I have lived with South Africans for ten years and I can tell you their level of ignorance, especially among the “born frees”, those born after Madiba’s release, is shocking. To them they are not in Africa. To most Africa has a handful of countries including Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Egypt, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, Kenya and “Nairobi” they cant name any other African country. Atleast they know Raila,thanks to the likes of Cyril Ramaphosa and other politicians who keep referencing him. They know Ngugi wa Thiongo because Ngugis books are a hit in Southern Africa, Wangare Maathai is a legend, Kenyatta Snr, Ezekiel Kemboi and Injera brothers. Most have heard of Nairobi and the few who know Kenya assume we are all Maasai’s…and yes, they believe we are very good in bed
For me, like I stated up there, I would be okay with him not knowing some details about a specific country. If you are interested in a career in journalism, some things, like naming every single country in Africa and their capital cities, should be very basic knowledge. By the way, this used to be taught at primary school level in Kenya. Last I checked, there was a subject known as GHC (Geography, History and Civics) that used to cover such topics. I think it was scrapped. So this was basic knowledge for most preteen Kenyan children, not just those interested in journalism.
Kababa…I am not a Spaniard and nowhere did I read about Spaniards in the 8-4-4 curriculum but I am aware that at some point in their history they had a pure Monarch and now it’s a Republic.
In my line of work I cannot afford not to have a clue on matters pertinent to my profession and I believe its the same in other professions Journalism notwithstanding. To just put it into perspective ‘one cannot examine what you don’t understand for you will not know where to start, what questions to ask and what to do with the responses’
This is a good response however you cannot know everything. For example you’re a cardiologist then someone asks you a question about gynecology but you don’t know then answer. Is it ok for you to be labelled ignorant? Yes, but should be a big deal? No, because that’s not the area of your specialization. Same case with this journalist.
I see the point you’re trying to put across, but still, you’re excusing mediocrity. Using your example, cardiology and gynecology are areas of specialization, so it would be understandable if a cardiologist didn’t know a thing or five about gynecology, and vice versa. That’s why I said this guy could be excused if he didn’t understand the Kenyan political landscape.
But not knowing Liberia’s location relative to Kenya is like a doctor not knowing the first thing about using a stethoscope, or a thermometer. It is very basic knowledge that one gains even without being a journalist. So for a journalist who reports on African affairs not to know this, is a very serious issue. Am I making any sense?
It would be in my honest opinion foolhardy for me to ask a cardiologist a question that ought to be directed to a dermatologist. A journalist engages an interviewee for purposes of the viewers to gain knowledge on the subject matter being deliberated. If the journalist is not well versed with the subject matter the whole exercise amounts to nought.