How to get your child’s exam performance covered in media

Shalton Onyango, 15, at their house in Kibos, Kisumu on November 23, 2017. Onyango who attended school at Kibos Prison Primary school attained 425 marks in the just released 2017 KCPE results. PHOTO | ONDARI OGEGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • They’ve seen how the media reporting of exam results has assumed carnival-like celebrations.
  • If your student has scored less than 400 it’s even more difficult to get published.

It was American sociologists Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton, who in 1948, first described the power of the media to make an individual gain prominence in the eyes of the public through news coverage.

They explained how media attention confers status on people, things, and policies.

Kenyan parents who have never read Lazarsfeld and Merton understand all too well this status conferral function of the media.

EXAM RESULTS

They believe the exemplary performance of their children in the KCPE exam can only be realised because the media has focused attention on them.

They’ve seen how the media reporting of exam results has assumed carnival-like celebrations.

They last for about a week. Selfies, pictures, and stories of well-performing students are generously published showing them being hugged and carried shoulder-high in song and dance and high five. Understandably, they want to have a slice of the action.

This week I’ve been desperately parrying requests from parents and schools who want their children featured in the Nation. The requests, incidentally, are misplaced. They should go to the editor.

The public editor does not make editorial decisions. He complains about them on behalf of readers. Others have written to question why their sons and daughters are missing from the Nation “2017 KCPE Results”.

An academy in Vihiga sent me their KCPE results, requesting for them to “appear on the newspaper among the top achievers.” I forwarded the pictures to the News Desk.

DECORATED

On Wednesday, I received a message from a mother who wanted her daughter “put in tomorrow’s paper.” I forwarded the pictures to the News Desk.

On Thursday, I received pictures of a garlanded girl sitting with her headmaster on top of a decorated Toyota Probox being driven through the streets of Limuru in celebration.

They also included a video with the headmaster making a speech. I forwarded the pictures to the News Desk.

In all these cases, the students have so far not been featured in the Nation “2017 KCPE Results” pages.

I doubt they ever will. My doubts are based on two things. The first is the way the information is presented.

The media needs to be sure you’re what you claim to be. If your student scored 423 marks you must provide the verification, or the means to verify, the information.

You must also give the name of the school and location.

The second is the sheer numbers of those who have done well. Those who have scored more than 400 marks are 9,846. It’s impossible to feature all of them in the paper.

If your student has scored less than 400 it’s even more difficult to get published.

DISABILITY

In view of the sheer numbers of good performers who have scored 400 or more, the most effective way of getting your child into the paper is to provide information that makes the child stand out because of her special circumstances such as disability, poverty, family, personal status, or location — anything that readers would find interesting.

You can increase your chances by working with your school or other parents to make an impact in a competitive media environment. Make it difficult for the media to ignore you.

My final advice is that if media placement fails for good reasons, quietly celebrate your child at home or in the school. Treat her. Shower her with gifts. Buy her the latest smart phone.

Phone a friend or family member and tell them about her achievement. Invite them over. Have a family celebration. You do not need the glare of newspaper photographers, reporters and TV crews to do that. Forget Lazarsfeld and Merton.

Your child does not need media attention to succeed. But if you must have media coverage to feel good and famous, go to social media as a last resort.

It’s free and more democratic if less believable and useful. Use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Post a picture of your child with her exam marks.

Send your complaints to [email protected]. Text or call 0721 989 264.