What is a news consumer supposed to do with this story? “Kemsa gets more staff in reforms as hospitals lack key supplies”, The Standard headline said on November 15, p.4.
“At least six senior procurement officers from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret have been seconded to the scandal-ridden Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa),” the report said.
That is authoritative enough, not so? Well, not quite. “Sources at the referral facility hinted to The Standard that the six were expected to report at their new work station immediately”. Hinted? That is a mere suggestion, not confirmed information. Why should anyone trust it?
“But MTRH chief executive officer Wilson Aruasa dismissed the deployment, but maintained that transfers were inevitable,” the paper reported.
Now, between a hint from an unnamed source and denial by the CEO of a national referral hospital, whom should a journalist believe? The CEO obviously. If the scribe researching the story has a good reason to doubt him, it must be stated. If your job is to hold power to account, do you ignore the CEO of a parastatal without telling the public why?
It gets worse. “Kemsa board chairperson Mary Mwadime neither confirmed nor dismissed the appointments, but promised to comment on the matter later,” the story said.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, listen up. The CEO of a parastatal from where six senior officers are supposed to be transferred says he is not aware of such plans. The board of another parastatal where the six are supposed to be moved to doesn’t give you a firm answer about it. But you go ahead and tell the world conclusively that six senior officers will be moved, according to “sources”. How “legit” is that?
If you don’t believe the hospital CEO or the Kemsa board chairperson, get hold of a secondment letter from any of those officers being moved and that would erase all doubt about the credibility of your story, otherwise you are peddling rumours.
Sources are the backbone of journalism, yet it is evident our scribes have neglected the essential newsgathering strategy of building reliable contacts in every important institution.
The result? The news is full of official narratives and political declarations, promises and insults at rallies. And unnamed sources. Or the same party mouthpieces are quoted every day, without any attempts to independently verify their claims. Sometimes scribes simply regurgitate from the comfort of their chairs what is trending on social media.
On November 1, pictures of vehicles used in political rallies surfaced online. “Away from that and to a story that has been trending for the better part of today. This is all about the registration numbers of cars used by the ODM leader Raila Odinga and One Kenya Alliance principals, and elicited mixed reactions on social media earlier today,” KTN’s Akisa Wandera read at prime time that evening.
“The registration numbers sparked debate on the social media scene: same numbers, varied motor vehicles and different individuals, as our reporter Grace Ng’ang’a reports”.
Grace told viewers the vehicles used by Raila and the OKA stalwarts caused uproar online with all sorts of allegations. “The party leaders were seen in Toyota Prados plated KCY 473H, KCY 474H and KCY 475H respectively in separate occasions. On some of the circulated photos Raila is seen aboard a Toyota VX KCY 473 and 474H while Kalonzo and his counterpart Moses Wetang’ula on KCY 475H, causing a major debate on social media”.
So, how did KTN settle the major debate? “KTN News sought to establish the ownership of the said vehicles [images of NTSA website search onscreen] and it turned out the information on the three is not recognised by the National Transport and Safety Authority”. Why? Hivo tu.
Security analyst George Musamali told the station those are government vehicles. Raila and the OKA chiefs are entitled to government vehicles and the numbers were just a coincidence.
But KTN rejected this explanation – without offering any reason. “Nonetheless, the ownership of the vehicles remains a mystery and NTSA officers were unreachable for a comment,” reporter Grace Ng’ang’a signed off.
So, were the public’s questions about the ownership of those vehicles answered? Is it impossible to find out, a mystery? Would you tick KTN’s work on this story as thorough journalism? KTN promises viewers “the whole story”. How is it possible that a national TV station as big as KTN cannot tell the public what is going on? They couldn’t reach NTSA honchos for a comment, seriously?
This newsgathering is below par. To report authoritatively, to have one’s finger on the pulse of things, a journalist needs reliable sources everywhere. Build them.
