Skip to main content

Kenyans pretend to be angry at CNN's violence depiction

CNN's appalling coverage of non-violent
grenade explosions far from Nairobi CBD
On Sunday, Kenyans were very angry. Apparently , one of them was watching CNN , one of those stations only available on satellite dishes that require a monthly subscription. The Kenyan then posted a picture of CNN's coverage of grenade attacks in down-town Nairobi. CNN , as a background of the news report, had an image of Kenya's flag, very big flame's and the word "violence" in Kenya.

CNN was been sensationalist, trying to leverage on the image been a region as one prone by violence. By doing so, CNN was obviously out to increase its rankings by exaggeration the gory news that keeps their viewers glued to the screen, shaking their heads in disbelief, as they take bites out of cholesterol filled burgers.

The Kenyans, whom most have not visited Country Bus Stations- where the attacks occurred  - in a long while, were quite upset.

You could see their anger as they took to their smartphones to tweet #SomeoneTellCNN , appending their messages to the hashtag. Their messages were in unsion, CNN should move from portraying the region as an uncivilised one where marauding, bare-chested dark natives roam the land armed with pangas.

After all, it is just this week that YouTube's most watched video, depicted Kony , a Ugandan, as another marauding native who has set his target lower, scaring the hell out of children trying to attend school in Central Africa. Kony has not been sighted in the East African country of Uganda since 2006, but Americans(wait, South or North Americans?) are requested to help the makers of the film find the Invisible children. The concerned saviours will also pass by South Sudan, where they had previously posed with weapons from the Sudan's People Liberation Army.

As the Kenyans kept tweeting their messages to CNN, they kept checking the Top Trending topics on Twitter, to see if they were shouting loud enough to top the world. It took a short while for them to trend, with someone quipping excitedly, "look, we are trending worldwide", with congratulatory messages being passed around. Another witty Kenyan on Twitter (KOT) quipped that Kenyan's were not only good in running, but good in trending - a great example that there was more than violence in this foresaken land of Africa, where diamonds have to be pulled our of blood and oil soaked earth.

The angry Kenyans on Twitter even forgot to check what their media houses were reporting. The same image on CNN filled the screens of our local TV stations during news at 9, only without the "VIOLENCE" part.  In fact, I can swear the flames on Kenyan TV were bigger.

Almost an hour after the attacks, Kenyan media stations were still grappling with footage of a scene less than 2 kilometres from the CBD. It's the same stations that will cover political events , hundreds of kilometres from the CBD, live.

One of the dailies even gave up with it's coverage, preferring to use Agence France-Presse (AFP) report of the blast in it's story. AFP, a news agency head quartered in France, was the first to have comprehensive coverage of grenade attacks 2 kilometres from Nairobi's CBD. Paris, the headquarters of France are 6,500 kilometres from Nairobi.

Kenyan media is often filled with absurd political news, with "blow by blow" coverage of politician's every step, including the names they call each other, and the latest reports from a rally held in an non-descript location in Kenya's interior. 

TV news has the same political coverage dominating it's news. 

The problem, you would think, is Kenya's media. After all, the media won't even touch Nairobi Law's Monthly report on Julie Wards's suspected murderer. 

The Daily Nation, a Kenyan Daily,  once gave politics a wide berth on it's headlines. Many people remember the issue, as so do the publishers. The Daily Nation received thousands of returns of the paper the following day, few people find the issue newsworthy. 

The day after the grenade attacks, The Daily Nation did not repeat the mistake. The grenade story fought for space with a story on Kenya's Prime Minister's comments that top politicians suspected of masterminding post election violence in the country should be behind bars.

A country where people suspected of masterminding violence 4 years ago have never been questioned , a country which keeps mum on a murder committed 24 years ago, a country that values political remarks and exchange on their paper headlines, is appalled by CNN's usage of "VIOLENCE" on a new report on a grenade attack. 

