Patience in Fast Pace: My Coverage Of CDF General Francis Ogolla Breaking News
Better be slow but sure...said some media dude to me sometimes back.
I was wrapping up a story on the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) being top 10 best airports in Africa on a random Thursday afternoon, April 18 on Viral Tea Ke when a pop-up message on WhatsApp from my laptop emerged...from a group for Kenyan journalists I was in.
Scanty details of a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) chopper crash began to stream in...and from my experience in reporting on KDF chopper crashes, I thought 'dang...another one'. I've heard of about five of those in the past few months and covered the ones I could...though the recent ones did not have as many fatalities...
...until that Thursday.
As I was gathering up scanty information streaming in about the number of occupants that died in the chopper crash, the group and others I was in began to go wild with claims of Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) General Francis Ogolla being among those in the helicopter crash.
Wait! That's not possible. "There's no way he was among those onboard," I told myself in my head.
What was even worse was that a controversial blogger with a huge following spread the news of the crash and claimed that General Ogolla was reportedly among those killed...spreading without first verifying, claiming that sources on the ground notified him of the development.
You'd have expected me...who runs an entire digital media house single-handedly to take the bait...but I'm smarter than that now.
Four years of being in the fast-paced, no-resting world of digital journalism and adopting self-taught techniques in the new age, but there was such news that even my instincts told me not to break in a rush.
The Wait
You see, reporting on the loss of life is one of the most delicate forms of journalism and one that calls for one of the highest skills, military precision and nuanced sensitivity from news providers. More than simply documenting recent events, it is important to carefully consider how reporting can impact the lives of those directly affected, including grieving family and friends.
Now, put the aforementioned into the context of a CDF position...in Gen Z lingo, this is like the king of the military forces; the highest-ranking military officer in the KDF and principal military adviser to the President of Kenya (Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces)...and you have a whole different ballgame.
The sensitivity of such a position demanded me to wait. Yes, my media house is known for breaking accurate, relevant to the audience and timely news in jet speed and precision of a sniper but having covered the death of the late former President Mwai Kibaki and having been in a newsroom when the late former President Daniel Arap Moi passed on, I knew I would take my time to confirm...and break the news.
As time went on, things started getting a little thicker and the scribes were going crazy in the group with their own confirmations that it was CDF Ogolla who was involved in the crash.
Meanwhile, thanks to that blogger who couldn't keep those itchy fingers off the keypad/keyboard, all social media platforms were going nuts about Ogolla and those WhatsApp groups started harassing me by mentioning me...begging me to confirm.
The temptation to have CDF Francis Ogolla so early on was too high, but I held myself together and told myself not to succumb to ANY degree of pressure from ANYONE! Hence, I broke the story as other media houses did: 5 Dead After KDF Chopper With Top Military Officers Crashes, Catches Fire using whatever credible reports I could find, including police confirmations that the crash occurred.
Verifying In Digital Journalism
When you're an editor in a digital newsroom, breaking news happens to be the most challenging part of your career. It is even worse when you consider the fact that
All the while, you have to deal with fake news that on social media, runs faster than Kylian Mbappe on the pitch.
At Viral Tea Ke, as much as we offer valuable content that resonates with our youthful audience, what has won us plaudits is not our writing style, nor our jet-speed...not even our dominance in viral news (no one in the 20s does it better than us) is our CREDIBILITY.
Yes, some of our rivals might beat us in being fast and there's no shame in that, but we'd rather be second, third or last (with new angles) but GET IT RIGHT. Our audience values our accuracy, a matter we always seek ways to improve on in the digital space.
So valuable that some of our rivals have been watching us...and getting news from us (cheeky smile)
Anywho, back to CDF Ogolla.
As the rumours kept spreading, I dug into some of the articles we had done about General Ogolla's appointment as CDF and his profile and reshared them on our socials since he was a trending topic.
