Nipate
Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Pajero on January 07, 2016, 11:48:07 AM
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Two former editors at Nation Media Group have criticised the suspension of the Managing Editor for Special Projects saying it could have been "handled quietly and internally".
Macharia Gaitho, former Special Projects ME, said the suspension will prove more damaging than the original offence as it has served to reinforce the view that the media house is pro-government; a perception NMG has long fought to lose.
"Never in the history of the Nation has an individual responsible for a leader been publicly outed. As it is, action taken against an individual has doubly exposed Nation Media Group," Gaitho said via Facebook on Wednesday.
Denis Galava, was suspended over an editorial deemed critical of President Uhuru Kenyatta that was published without following procedure.
"The damage will be almost impossible to undo. The actions will be widely and wrongly interpreted as punishing an editor for espousing a view that angered State House," Gaitho said.
Charles Onyango-Obbo, former Convergence ME at NMG, also expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the issue was handled.
"I have researched a precedent for a case where a leader writer - as opposed to the editor or publisher - was punished in this way and I have come up empty," Onyango-Obbo said.
"It's like punishing the guitar for a bad song."
On Wednesday, NMG explained Galava was suspended for authorising a January 2 editorial against the government.
The editorial criticised Uhuru's administration and touched on issues of unemployment, economic stagnation, corruption and poor leadership.
“Mr President, these half-measures are harming the presidency and your authority as the First Citizen of Kenya besides tormenting Kenyans,” it read in part.
Editor in Chief Tom Mshindi said: “The lack of consultation where one writer takes a strong position on such an important issue single-handedly, without broad discussion and consultation, is a significant departure from established procedure.
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Yes they went too far considering the "damage" had already been done. A verbal warning would have sufficed. A suspension sound a tad too high handed and is bound to scare lots of journalist to toe the line...
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NMG is a partisan rag. It has been that way for a while. In these days of social media, they are not the thought shapers they used to be.
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There is no "too far" to me in being critical of any official in government. This is how it starts and soon everything the government does is rubber stamped. 30 yrs later everyone will be paying for it. Seems like Kenya has followed the North Korea route when it comes to lynchng any critic, whether it be a minor criticism.