Njoki Chege, the provocative Saturday Nation columnist. This past Saturday, she had a bone to pick with the very media that employs her.
She is bold, sassy and audacious, and for once I want to agree with her. That is Njoki Chege, for those who do not know. She is the provocative, no-holds-barred, I- don’t –care-what-you-say or think-about-me Saturday Nation columnist, aka City Girl. And last Saturday, she was at it again. This time, she took the fight to the same media fraternity where she belongs. Listen to what she had to say. “If you want to be a Kenyan radio presenter, just get a fake accent, be illiterate, be a comedian or a failing musician”. I totally agree with Njoki that the way the media in Kenya is operating today, it makes going to a school of journalism to learn the basics of the trade seem like a waste of time. If you listen to any of the radio stations today, you would be mistaken to think that the basics of journalism in this country are different from other parts of the country. For those who have stepped in a journalism class and was told that one of the requirements for a journalist is a passion for and knowledge of current affairs, listening to the radio in Kenya is a torture. No wonder one of the local media station recently referred to a member of parliament as Sabina Joy into of her real name, Sabina Chege!! This is character assassination by a journalist who does not have basic facts while reporting! I have always thought that one of the things that editors and recruiters look for before employing someone in the studio is just the ability to be loud and vulgar, and to be able to talk fast (of course without thinking about what you are saying). This may seem like a harsh critic of the media but it is necessary, if the profession is to be salvaged from sharks who have invaded it. Can you imagine taking a football coach from Nyayo stadium and taking him to Kenyatta National Hospital to prescribe medicine to a patient? Definitely, this can’t be allowed to happen. Yet, that is what the media in Kenya is doing. Picking every Tammy, Duke and Henry from wherever and giving them a mike to shout into the ears of listeners! I am always amused by so-called celebrities who appear on talk shows and when they are asked what their next project would be, they say they will be in radio soon! The media has gone so low that there are no basic requirements needed before one can have a show on radio. These are pertinent issues that Njoki raised in her column which needs to be looked into by the government. And it should not be seen to be whining by trained professionals who do not have jobs in media. One of the reasons why an entity is given a broadcast license by the Communications Authority of Kenya is so they can perform certain public functions, one of which is educating the public. Yet those with those broadcast licenses end up mis-educating the public, especially school children. It is ironical in Kenya that the Kenya National Examinations Council penalizes students for writing poor Kiswahili or English, yet the same government allows broadcaster to employ people who break the rules of speaking those languages wantonly. If school children know that they need not excel in the languages if they want to go into media, do you think they will even take seriously their teachers who tell them getting a pass in Kiswahili and English is mandatory if they want to pursue a career in media? It is high time media owners and executives treated journalism as a profession and not a jua-kali business where you can employ anyone who walks by the street!
Comentarios