Sleeping with the enemy

Tom Mshindi on the role of the media in an election year

By Otieno Amisi 

2007 is an election year for Kenya, and the political tide is riding high. Media managers have their teeth set on edge, as veteran journalist Tom Mshindi reveals in this candid interview.

As the clock ticks towards a general election later this year, the centrality of the media in shaping a nation’s future has been blown to gigantic proportions.Tom Mshindi has been at the helm of Kenya’s top media houses for nearly two decades. He was managing editor at the Nation for nine years before becoming Group Managing Director of the Standard Media Group (2003-2006). In between, he worked as editor at UNICEF Communications Division in New York and Nigeria.

“Kenya’s fourth estate is guilty of sleeping with the enemy. It colludes with corrupt leaders, condones bad leadership and relegates anything important to the periphery. Yet it has the ability to spur the country forward if only it stops playing ‘Mr Nice Guy.’The fiery former Chief Executive Officer of the Standard Group does not mince his words. “We are still a far cry from where we should be. Unless there is a deliberate, all round effort by managers to bring the profession back on course, we are not getting anywhere,” he says.

Ideally, Mshindi says, the media should strive to make society better by keeping watch over bad leadership, condemning vices and extolling virtues. But the local press, in Mshindi’s view, has been “leaning rather awkwardly and unashamedly  towards Kibaki’s regime.We are overly sensational about politics, but rather protective when it comes to criticising the government. While the media has done a credible job since the last general election, we can do more. The nation expects more, much more.

“The media must rise to the next level if it is to move the country. We must mutate beyond politician’s verbal jostlings to the level of interpretation. We must stop being sympathetic to rulers if we are to achieve that great leap in democracy and development, “he says.He continues: “When we say the Narc government has delivered, what gains have actually been made? Are the gains merely accidental, or are they the proceeds of deliberate planning and policy?

“Is it accidental or deliberate that the price of milk has gone down, for instance?While he admits the press ‘has done a decent job’ by focussing on corruption and accountability in recent years, Mshindi says there is still ‘too much politics.“
Kenya’s press men and women lack staying power, the ability to stick to the crucial issues. They have a limited attention span.  Add to this the poor quality of training of journalists and we have a recipe for mediocrity.”He takes a sip at his mug of tea and poses: “Why is every front page splashed with petty party politics when there are more serious matters of science, business and health? Where is the needed mental engagement in matters more meaningful to society?

“Let the truth be told. Our journalists are simply lazy, their training is inadequate, they are corrupt. What you see everywhere is a shameful lack of consistency in pursuing the larger ideals of development, culture, environmental conservation and education.”Mshindi argues that the media has made the political diet a priority. “We have made the people bow at the lowly altar of tribalism and party politics when we all know justice and good governance should be the priority.”Corruption exists, he says, but it would be naïve for anyone to expect media managers to admit they have been ‘bought’ or ‘pocketed.’ “So it is always a battle between survival and professionalism.

“There are also personal sympathies, where editors openly take sides with political aspirants or their parties.”Media managers, he says, must be brave enough to rise above partisan politics. They must watch out against power seekers, especially in an election year.

“The space is wider now, the environment is more open. We can take advantage of this to push further the frontiers of democracy, and to liberate our country further, rather than just sitting back and saying that now Kibaki is in power, then everything is fine. We must not relent in our quest for qualitative change.” There is need for retreats and reviews, especially at the level of editors’ guild, to align ourselves to professional ideals. We must believe in ourselves strongly enough to defend our position on issues, to internalise our role, to forge a clear identity as defenders of democracy, truth and good governance.

This can be achieved by accepting self criticism, better training and deliberate quality enhancement. Only then can we stand tall, to be counted as citizens of this great nation.” 

BARBS AND BOUQUETS FOR TOM

It is 8.30 on a Friday morning. I am seated at the lobby of the Norfolk hotel. A tall, smartly dressed man in a checked brown suit walks briskly past the sentry. He casts a glance around, then heads in my direction.

‘Hi Otieno,’ he calls out as I rise to greet him. Though I know he has been briefed by my senior about the interview, I am surprised at his congeniality. When we had first met, over a decade ago, Tom was at the top of the pack as editor of the Daily Nation and I was making my first foray into the world of journalism as editor of The Campus Beacon, a students’ newspaper at Kenyatta University.Our paths were later to cross again at Likoni road in late 2003 when he descended  with a team of writers and sub editors to revamp The Standard.

Some of us had to make way rather unceremoniously.Now his hair is greying slightly at the temples, but that fast speech and military manner, typical of all media managers, are still there. In the course of the interview, he easily draws parallels between countries and media houses, quips on media responsibility, and makes quotable remarks on what the media can do for a nation in an election year.

