A truly intriguing strategy has unfolded before our eyes over the past few days. CNN USA has been relentlessly demolishing Kenya’s reputation before the American domestic audience and even their international channel cousins took up some of the rubbish uttered by purported journalists.
Then, to improve the reputation of Kenya, yes, the Kenya they just trampled on, they are due to get paid a small fortune by the Kenya Tourism Board to screen positive messages … Intriguing indeed … and high time to put an end to this charade!
KENYA HALTS PR DEAL WITH CNN TO DISCUSS ‘HOTBED OF ERRORS’ FIRST
(Posted 26th July 2015)
Information is emerging from usually well informed sources in Nairobi that the PR deal the Kenya Tourism Board had inked with CNN has been put on hold, subject to a comprehensive review of the channel’s recent misleading and outright negative broadcasts about Kenya.
CNN USA ahead of the ongoing visit of President Obama had described Kenya as a ‘Hotbed of Terror’ and faced an instant social media s*** storm, eventually leading to a half baked apology and the withdrawal of the offensive remarks by one of their correspondents. Further faux pas however added only salt into the wounds already opened up and many leading tourism stakeholders went on record on social media and elsewhere demanding that the hugely expensive CNN deal be reviewed if not scrapped outright.
It is understood that KTB’s PR advisors Grayling were trying to appease the incensed feelings in Nairobi, clearly also blissfully unaware if not clueless of the strong sentiments the insulting remarks prompted among Kenyans. Grayling apparently suggested to extend an olive branch and invite CNN, a news organization with a major presence in Nairobi, for a fam-trip to the country in the misguided hope that the network would comprehensively change tune and tack.
The campaign was to start this Friday, coinciding with Obama’s visit to Nairobi and it is now anyone’s guess when or even if the campaign will go ahead. It is entirely likely that Kenya might change direction and do a deal with other global networks like Al Jazeera or even Chinese networks, as that market has become of growing importance for Kenya.
Another source also suggested that the main driver of the CNN deal, Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie, is seeking a direct apology from CNN, which if either not forthcoming at all or deemed unsatisfactory could well break the agreement before it has taken off. In such a case would the matter no doubt head to court for Kenya to get a refund of money already paid but in view of the negative and false reporting ahead and during the Obama visit – CNN had also suggested that Obama ‘lectured’ his Kenyan counterpart President Kenyatta over gay rights, again a dubious use of language over a topic which was mentioned but not in the form of a lecture – there is plenty of cause to terminate the deal and give many stakeholders fundamentally opposed to it in the first place the satisfaction that the warnings they sounded were justified.
