield the award-winning entries. 


That way, it will definitely cease to look like journalists getting rewarded for exploiting the stories and circumstances of their news sources, to weave brilliant winning pieces only for the highlighted stories to be forgotten in readiness for the next round of competition.