Why journalism is not public relations

 

Why journalism is not public relations

By Otieno Amisi 

The age old debate between journalism and public relations practitioners came to my mind when I received an invitation to a writers’ workshop recently.My hair stood on end when I learnt that the event, set in the breathtaking Crater Lake in Naivasha, had been generously sponsored by Communication giant Celtel. There was even a PR firm in tow.

I immediately wondered whether it was not another publicity-seeking stunt by the telephone service provider to curry favourable coverage, as many firms often do. But as more details emerged, I found out that creative writers were also involved. The event organisers were Kwani?, a local literary organisation which even brought in young writers involved in a Caine Prize workshop.But my suspicion barometer did not ease. What had angry and hungry writers have in common with high flying money minting firms who CEOs earned more than the president by simply selling random numbers and thin air for astronomical profits? Interestingly, only the previous week, I had received a regret email from the United Nations after I saying I had failed an interview for a job where they had wanted ‘communication specialists.’ or journalists to do PR work for the government.My take is that journalists and public relations people are as far apart as the North is from the South. Yet they are like two sides of the same gorge, inextricably linked and yet divided by a deep, treacherous valley. Their love-hate relationship has continued to fascinate students of communication for generations. Only recently, I came across a magazine article titled: “Do Journalists make good PROs?” (Marketing Africa, December 2006)  and a letter by Carole K entitled ‘PR Nonsense,” (The Standard, December 6, 2005).   Many PR practitioners are actually trained journalists who dread the treacherous world of real journalism. One would even call them cowards, or traitors, or betrayers, who, having been equipped with the skills to hunt for the truth, have chosen to earn their living the easy way by blocking real journalists from getting to the truth, or by pretending to ‘manage’ the bad reputation of corporates.While journalists are supposed to investigate, unearth, condemn and blow whistles on behalf of the larger society, it is the PR people allegedly who stifle the truth, maul objectivity, and sing praise songs for organizations or government departments that simply hurt the people. In the eyes of a true journalist, PR practice is nothing short of sleeping with the enemy.As a teacher, I am often disappointed that my own students are so confused about the difference between the two professions, if the latter is to be called a profession at all. Their confusion is compounded by the fact that many Kenyan institutions claiming to offer training in journalism are themselves unsure of what they offer. A look at course titles and outlines proclaim things like ‘media studies,’ ‘journalism and related studies’ and ‘communication.’ Some are more humble and blunt: they proclaim to teach matters like radio, television or video production.In a country that so badly needs dare-devil journalists, so many of my students disappear into the ‘easy’ PR void simply because the pay is higher and the risks lower.One the extreme end of the divide are those who argue that public relations people are among the most heinous polluters of the information environment. They are akin to those who offer us herbal Viagra and suspicious business opportunities involving former West and Central African dictators. Today, with our proliferation of media outlets, these liars are spreading falsehoods everywhere, on the Internet, television, radio and billboards. In nearly all cases, they hide their partisan views behind anonymity or actual bylines of reputable journalists. Photographers are not excluded. If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then a misleading picture must be worth tens of thousands of lies. It is becoming more and more difficult to draw a line between PR and journalism, especially for many slow learners. While journalism is the dream job for many young people, public relations isn’t that clearly visible to them at that age. Many young people and journalist tutors are passionate, even overly proud, of the profession. They find it inspiring and believe it is the best job on earth. Besides, nothing beats the recognition that comes with producing memorable stories, and there are plenty of career options in media work, stretching from radio, television, magazines, newspapers, books, biographies, fiction, editing, photography etc.

According to student journalists I interviewed recently, some of the best things about journalism include getting to meet many interesting people, visiting new places, and meeting celebrities. They have the rare freedom to pursue ideas and to go to many places, unlike other workers.Public relations serve as advocates for businesses, nonprofit associations, universities, hospitals, and other organizations. They are believed to build and maintain positive relationships with the public. They draft press releases and contact people in the media who might print or broadcast their material. Such material is designed to win positive attention for the organization by highlighting its policies toward its employees or its role in the community. The subject is cleverly disguised as a public issue, such as health, energy, or the environment, but the bottom line is to raise sales by highlighting what an organization is doing to advance that issue.

Public relations people also set up speaking engagements and prepare speeches for company officials. They represent employers at community projects; make film, slide, or other visual presentations at meetings; and plan conventions. In addition, they are responsible for preparing annual reports and writing proposals.In government, public relations specialists — sometimes called press secretaries, information officers, public affairs specialists, communication specialists or simply Dr Alfred Mutua — keep the public informed about the activities of agencies and officials, while really covering up government mistakes or exonerating the government from blame.

As we climbed back from the depths of the valley at Hell’s Gate, I wondered how many of those talented creative writers, journalists and PR people really understood the uneasy link between their different, yet similar crafts. 

Otieno Amisi is revise Editor at Oakland Media and a journalism lecturer at The Kenya Polytechnic.