NMG Announces Rationalization as it Focuses on Digital Model

By Jeremiah WAKAYA| @WakayaKE

Nation Center

The Nation Media Group has today announced plans to rationalize its broadcasting division by merging the existing television and radio stations. In a press release dated 30^th June,2016, the media house took note of the changing trends in the manner in which its products have been consumed saying that the analysis suggested that NMG focuses on digital content in order to secure its current business while at the same time positioning itself for the future.

The media group which is owned by His Highness the Agha Khan has been hard hit by dropping share prices at the Nairobi Stock Exchange since the year 2015 when the share price plamented from Kshs 300/-  to about Kshs 200/- by the end of the year. In 2016 alone,the media house lost significantly up until yesterday when it recovered from its 52 week low of Kshs 130/- to close at Kshs 150/-.

NMG performance at the NSE

Today’s statement however steered clear of the plamenting share prices at the NSE perhaps in a bid to reassure investors of a brighter future ahead.According to the statement, NMG will now rationalize its television brands NTV and QTV into a single multi-lingual television under its flagship brand NTV. Similarly , the group will also be scaling down its Kenyan radio stations Nation FM and Q FM as well as the Rwandan K FM.

In the new digital strategy, the statement intimated that the broadcast divisions will keep an online presence by keeping live signals for its consumers. The statement however regrettably noted that there will be reduction of workforce at the Nation Center as a result of redundancies that will be occasioned by the implementation of the digital strategy that has since taken effect.

NMG Press Release

The company however remained tight-lipped on the fate of its print division consisting of  The Daily Nation and The Business Daily, which has maintained an online presence will at the same time churning out its print editions, despite the imminent reduction in popularity of print newspapers.

In December 2013, the group launched the DN e-paper app in collaboration with Safaricom with Business Daily launching its e-version in June 2014. On the other hand, rival local newspapers such as The People Daily and X News have in addition to their online versions opted to offer free news papers opting to rely on advertising alone as a source of income.

Globally, the changing dynamics occasioned by the rise of online news portals saw UK’s Independent newspaper quit its print publication on 20th March,2016, a move that resulted in 75 journalists being declared redundant. Among reasons cited by The Independent was a need to ensure a “sustainable and profitable future” for the company which had been struggling with heavy losses for years.

 

Frustrated Obama Pleads for help to Tame Gun Violence

#UCCShooting

Students, staff and faculty are evacuated from Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Thursday, October 1, 2015, after a deadly shooting |PHOTO CREDIT:Michael Sullivan/The News-Review via AP

President Barack has expressed his frustrations following yet another mass shooting targeted at a learning institution in the US. The shooting which took place on Thursday morning at around 10:38 a.m. at the Umpqua Community College  in Roseburg, Oregon left ten people dead and seven others wounded ;a figure that was revised downward from an earlier death toll which was pegged at 13.

According to US media outlets, the gunman identified as Chris Harper Mercer ,26,is said to have been armed with three handguns and an assault weapon.US security officials who spoke to CNN also said that the gunman appeared to have been ready for a fight as he had a body armor and a stash of ammunition on him.

During a press conference at The White House, President Obama however expressed his disappointment by what he termed as lack of political goodwill by members of the Congress to adopt counter gun violence legislation in a bid to tame the rising incidents of mass shootings in the country.

Obama warned that prayer alone and empty rhetoric will not help the situation challenging the media to come out strongly on the matter and question Congressmen for their hard line position on the matter. “I hope and pray that I don’t have to come out again during my tenure as president to offer my condolences … but based on my experiences as president I can’t guarantee that,” the president added. “And that’s terrible to say. And it can change.”

Meanwhile, authorities have cordoned off a Winchester, Oregon, apartment complex which according to initial investigative reports is said to have been listed as Mercer’s address. The neighbours could not hide their unbelief though on the news as most described him as a calm man. An old neighbour who spoke to The Huffington Post  is quoted saying, “Chris was kind of reserved, kept to himself mostly.”

Police taped off an Oregon apartment complex listed as Mercer’s address.PHOTO CREDIT:ANDY CAMPBELL/HUFFINGTON POST

But even as security officials continue to grapple with what has now famously come to be known as “gun violence”, it remains unclear on what measures the Obama administration will take to tame the vice even as the president appears to be admitting to have lost the war. This even as the incident brings to 45, the number of shooting incidents at learning institutions so far this year.

By Jeremiah Wakaya

 

SONU Polls Set to be Conducted Online

Erick Jangama,Secretary General-SONU

#UoNGangs

University of Nairobi students may soon be voting online through the student portal if new proposals aimed at stopping hooligans and goons running amok the university are anything to go by.

The proposal which was put forward yesterday in a meeting at the University of Nairobi Central Catering Unit(CCU) intends to propose measures to bring to a halt incidents where students have been reported to be terrorized by a cartel of hooligans said to be on the rampage in the university.

However, a section of students lead by SONU chairman Babu Owino walked out of the meeting in protest faulting the administration for pushing proposals down the throats in a meeting that was expected to take into account the views the students.The students particularly expressed concerns with a proposal to have them vote online in future elections saying that such a move was meant to facilitate rigging elections.

