John-Allan Namu And African Journalism
In much of the West traditional journalism is locked in an existential struggle. In places like Kenya, however, where the political situation is fragile, serious investigative work serves as an unofficial branch of government, keeping the electorate informed. John-Allan Namu. Namu, a reporter for Kenya Television Network who won the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2009 Award, is on the front lines in preventing another explosion of violence in Kenya's Rift Valley. The 26-year-old's method just happens to be journalism, that noble, dying profession.
Namu is particularly well-positioned for this new age of journalism because he works lean. He does much of his own research, and works with a four-person production team. Contrast that ethic with, say, the typical Western documentary unit. Most important, though, is Namu's narrative style, his storytelling, and the cultural seriousness of his choice of topics. His award-winning films "Scars and Sulfurias" and In the Shadow of the Mungiki have raised the bar for what 21st century African journalism could become. "I want to be ready to report on not just Kenya, but about the world in general as it becomes much smaller," Namu told Journalism.co.uk in July. "I want to be part of the generation that heralds a new age of journalism on the African continent." Because of online video sharing sites that revolution will be digitized, reaching a wide audience including but not exclusively African.
I await Namu's future stories with attention rapt and bated breath.
add to del.icio.us
add to digg
add to yahoo
related at technorati
share on facebook
Check our most impactful articles and see how popular these opinions are with you.
Will others follow in your footsteps? Share your thoughts and ideas for changing the world.
John Namu may have won prestigious awards and honors, but it doesn't change his basic essence, and it is that he is given to sensationalism and generalisation in his reports, shallow as they often are.
I invite John to recall the events of November 2007. A couple of young men lost their precious lives in the Kisii area in Kenya.
These young men were likely the sole breadwinners of their families. Or the beloved sons and brothers of their parents and siblings.
Does John remember these men? Does he know their names, or the names of the mourning they left behind? Why is this even important?
It's important because their deaths were the direct result of Namu's irresponsible 'journalism'. John filed a report that claimed that the men, part of a contingent of Administration Police tasked with providing security at polling stations, were stuffing ballot boxes and transporting them to the polling stations in Citi Hoppa buses.
Do you now remember them now, John?
Do you remember the horrible deaths they suffered?
Do you recall how they were dragged out of their vehicles and stoned and hacked to death by emotionally charged youths?
Do you remember how your reporting contributed to their painfull demise?
Were your allegations of stuffed ballot boxes ever proved? Was a single such box ever retrieved to prove your story?
A couple of young, strong guys had their lives barbarically snuffed out from them. Their families were left despondent and grieving, while JOHN ALAN NAMU traipses around the globe receiving honour after award, his belly full and his own family safe.
Shame on you John.
You may have forgotten, but others won't. Someday you will account for the loss of precious lives, and the grief of helpless widows and fatherless children.