More bits on the country's and it's highly stellar press coverage, from multiple award winning journalists at the CNN sponsored African Journalist's awards, can be seen here http://www.eastafricapress.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=633:wanted-a-new-kbc-now&catid=69&Itemid=138

Oh, and only six people died in the grenade attack. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WhatsApp Solution: Sorry we were unable to restore any of your message history backup

*This method only works if you are trying to transfer WhatsApp from one phone to another, and have not deleted WhatsApp data or formatted the old phone. If you already uninstalled WhatsApp and deleted data or logged into a different number, it won't work. If you get the “Sorry we were unable to restore any of your message history backup” when trying to restore your WhatsApp messages, trying to restore again from the same backup will probably fail. The issue seems to be caused by an issue with your backup file such as if you repeatedly tried to backup with internet connecting and disconnecting. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Humanity Hasn't Learned From the Covid Pandemic

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic began ravaging the world, succeeding the 1918 flu pandemic.  Many found it unbelievable that despite all the scientific progress that the world has made since 1918, from composite jets to modern healthcare to going to the moon, the world was still susceptible to a pandemic.  Ironically, some of these advancements largely played a role in the spread of the pandemic. Thousands of global flights every hour and air conditioning fanned its spread like a dry wind would in a forest fire.  There was even further disbelief in mid-2020 when it became apparent that many countries were even struggling to keep a pandemic in check. Developed countries, supposed to have the best healthcare, suffered the worst outbreaks amidst disagreements on measures such as quarantines and wearing of masks.  In yet another twist, technology advancement finally came to our rescue with the speedy development of vaccines, including the safe pioneering of never-tried-b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nairobi's Top 4 Texas Brisket Places Reviewed and Ranked

Brisket on a bed of roast vegetables with barbecue sauce at Texas Brisket, Kikuyu  This review has been updated after a number of you suggested I try the brisket at County2County.  What's the best place to have Brisket in Nairobi? What's even brisket?  Brisket is one of the toughest cuts in a cow, from around the belly. It is so tough that it has to be smoked for about 16 hours to tenderise. But that there, is the catch.  12 to 16 hours later, it is the most flavourful and softest cut you will ever have. So full of flavour and so soft you can pick it apart with your fingers.  However, due to the long cooking time involved, only a few places offer brisket in Nairobi.  The best so far is Texas Brisket which is located within Kikuyu Railway station.  They do the meat for a proper 16 hours, and will usually have a fatty or non-fatty portion. The fatty portions are more tasty. A 500 gram serving goes for KSh. 900 and a 1 KG order comes with a serving of fre...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Drive from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda to Namibia (or South Africa)

  What You Need COMESA Yellow Sticker (Tanzania and Zambia third party insurance. Botswana may require local bond. Namibia doesn’t require insurance) Logbook Processing with KRA Copies of your logbook for temporary import permits in other countries Passport Yellow fever vaccination proof. COVID vaccination proof may be required Warning triangles and 1 litre fire extinguisher Border Crossing Checklist Key: Required items are indicated in brackets next to each country's title  YS – COMESA Yellow Sticker, P – Passport TIPi – Temporary Import Permit entry TIPo – Temporary Import Permit exit LB – Log book LBc – Log book copy Recommended Extras  1 extra full size spare, 2 if your tyres are more than 75% worn Tow strap Tyre Pressure gauge and pressure pump. Enough rest every day. It’s a perseverance marathon, not an exhaustion sprint What you need to know  Seasons - Tanzania largely has same seasons as Kenya besides the cold July-August season....
Post a Comment
Read more

Visiting Watamu

Getting to Watamu: Flight to Malindi Airport. Jambojet flies here and so do other airlines from Wilson. You'll then need a Cab to Watamu (KSh. 1,700 to KSh. 2,000 - many apps are inaccurate) or matatu just outside the airport (KSh. 100) SGR to Mombasa, then shuttle to Watamu. There are about 2 regular shuttles and they charge KSh. 1,500 to KSh. 2,000 one way  Bus to Watamu. Tahmeed and other buses operate regular schedules to Total Watamu  Drive: It's faster branching through Mariakani to Kaloleni then to Kilifi. The route through Tsavo is not any faster and has park fees. Takes 9 hours  Things to do  Beach Sunbathing : Watamu has some of the world's best beaches, with white sand. The left side from Watamu Village has a bay with shallow water during low tide,  you can wade and swim in the ocean even if you don't know how to swim! Ocean is warm in July - August but very windy. Watamu beaches have lots of seaweed but this shouldn't deter yo...
Post a Comment
Read more