Media houses are 'guilty' of sensationalising agriculture news
What you need to know:
- People easily connect with the news because agriculture is synonymous with food.
- The entry of the media has expanded the agriculture conversations and helped farmers to connect with market.
Farming misinformation
From avocado to Zebu cows, there is a large buffet of farming news on Kenyan radio, TV and newspapers. People easily connect with the news because agriculture is synonymous with food and many are interested in working on land as the main source of income or side hustle.
The entry of the media has expanded the agriculture conversations and helped farmers to connect with markets. It fills the gap left by the defunct agriculture extension services.
However, we are now faced with the danger of media houses sensationalising agriculture news with headline-grabbing punch lines followed by content that is so lacking in depth and accuracy that it borders on misinformation.
— Anne Munene, Lukuai Hay Farm
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Awed by Ms Obor
The story “I joined a low-ranking secondary school but I excelled” by Joseph Mboya (Daily Nation, June 18, 2021), was inspiring and well written. I am in awe of Millicent Obor. If she ever runs for public office, she can count on my vote.
— Nancy Karuri
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Macabre stories
Macabre murders, strangulation, mutilated bodies dumped elsewhere... stories splashed in the newspapers. I find this disgusting — ghastly and graphic portrayal of stories. Hence, I avoid reading such gory content, which adversely affects the reader’s mind and traumatises.
— Alnashir D. Walji, Nairobi
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Kenol-Marua Road
In the article “Sh24bn Kenol-Marua road set to open in December” (Saturday Nation, June 5, 2021), Hilary Kimuyu said the Kenol-Sagana-Marua road will connect to the Northern Corridor, which is part of the Trans-Africa (sic) Highway (Cairo to Cape Town) through Nairobi, on to Moyale. The Trans-Africa (sic) Highway is from Mombasa to Lagos. The road that runs from Cape to Cairo is the Great North Road.
— King’ori Mwangi, Loresho Primary School
Public Editor: The Trans-African Highway is not one proposed road but rather a system. The Lagos-Mombasa highway is officially known as the Trans-African Highway 8. The Cape to Cairo highway is the Trans-African Highway 4.
