Newspaper and television stations in Kenya have all developed their websites. One can easily follow to their links from social media or directly google (I’m tired of social media).
On their sites, there are numerous advertisements, some of which are auto-play videos. Before one reads what they want, an advertisement about MPESA crosses. It is followed by a university’s May or September intake advertisement. Later, a betting company spoils your reading moods. The news is never interesting anymore. The shared links are barely a hundred words, meaning details are never provided in these stories. Shallow journalism!
In a digital world, a media house should provide a lot of information as possible. To reduce costs of their printing they can a lot of information on their online platforms.
The bait that these houses have now resorted to is having eye-catching headlines that would mean a lot of sense. Follow the link and get frustrated at their adverts. An example is one that I followed recently about Gloria Muliro and the emotional message she had sent to friends upon the death of her father. On the site, the only quote is “rest in peace father”. Surely, what did we expect to find in that? I understand that one who loses a parent is bound to be emotional. For a media house to make a big deal out of it while they have little information regarding the same is not advisable. They need not to use public figures as well to attract readers to their sites.
Media houses should use their advert spaces quite reasonably. Diverting attention from news to promotions that may be too much or disgusting is inappropriate. An advertisement like MPESA will not convince people easily. It is something that almost all mobile users in Kenya has. Let news be news and advertisements be given second priority. We may be in the business of making money but it does not paint a good picture to reader