On his part, the Secretary General of SONU Erick Jangama said that there was a need for consultation with the students fraternity in order to come up with a work plan of weeding out  hooligans in the institution.Jangama further said that there is need to correct the impression that the university is experiencing some sort of crisis saying that that was farfetched and a misplaced idea by those who want to tarnish the good name of the University of Nairobi.

Among other recommendations made by the university’s administration to help boast security in halls of residents and deal with hooliganism include reverting the management of mini-shops otherwise known as tuck shops to the university administration.

The meeting came on the heels of a Citizen Television report on UoN gangs that allegedly  murdered two students in cold blood under mysterious circumstances.

By Jared Too

Featured Writer

 

Memoirs:Inside Germanwings Suicidal Pilot

#Germanwings

Andreas Lubitz Germanwings flight 4U 9525 Co-Pilot | PHOTO:Reuters

After it became abundantly clear that Germanwings flight 4U 9525 en-route Duesseldorf from Barcelona was intentionally crashed by the co-pilot Andreas Günter Lubitz, focus has shifted on interrogating the motive behind unexpected event.Speculations on the mental health of Andreas Lubitz have remained key among the possible reasons why Andreas crashed the plane on the  French Alps with 150 people on board;144 being passengers,four cabin crew and two more crew in the cockpit .But what exactly transpired?

The final 10 minutes of flight 4U 9525 |CREDIT:BBC

• 1. 09:30:    Final contact with air traffic control.Pilot exits the cockpit.
  
• 2. 9:30:55: Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz manually changes autopilot from 38,000ft to 100ft.
• 3. 9:31:      Aircraft begins acute descent with Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz at the controls.
• 4. 09:35:    Air traffic controllers contact pilots to no avail.
  
• 5. 09:40:47:Last radar position of the plane is registered at 6,175ft, just 2,000ft above the mountains of the French Alps.

Pilot Denied Entry

Germanwings Flight 4U 9525| An A320 plane cited as one of the oldest in operation,is reported to have been in good condition.

Voices obtained from the Cockpit Voice Recorder(CVR) by detectives reveal that suggested that in the last 20 minutes the two pilots talked normally.It is then reported that the pilot excused himself and asked the co-pilot to take over.He then pulls his seat and closes the door as he walked out of the cockpit. The co-pilot would then lock the pilot out of the cockpit as he tried to regain access into the cockpit.According to BBC Radio,the pilot was heard knocking very hard of the door to the extent that he attempted to break the door to no avail.Finally,passengers could be heard yelling before the plane crashed on French Alps.According to initial investigation reports based on CVR evidence,Mr. Lubitz was reported to have been heard ”breathing normally” even as the plane crashed.

Supersonic Speed

Extreme Speed on descent |CREDIT BBC

The battery of detectives also revealed that a warning alarm went off warning the pilots to “pull up”.Experts in the aviation industry said the alarm is usually attributed to flying at extremely low altitudes.At this point however,the increasing pounding on the door by the pilot desperately to get back into the cockpit were literally ignored by the co-pilot.Flightradar24 described the extreme speed of 3-4,000ft per minute at which Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 was descending at as the recommended standard for an airport approach.

Suicidal Tendencies

In what turned out to be a major lead, investigators found anti-depressants at Mr. Lubitz’s house along with evidence of treatment by various doctors, including a torn-up sick note for the day he flew the plane.According to BBC,investigators also seized other materials including a laptop computer to further assist in the probe.Further queries into Mr. Lubitz’s past indicate that he had been suspended from aviation training at some point after he had suffered serious depression.Could this suicidal tendencies have creeped back into Lubitz?

The Victims

According to Germanwings official reports,victims included 72 German nationals (among them 16 school students),51 Spaniards,the rest were from Australia, Argentina, Britain, Iran, Venezuela, the US, the Netherlands, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Denmark and Israel.As recovery and identification efforts continue,it would be interesting to see how drastic measures,including a requirement to have to pilots at the cockpit at any given time(as is the common practice in commercial flight carrying over 50 passengers),will be adopted.The DNA of 78 victims has been successfully established so far.

Story by Jeremiah Wakaya

Senior Editor

Real Trends Blog

 

Sonko Comes to the Rescue of Illing Mzee Ojwang’ ”Hatari”

#OkoaMzeeOjwang

Vitimbi Actor Mzee Kajwang’|Photo credit:KenyaMagazine.com

 Contrary to rumors peddled by bloggers and social media enthusiasts claiming that Mzee Ojwang’ (Benson Wanjau) was dead,it has now emerged the Vitimbi actor is alive although medically challenged.

The neglected Kajwang’ had been suffering from partial blindness silently until Vitimbi crew led by Mama Kayayi paid Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko a visit who then dispatched the Sonko Rescue Team which rushed Ojwang’ to Loresho Hospital to see an ophthalmologist.According to an update on Sonko’s social accounts,Mr. Ojwang’ is said to be in safe hands at the hospital.

Meanwhile,a hashtag #OkoaMzeeOjwang  has been trending on twitter today,with plans underway to aid Mzee Ojwang’.

Until his health deteriorated,Mzee Ojwang’ acted as husband to Mama Kayayi, and as a proprietor of a popular eatery on the local comedy show-Vitimbi.

 

Story by Jeremiah Wakaya

Senior Editor

Real Trends Blog