It was a bad story. Screaming exemplar of sloppy journalism. Any good journalist reading it knew at once a response was being crafted that would embarrass the media house that carried the report.
The headline yelled, scandal. “Wanga tears down Sh100 million factory to build office block”, the Daily Nation stated on August 21 (p.10). “The devolved government of Homa Bay has demolished a multimillion-shilling factory that was almost complete to pave way for the construction of the governor’s office.”
Taxpayers could have lost Sh100 million. Arujo animal feeds factory was started by former Governor Cyprian Awiti. His successor, Governor Gladys Wanga, in May “decided that an office for the governor and senior staff be built at the site. Another site for the factory was reportedly identified.”
The matter is in court after two activists opposed the decision. The remainder of the story detailed the activists’ case, to be heard on October 7.
At the tail end of the story, Governor Wanga was quoted as saying during the groundbreaking ceremony for the office block at Arujo that, “Some officials are struggling to find space to operate.”
Not a single word from the county government about why the factory was demolished.
Granted, Wanga’s government will have its day in court. But if the Daily Nation found it necessary to detail the arguments of the petitioners, why not offer the county administration a similar opportunity to state its case?
Within hours of the story’s publication in print and online, the Homa Bay government fired a detailed response. Read it here.
The same day the Daily Nation ran the report, The Standard carried a story titled, “KPC denies paying Sh40 billion extra in pipeline set-up deal.”
“Kenya Pipeline has denied claims that Kenyans may have spent nearly double the initial cost of building the Sh48.4 billion oil pipeline connecting the port of Mombasa to its Nairobi depot.”
Kenya Pipeline’s statement was a response to a splash in The Standard the previous day headlined, “Kenya pays Sh40b extra in pipeline construction deal.”
The investigative report was based on court documents that “offer a never-before-seen picture of a ravenous fight for the billions of project funds.”
Very well, lakini swali ni: If The Standard properly sourced its story and adhered to the canons of journalism, why offer Kenya Pipeline the right of reply? What, then, is the truth?
On August 15, the Daily Nation reported that, “Growing mung beans (ndengu) without a licence will soon be an offense attracting a fine of up to Sh1 million or two years in jail, or both, should a new Bill in Parliament be passed into law” (p.14).
The next para exposed the confusion the writer caused. “The Mung Beans Bill, 2022, currently before the Senate, sets tough conditions for licensing marketers, processors and large-scale traders of the beans.”
The next day, the Daily Nation was back with a correction and apology. “The correct position is that only marketers, processors and large-scale traders of the crop will be required to obtain a licence. Farmers of the crop will only be required to register with the relevant county agency.
You recall State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed’s lengthy response rebutting the Daily Nation story, “Puzzle of Ruto housing projects,” on August 6?
We could cite more cases of news stories that miss the mark of rigorous professionalism.
Newsrooms are strained after cutting staff due to a bad economy, shrinking audiences, hefty court awards for errors, and the sweeping onslaught of the Digital Revolution.
Some top-notch scribes have left newsrooms. The remaining ones are under immense pressure to do more amid stagnant and often delayed salaries, low morale and job uncertainty. The upshot of all this is declining quality of news content.
Yet, if you are doing journalism – or any professional work – you must deliver the best. The media would be the first to call out doctors, nurses, teachers, drivers, architects or any other professionals if they did shoddy work – regardless of the conditions in which they operate.
But there is another problem, besides strained newsrooms. Too much negativity has crept into journalism. In his weekly column, Nation Media Group Public Editor Peter Mwaura frowned upon the media’s apparent penchant for scandals, even when there may be none.
In a piece titled, “Journalists must not always read relaunching projects as mischief,” (Daily Nation, August 23, p.19), Mwaura defended President William Ruto’s relaunching of projects, which is the subject of widespread scorn on social and mainstream media.
Relaunches occur frequently, even in media houses. “Relaunching signifies a reaffirmation of commitment, securing additional resources, or restarting construction and implementation that may have halted,” the veteran scribe wrote.
Scepticism is the permanent attitude of a good journalist. But not cynicism. Not everything is a scandal. Find out the facts before you scream.
See you next week!
