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Gagging the nationOk, we should not say or write anything about Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s and Eldoret North Member of Parliament William Ruto’s presidential ambitions. That is what the High Court of Kenya ordered. But is that ruling in the interest of the people of Kenya? The courts may not know it, but who will become the next President of the Republic of Kenya is more or less a matter of life and death today. There is no question that this is an absolutely pertinent national issue. No one can – more importantly no one should try to— stymie public discussion of ... Read more Monday, 6 February 2012 | Hits: 50 | Comments |
Now Gado censoredCelebrated Nation caricaturist Gado was the subject of a comment in The Bulletin last week after Eldoret North MP William Ruto wrote to the paper to complain about a cartoon that was done “in bad faith”. The Bulletin suggested, tongue-in-cheek of course, that Gado “should know people”. Well, it seems Nation editors took us seriously. The editorial cartoon appearing on Nation on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 was edited apparently to ensure it was politically correct. Yes, looks like in-house censorship is still alive and well. The cartoon, as carried, was titled, ‘And then there were four’. It showed the miserable Ocampo Four ... Read more Monday, 30 January 2012 | Hits: 119 | Comments |
ICC: Star got it so wrongHow much weight should news consumers attach to reports attributed to anonymous sources by the media? You know the ‘impeccable sources’, ‘usually reliable sources’, ‘a senior ministry official who cannot be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media’, ‘a source familiar with the operations of the office’, etc. Use of anonymous sources is a well-established professional practice in journalism. That little bible, ‘The Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya’, acknowledges this. But the Code cautions journalists that, to ensure the credibility of their reports, ‘identify sources whenever possible. Confidential sources should be used only ... Read more Monday, 23 January 2012 | Hits: 109 | Comments |
A shot at Major ChirchirWho would like to believe Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir? Not The Bulletin. Last week the soldier posted on Twitter images he claimed showed Al-Shabaab murderers executing a Kenyan recruit they accused of being a KDF spy. The Kenyan media, blissfully in bed with KDF since the Somali invasion begun three months ago, spread the chilling news. ‘The Kenya Defence Forces confirmed that the non-Somali Kenyan was stoned to death by the militants in Kismayu on Tuesday after he was convicted of aiding Kenyan troops identify their targets in Somalia’, Nation reported. The all-important word here is ‘confirmed’. ‘“It is true, ... Read more Monday, 16 January 2012 | Hits: 253 | Comments |
A mad agenda for 2012Welcome back! Dear reader, The Bulletin is back after a long ‘Christmas’ break. As before, we promise to keep an unblinking eye on the media scene in these interesting times, bringing you sharp analysis of the news, events and trends every Monday – often with a light touch. But don’t just sit there. Share your views with us and other readers via the address at the ‘tail-end of this bulletin’ (apologies, all TV news readers). Happy New Year! Let’s get it right this time. Editor A mad agenda for 2012 This is a unique election year, the media has been proclaiming endlessly from the rooftops over the ... Read more Monday, 9 January 2012 | Hits: 212 | Comments |
The first casualty of warKenya is at war. No, no, no. We are not at war. War with who? Our soldiers are pursuing a bunch of depraved criminals inside Somalia. They will very soon crush the entire lot and return home holding their heads high. Wars, Daily Nation Managing Editor Mutuma Mathiu helpfully informed the republic on Friday, are fought between countries. Al-Shabaab is not the national army of any country. Indeed that is pretty much what our Defence Minister Yusuf Haji told the BBC Somali Service in Mogadishu last week. And let us add that if we were at war, President Mwai Kibaki, the ... Read more Monday, 24 October 2011 | Hits: 413 | Comments |
Easy money for mediaThe media is going to make some easy money from the government in the next six months. We hope Koigi wa Wamwere and his group of small radio owners will also get a bite. Recall that a few months ago he and his people met a parliamentary committee to complain about big media gobbling up all government advertising revenue, leaving not even a crumb for small media houses like his Nakuru-based Sauti ya Mwananchi FM? The public money we are talking about is Sh75 million that Brand Kenya is pumping into a media campaign to promote patriotism among Kenyans. It is not ... Read more Tuesday, 18 October 2011 | Hits: 289 | Comments |
Maathai, media and mythsFrom where we sit here at The Bulletin, it doesn’t look like that great daughter of the Motherland, Prof Wangari Maathai, is now resting somewhere in heaven as suggested by the eminent public intellectual Gado in his Daily Nation cartoon last Thursday. But before we proceed, let’s declare right at this point our debt to Tanzanian academic Issa Shivji for our understanding of the public intellectual as a person “whose vocation is to comment, protest, caricaturize, satirize, analyse and publicize the life around him or her.” Gado is definitely one such. But why do we cast doubt upon his adumbration of heavenly ... Read more Monday, 3 October 2011 | Hits: 421 | Comments |
The Raila ‘big’ storyWe sat back to watch KTN Prime last Tuesday night. As usual, Michael Oyier was reading the news with the enthusiasm of a Nyahururu man floored by ‘Yokozuna’. Nobody at the entire “authoritative news channel” seems to have succeeded in discovering how to pump “the much needed” vigor into Michael. Beside him sat his colleague Ann Kiguta, apparently struggling - as usual again - to keep her eyes open without much success. The body language of those two news presenters speaks quite eloquently about KTN. Anyway, on that night the country’s security system was no doubt on high alert following the discovery ... Read more Tuesday, 27 September 2011 | Hits: 748 | Comments |
Coverage fit for a slumA mighty fire breaks out in a Nairobi slum on a chilly Monday morning. People are burning down to ashes and bones. Their meagre possessions are up in flames. There is utter helplessness. Rescue operations get underway but the death toll is rising. TV stations alternate between live transmission of the disaster and airing entertainment programmes: music, soaps and movies… That evening during the seven o’clock news bulletin, a Citizen TV reporter wonders quite patronizingly why Kenyans have failed to learn from previous catastrophes and continue to mindlessly engage in behaviour that exposes them to death and injury. The conclusion the media ... Read more Monday, 19 September 2011 | Hits: 574 | Comments |
It’s disgusting and futileWhat did those thugs who raided the offices of ‘The Nairobi Law Monthly’ last week and the cretins who sent them achieve? We have some very bad news for them: whatever their objective, they achieved nothing. The masterminds of that crime against the people of Kenya have a very short memory indeed – assuming they have a brain bigger than that of a weevil. Ok, having insulted them enough, now lets explain our indignation. There is no doubt that the attack was the handiwork of anti-reform forces in our midst who still think Kenya is living in the 1980s and 90s. ... Read more Monday, 12 September 2011 | Hits: 240 | Comments |
A better picture of WomanA news item about women carried last week by a Christian news agency caught the attention of The Bulletin. It was titled, ‘Church holds women dearly, says Cardinal’: ‘The church will continue to support women in their religious activities, says Cardinal Njue. The church, he said, appreciates the important role played by women. “You can always count on us when it comes to assisting you advance your religious activities,” said Cardinal Njue.’ What is interesting here is that, if indeed Cardinal Njue said those words, he succeeded in portraying women as mere appendages to “the church”, which here appears to be “us” ... Read more Monday, 5 September 2011 | Hits: 474 | Comments |