Those stories included:
As the verification was taking too long, we decided to pursue other stories that were pending. After the chopper crash story, which was turning out to be a developing story, we had to prepare for anything...and everything. Myself that is...
Some annoying dude in another WhatsApp group was getting worked up that I was sharing other articles instead of focusing on Ogolla. That's his problem because we're not those who wait for one big story to happen.
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My mother forwarded me a TikTok video of CDF Ogolla's alleged death, and I still did not give in. That's how tough I've grown as an editor of today.
Then, the alert from the State House surfaced that President William Ruto called for an emergency National Security Council (NSC) meeting, a sign that the rumours of CDF Ogolla's death were about to be addressed.
As this was going on, The Star newspaper posted its breaking news story on its digital platforms, which I dismissed thinking it could turn out to be false. The last thing you need is an official government channel calling out your media house in a statement which can lead to pro-government channels ruining your reputation.
An alert from Citizen TV read 'State House briefing' and curiously, I checked it out. Its first breaking news was that CDF Ogolla was among those involved in the crash...something unconfirmed reports had revealed earlier. Meanwhile, a media invite to newsrooms summoned journalists to State House for the briefing meant to start at 6.30 pm.
The Confirmation, Memorial & Burial
Meanwhile, with no pending stories, I embarked on creating a draft, preparing just in case it was true that General Ogolla was among those killed in the helicopter crash. The draft sat for a while until around 8 pm when President Ruto, in a trembling voice, addressed the nation and confirmed the unfortunate news.
The draft's title read: CDF Francis Ogolla Killed In KDF Chopper Crash- Ruto Confirms
The Head of State then declared three days of national mourning in honour of the late CDF, which was covered in the following story: CDF Ogolla Death: Ruto Declares Three Days Of National Mourning, including tributes from himself, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, Tanzania President Samia Suluhu among others.
By the way, did you miss the President's sombre speech? We covered it here: Last Moments Before CDF Ogolla Death & Names Of 9 Officers [FULL STATEMENT]
During that speech, one of Ruto's statements caught our eye, and given that we, without a doubt, are the first media house in Kenya with a category (segment) dedicated exclusively to aviation, we covered that statement in the following story: What Will Happen: Kenya Air Force To Probe Chopper Crash That Killed CDF Ogolla
"The Kenya Air Force has constituted and dispatched an air investigations team, to establish the cause of the air crash," he announced.
The rest of Friday saw me offline with other engagements, but we did keep you up to date on Gen Ogolla's memorial service and burial for all of Saturday and Sunday as follows:
Granted, there may be still more angles we may explore about Gen Ogolla's family. My specific focus is on Lorna A. Omondi Ogolla , whose glittering CV and that post which blew up on LinkedIn look worth covering in due course...when my digital paperwork isn't a huge heap.
Aftermath
After Ogolla's burial, it could be our time to shine as aviation experts as the investigations into the helicopter crash kick in. By now you know that the helicopter that crashed was a Bell Huey, which can be traced as far back as the Vietnam War.
What all of us want to know is how this helicopter went down, possible theories leading to the crash and how this type of helicopter was caught up in two accidents in 2023 and one in 2018.
And finally, a special announcement, Viral Tea Ke is taking volunteer writers, social media managers and video editors (emphasis on volunteer)...with a passion for, or experience in writing and creating content. The only thing I can promise you in return is I will train you myself and respond to any burning questions you have.
Shoot your shot and all the best: [email protected] . Due to a high volume of applications, only a few of you will be considered on a rolling basis for three months of volunteering...each.
I make noise digitally in person from time to time. Check me out on X and Instagram @marvin_chege10 and on Facebook: Marvin Chege (with a blue tick).
|?| Multifaceted Gen Z Journalist |?| Sub-Editor: People Daily |?| Contributing Editor: Motimagz Magazine |?| Corporate Communication |?| Public Relations |?| Events |?|
10 个月This is truly an insightful piece, and I encourage especially Gen-Z journalists to take a cue from what has been highlighted here. We're in crazy times.