By Mercy Kwamboka
On Thursday, February 10, Housing and Urban Development PS Charles Hinga faulted NTV Kenya for a misleading headline. The PS was forced to stay online and engage @ntvkenya on Twitter.
NTV Kenya reported that the BRT buses will charge Sh150 per trip. That the buses to be launched in June will offer services along Thika Road.
The PS said the headline was misleading and that he was misquoted. He repeated parts of a speech he made the previous day during a press briefing at Ardhi House.
NTV misled the public by publishing incomplete remarks made by the PS regarding fares of the BRT buses, leaving out an important explanation that vulnerable people will be issued a card that will enable them travel substituting the standard fare.
KTN News, in a clip reposited by the PS on NTV’s Twitter page, captured the complete remarks. Viewers got the explanation on who should be charged Sh150 maximum fare and full information on the vulnerable community the PS meant as those on social protection (indigent), school children, peak, off peak fares. This was different from what NTV had posted – part of the statement touching only on the Ksh150 fare, attracting the ire of the PS.
But NTV was not the only culprit. The story was also published by Business Daily with headline, “BRT buses to charge Sh150 per trip in pilot phase”, while The Star headline read, “Commuters using Bus Rapid Transport to pay Sh150 per trip”. Both headlines were unnecessarily sensational and not representative of the entire context below:
“We recognize that the people who are going to ride in the bus there is issue of affordability, and we are working with the Department of Social Protection so that we come up with a special card for those who are vulnerable in the society. Those with cars and can afford more money can pay a little bit more to cross-subsidize”, the PS said.
NTV Kenya, Business Daily and The Star misinformed the public with their headlines that said the BRT would be expensive for common mwananchi.
In addition, there was inconsistency on the date the BRT will be functional. While KTN News reported July, NTV, Business Daily and The Star reported June, leaving one wondering whether the journalists involved attended the same presser.
If the media houses had included the detail that vulnerable people will be issued with a card for cheaper commuting, it could have changed the perception of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). But in this omission gave BRT and the entire press briefing by the PS a negative perception.
It is indeed shameful that media houses can get basic facts of a story wrong yet they were invited to a live presser where they had a chance to seek clarification.
