Blogger Dikembe Disembe has lashed out at certificate and diploma holders in newsrooms for the sinking spate of journalism in Kenya. Dikembe claims most graduate students are being locked out of employment opportunities as media firms go for the ‘Homo habilis – the practical, or handy man that is the certificate and diploma holder.
Dikembe’s comments, on his Facebook wall, was trigged by the silence of some journalists on the spiralling saga of Dennis Itumbi academic qualification.
According to Dikembe, a finalist undergrad of Bsc in mass media at Moi University school of Journalism, while the diploma and certificate holders in newsrooms are good at handling tools – cameras, video equipments etc – they cannot think in the ‘abstract’. Because of this, Dikembe claims they trivialise most issues to fit in their black and white training as practical people.
Here is the post:
If you’re wondering why some journalists have kept mum over Itumbi certificate saga, that’s simple: most of them are certificate, diploma holders! The newsrooms are filled up with certificate and diploma holders. No wonder graduate students are unemployed. The only problem with the cert and dip holders is that they are very Homo habilis (practical or handy). One of the problems that journalism in Kenya is facing is this ‘characteristic’ of the Homo habilis in the newsroom. They know how to handle tools: cameras, video equipments, sound recorders etc but they can’t think in the abstract. They can’t construct societies. They can’t understand the ’cause-and-effect’ of things. The sterner stuffs of life. They are more used to emotional topics devoid of serious cognition. They get excited over very cheap things like cloths, shoes, phones, make-up, media awards, ‘breakfasts’, etc. To them, technology is an end unto itself, not a means to an end. Whenever graduates seek for jobs, and can’t handle basic equipments, you see a diploma, certificate holder claiming you are half-baked. Half-baked my foot! But graduates aren’t suppose to handle cameras.Graduates should be macro-editors, or columnists. They should churn out ‘philosophies’ and add to the discourse! ODM as a party is increasingly finding it difficult to set its message to the masses simply because most journalists – the diploma, certificate holders – can’t comprehend what issues ODM is talking about.It is not their fault, they were not meant to comprehend. Not trained to! In the contrast, President Uhuru is ‘good’ because he can have a selfie with them.Or can have a media breakfast where the diploma, certificate holders pose for photos. That is all that therein in journalism for the diploma holder! Then there is the spectre of ‘ratings’, or should I say over-ratings? Take most of the female news anchors – am no sexist – outside the ‘figures’, what else? Funnily, they fall over themselves wanting to interview the so called life’s bigwigs, but given a chance? Anyway, enough. By the way, after diploma, certificate holders bungled the 2013 elections, I sold the TV! I will get back to the business of watching ‘news’ when enough graduates are on the screens. For now, I wish all diploma and certificate journalists a good week ahead.