It's heeeeeeere!
According to just about every news outlet on the planet, SEACOM has flipped the switch to ignite high speed internet in East Africa. As someone who spent much of her first days in the country hunting for a fast connection like a Masai warrior hunts for lions, I am overjoyed. The fact that I have been able to video-chat and upload my stories from a coffee shop in Dagoretti Corner is impressive, but imagine being able to use...gasp!...SKYPE! The future Medillians' phone bills from Nairobi will be far less painful.
Of course, Kenya is taking its sweet time hopping on the high-speed bandwagon, as Kenya tends to do. Just ask anyone dodging the crater-sized holes on the side of Ngong Road. Someday, we're told, internet cables will line those holes. But as with so many things in this country, the capacity is there and the infrastructure...oooh, the infrastructure.
Once the cable installation is finished in Nairobi (2012?), it's hard to say how much of an impact it will have on the average citizen's pocketbook. But one thing that should be discussed when it comes to this high-speed hooplah is how it will affect the media.
If I had to guess, I'd say only good can come of this. The online sites for newspapers like Nation and The Standard are filled with broken links and yesterday's news. And the station I work for doesn't even have a website. A youtube channel that got updated in 2008? Yes. But a website? No.
I've told stories of "the death of newspapers" over dinners here, and no one can believe it. But perhaps with greater access and faster connectivity, Kenya too will join the new media world.
Time will tell, and if I know Kenya, it's gonna be awhile...
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Big Kate Diaries
On Sunday, Kenya and I shared our one month anniversary. Now this relationship has been rocky, to say the least, but still, I decided to celebrate the occasion with a safari to Masai Mara.
Um...good decision.
Often when you travel with someone you discover things about them you never knew before. This can move your relationship forward or stop it in its tracks, but for me and Kenya, well, we've fallen truly, madly, deeply in love.
I don't want to challenge the universe to make life hard on me, but I feel as though no mater what happens over the next 5 weeks, my safari has made the entire trip 100 percent worth it. I spent 3 days wondering what I did to deserve the beauty around me.
If you have the means, I highly recommend the Governors Camp in Masai Mara, my friends. It is so choice. I took about a million pictures and an hour of video, but here is a condensed 5 minute peek into the single most beautiful place I have ever been.
Um...good decision.
Often when you travel with someone you discover things about them you never knew before. This can move your relationship forward or stop it in its tracks, but for me and Kenya, well, we've fallen truly, madly, deeply in love.
I don't want to challenge the universe to make life hard on me, but I feel as though no mater what happens over the next 5 weeks, my safari has made the entire trip 100 percent worth it. I spent 3 days wondering what I did to deserve the beauty around me.
If you have the means, I highly recommend the Governors Camp in Masai Mara, my friends. It is so choice. I took about a million pictures and an hour of video, but here is a condensed 5 minute peek into the single most beautiful place I have ever been.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
o-h-i-o
Life is funny.
Yesterday I happened upon a story that wasn't there when I started. I'd been sent to cover a nothing story about a water company making a donation to a basketball camp. Luckily, we were late and missed the event, but in its place we found a bunch of hearing impaired athletes in Kent State jerseys. Obviously, I had to see what was going on there. The result was, actually, pretty cool.
Yesterday I happened upon a story that wasn't there when I started. I'd been sent to cover a nothing story about a water company making a donation to a basketball camp. Luckily, we were late and missed the event, but in its place we found a bunch of hearing impaired athletes in Kent State jerseys. Obviously, I had to see what was going on there. The result was, actually, pretty cool.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Boot n' rally
This week I was temporarily sidelined by some bad Ethiopian food. I've been so proud of how my stomach has handled the Kenyan cuisine, but, apparently, my system is no fan of our neighbor to the north. I took Wednesday off to recover, but by Thursday I was thrust right back into the fast-paced world of Kenyan motor sports.
Rally driving is pretty cool in America, but in Kenya, it's just plain awesome. These crazy drivers bound all over the desert, dodging wild animals and potholes like you couldn't imagine. I haven't gotten to take in a race in person yet, but the driver I interviewed as a lead-up to this weekend's race invited me to travel with his crew next month. I intend to hold him to that.
Rally driving is pretty cool in America, but in Kenya, it's just plain awesome. These crazy drivers bound all over the desert, dodging wild animals and potholes like you couldn't imagine. I haven't gotten to take in a race in person yet, but the driver I interviewed as a lead-up to this weekend's race invited me to travel with his crew next month. I intend to hold him to that.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Language barrier
I've been told many times that if you're going to say something on the air, it should sound like something you would say in real life. Be conversational, right? This is one of those rules I understand about television. In fact, I even like it.
But I feel confident that no one, in the history of a Kenyan journalism school, has been taught this rule.
As I waited in line to voice my script yesterday, the reporter next to me stumbled over and over the word "expedited." She could not pronounce it to save her life.
"Why don't you change it to 'sped up?'" I interjected.
Cue the daily looking-at-the-mzungu-like-she-has-five-heads.
Later that day, a news editor looking over my script made a few changes...
Before: One South African official points to rundown facilities.
After: South African High Commissioner to Kenya Tony Msimanga says this is due to the fact that our facilities are not up to standards.
I don't think it's just a Kenyan thing. When I watch CNN International I often wonder how the British anchors have the lung capacity for some of these leads.
