We publish exclusive content

In December 2018, Amos Owino submitted what he describes as general interest articles for publication using the email address [email protected]. On January 19, 2019, he wrote to ask: “How can I know if they were ever utilised?”

Put differently, Mr Owino is asking, “Why don’t you tell me when or whether you are going to use my article?” I posed the question to Opinion Editor Mwiti Marete.

“I get that query every time,” Mr Marete told me. “It’s only logical that we can’t publish everything that is submitted to us. However, it’s impractical to respond to each and every query, although I try to respond to as many as possible but giving priority to regular contributors.

“If I think I’ll not publish an article and it risks becoming obsolete, say if it’s time-bound or pegged on a particular event, I try to advise the contributor accordingly.”

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He added: “Some of the submitted articles are outright unusable though, sorry to say it. Sometimes though, it takes a while for an article to get published, mainly due to space constraints and other considerations, such as ‘balance’.

"Plus, I work ahead, often a day or two, and if the contributor is impatient, they submit it to other media platforms. This is an issue that has given me quite a headache, because sometimes it’s published elsewhere yet I had edited it, ready to go to press on a later date.

"In that case, I replace the article despite the amount of work that I would have put into it. Many contributors share the articles and letters that they send to us with other media houses.

"In that case, I’ve been writing to them, telling them that our policy requires us to only publish exclusive content. That means if an article is copied to another media platform or published there first, we don’t run it.”

There you go, Mr Owino. Now you know what might have happened to your manuscripts.

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Witchcraft-mongering journalists

I’ve seen reports of witchcraft in the news several times and I’m worried.

Not about the proliferation of witchcraft in the country but about a journalistic class in which such reports can be aired without opposition from within.

That means that everyone with influence in major trusted news sources is convinced that we live in a world where people can have magical powers.

It’s a sign that our trusted journalists don’t value science, logic and reason.

Their disregard for science, logic and reason then spreads to those in society who are trying to learn more about the world by watching the news.

We live in a continent where people conduct literal witch-hunts, burning innocent old women alive, killing those whose appearance is uncommon — such as albinos or people missing limbs — and where people frequently get cheated out of their money by charlatans pretending to cure diseases and solve their problems through mystical means.

I’ve even heard of people being scared into voting for a political actor because they fear uchawi (witchcraft).

There are no magicians on this planet. No witches or wizards. Just illusionists and liars. Kindly ensure that this is reflected in the news for all our sakes.

— Victor W., Rongai.

Send your complaints to [email protected]. Call or text 0721 989 264