Comments on: Blog = poor (wo)man’s printing press

By: John Kidenda

John Kidenda — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 00:01:38 +0000

Well said,

Pitty the Nation didn’t publish it. Then again it could just be a sign of Mr. Muaura’s inability come up with a sufficient rebutle.

Kudos

Thanks!

By: acolyte

acolyte — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 16:42:24 +0000

A very good piece too bad it couldnt overcome the politics that is Kenyan journalism.

By: Osas

Osas — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 12:59:31 +0000

The one establishment that immediately answered an inquiry was KACC. Most others never did. Little wonder that my friend (whom I quoted in anoter comment) now works right there.

Osas

By: Osas

Osas — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 09:11:19 +0000

Did the Nation ever answer your submission at all, Ory (and be it only with a single-line rjection slip “We regret, but…”)?

I am asking, because in my experience, Kenyxan journalists and editors have a nasty habit of never answering emails and inquiries. And that isn’t limited to the “Nation”, alas.

Osas

Answer my submission? Hahaha. Very few establishments answer emails in Kenya…not just journalists.

By: magaidi

magaidi — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 22:15:06 +0000

Ory..you make too much sense. Perhaps Mwaura’s thought process represents a sort of naivety that enables corruption in Kenya to take root and thrive..the fact that some wrongs are viewed as not worth pursuing. What I get from reading his article is a sense of concern about the KNCHR stretching itself too thin pursuing what he deems petty corruption issues while institutionalized corruption continues to kill ordinary wananchi more than the effect of actions for which he criticizes the commision for pursuing with such zeal. I guess in all fairness I think you are both right (although Mwaura’s article was more of an attack on the KNCHR rather than a point of concern raised - but i’ll take it in the spirit I hope it was written), fundamentally we’d like an organization that pursues corruption and seeks to bring to justice the perpetrators however small the ‘crime’ is (or is perceived to be) wherever it may be. At the same time we also welcome reasonable logic that the watchdog pursues crimes which our judicial machinery can succesfully prosecute -merely pointing out incidents in the public eye does little in the way of enforcing laws since the perpetrators are not in a court of law and the body is not enacted to enforce the law anyway, rather supplement the KACA and provide the judiciary with sufficient evidence to help enforce it : this I think it does/hope it will do by doing just what it promised, take the fools to court if the AG is not interested . That’s just my 10 cents worth.

By: maitha

maitha — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 05:45:22 +0000

good idea to make more use of the KBW space , the open blog has been lying idle for a long while now

By: Whispering Inn

Whispering Inn — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 22:26:47 +0000

Liked your response to Mwaura’s op-ed. Mwaura’s is the kind of defeatist attitude that encourages and eventually midwifes grand corruption as you so eloquently pointed out. While I think many Kenyans did not see KNCHR’s quest as that much of a priority, Mwaura went overboard by sprinkling his article with what amounted to insults and belittlement of the Commission, and the “Nation” should have been objective enough to run your response (equal time.) Now, about the “Letters to Kenya” idea, superb! I normally get some items printed by the “Cutting Edge” but there’s not much space there.

By: Ntwiga

Ntwiga — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 20:13:17 +0000

OK people. My thoughts.

I am not a letter writer so do not expect much on this front from me. It seems to me however that for a forum like this to work, it will have to be moderated to give it a a decent signal/noise ratio. Unmoderated posting will make it just another one of the multitude of Kenyan sites out there filled with tons of junk to wade through before one can find a gem worth reading.

I suggest:
- vet/edit all letters before posting. Not edit in the sense of edit the content of the letters but edit ensuring that letters pass muster before publishing. If so, the letters are published as they were sent without changes.
- allow anon posting provided the author provides a valid contact ( email address ) which will NOT be published

Thats it.

Let me know what you think. I will work on finding out about domains and layout then get back to y’all.

In total agreement with you. As far as domains and layout, I like Maitha’s idea of using the Kenya Unlimited Open blog (http://www.kenyaunlimited.com/blogs/open/) That save some reinventing of the wheel and puts the space to good use. I’ll pitch the idea to the KBW admin via email.

By: Ntwiga

Ntwiga — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:27:36 +0000

quoting Keguro
“Oh, dear, yet another person whose letters the Nation will not print. And, unlike mine, you make perfectly logical arguments, based on actual documentation.I tell you, we need a pseudo-magazine called “letters to Kenya.”

I have been following this thread for a while and I am happy to see the direction that it is going in. If you are serious about this ( starting a ( letters to Kenya type magazine), let me know. I would be glad to initially participate by setting up and maintaining an online edition.

Let’s take this idea and run with it… we could even allow for anon letters…sort of like Post Secret (http://postsecret.blogspot.com/). Could you work on a beta version? We can use the KBW to publicize it etc…

By: Mymmoh

Mymmoh — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:10:35 +0000

You made a very good point and we are reading it. I have been a victim of Nation’s and Standards ” will not print” articles too. I was however telling them off about misinformation and under researched posts. Which I think you were doing too. Only you pointed out they were trivializing important issues. Point being, there’s a pattern here as to “how not to get your articles printed by the newspapers”. That’s ok, pundit. Blog away. We’re reading this and I personally agree with your sentiments.

Save your letters in case the “Letters to Kenya” idea takes off…