Call me a brutish American, but I gotta say, I'm happy the prompter back home reads at an eighth grade level.
But I feel confident that no one, in the history of a Kenyan journalism school, has been taught this rule.
As I waited in line to voice my script yesterday, the reporter next to me stumbled over and over the word "expedited." She could not pronounce it to save her life.
"Why don't you change it to 'sped up?'" I interjected.
Cue the daily looking-at-the-mzungu-like-she-has-five-heads.
Later that day, a news editor looking over my script made a few changes...
Before: One South African official points to rundown facilities.
After: South African High Commissioner to Kenya Tony Msimanga says this is due to the fact that our facilities are not up to standards.
I don't think it's just a Kenyan thing. When I watch CNN International I often wonder how the British anchors have the lung capacity for some of these leads.
Call me a brutish American, but I gotta say, I'm happy the prompter back home reads at an eighth grade level.
Monday, July 13, 2009
The poetry of sport
I LOVE sports. I mean, I'm not kidding you, love them. I think a big part of it is the sounds. Gym shoes squeaking on the court, a volleyball reflecting off a sweet block...I mean...that stuff is good. But mainly, it's the roar of the crowd.
In Kenya, crowds are easy to come by, especially at national events. On Saturday, I covered a match between the Kenya women's volleyball team and Tunisia. It was NUTS...and this was just a game that would QUALIFY them to play in a game that actually mattered. The sense of national pride really seeps out through the sports here, and it's a beautiful thing I feel lucky to witness.
When I got back to the station, it took me six minutes to write the script for the highlights. When my editor read it, he said, "That was like poetry." I think that means he liked it, but I also think it means I was damn excited when I wrote it.
A K24 colleague often says if there were no sports, she would not be a journalist. I'm starting to think I agree.
In Kenya, crowds are easy to come by, especially at national events. On Saturday, I covered a match between the Kenya women's volleyball team and Tunisia. It was NUTS...and this was just a game that would QUALIFY them to play in a game that actually mattered. The sense of national pride really seeps out through the sports here, and it's a beautiful thing I feel lucky to witness.
When I got back to the station, it took me six minutes to write the script for the highlights. When my editor read it, he said, "That was like poetry." I think that means he liked it, but I also think it means I was damn excited when I wrote it.
A K24 colleague often says if there were no sports, she would not be a journalist. I'm starting to think I agree.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
VoxPop
Vox populi: Latin for "voice of the people."
In Kenya, a Vox Populi, or VoxPop, is equivalent to an American "Man On the Street" story. At home, I groan when I'm asked to do an MOS. (Who caaaares what these non-experts have to say about property taxes, or whatever people are all mad about that day?) But in Kenya, it's fun hearing all these new and different opinions. And let me tell you, Kenyans like to be HEARD - even when you're just asking about them Ronaldo going to Real Madrid.
Unfortunately, these sometimes-feisty opinions aren't always restricted to camera time. As an American, you'll hear the voice of the people quite often, as many Kenyans view Americans in their country a sounding board for their views on the US. I got a little VoxPop of my own at a Nairobi club this weekend, thanks to my president's trip to this continent.
As I stood in the tiny bathroom hallway of a Westlands night club, a very drunk woman entered to join me, my housemate, and about 8 other ladies.
"OBAMA, GHANA, KENYA! KENYA, GHANA, OBAMA!"
"I'm pretty sure that was to you..." my housemate whispered to me.
The intoxicated newcomer went on. "You think Obama is yours?! He's MINE..."
And a few moments later, "Your president is punishing my country!"
Her not-as-drunk friend stepped in to apologize for the intoxicated ramblings. But when I replied, "Thanks, I'm sorry, Obama is not punishing Kenya, you know," even the sober woman turned to me, dead serious, and said, "Obama. Is punishing. Kenya."
Consider your vox heard, people.
In Kenya, a Vox Populi, or VoxPop, is equivalent to an American "Man On the Street" story. At home, I groan when I'm asked to do an MOS. (Who caaaares what these non-experts have to say about property taxes, or whatever people are all mad about that day?) But in Kenya, it's fun hearing all these new and different opinions. And let me tell you, Kenyans like to be HEARD - even when you're just asking about them Ronaldo going to Real Madrid.
Unfortunately, these sometimes-feisty opinions aren't always restricted to camera time. As an American, you'll hear the voice of the people quite often, as many Kenyans view Americans in their country a sounding board for their views on the US. I got a little VoxPop of my own at a Nairobi club this weekend, thanks to my president's trip to this continent.
As I stood in the tiny bathroom hallway of a Westlands night club, a very drunk woman entered to join me, my housemate, and about 8 other ladies.
"OBAMA, GHANA, KENYA! KENYA, GHANA, OBAMA!"
"I'm pretty sure that was to you..." my housemate whispered to me.
The intoxicated newcomer went on. "You think Obama is yours?! He's MINE..."
And a few moments later, "Your president is punishing my country!"
Her not-as-drunk friend stepped in to apologize for the intoxicated ramblings. But when I replied, "Thanks, I'm sorry, Obama is not punishing Kenya, you know," even the sober woman turned to me, dead serious, and said, "Obama. Is punishing. Kenya."
Consider your vox heard, people.
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