Citizens 151
subverted the early promises of citizen journalism that were presented
in a rather rose-tinted fashion by commentators such as Dan Gillmor at
the start of the millennium. While it has been propagated all too easily
across those social media networks that, in the space of a decade, have
become the conduits of news consumption (with algorithmic gatekeepers
often unable to discern truth from obvious lies), the mainstream media
itself has undergone incredible transformations when it seeks to gain
traction in this noisy and combative digital marketplace. The golden
age of the Anglo-American model of objective news is long departed –
if it ever existed. Yet while Donald Trump creates a reality distortion
field around the American presidency that is, for the moment at least,
far more effective than that which Steve Jobs notoriously threw about
Apple, away from his effects on news media the impact of social media
can be very different.
On 10 August, 2018, Capital FM Malawi reported that the national
police service had been caught in another corruption scandal. According
to its Facebook page,
This latest scandal is on the procurement and distribution of police uniforms during the 2001/2002 and 2004/2005 fiscal years.
According to a legal document from Ritz Attorney’s, Karim Abdul of
Africa Commercial Agency fraudulently received over K585 million
from the Police in the contract.
The company is accused of inflating figures and failing to supply the
goods as per the contract.
115
The story had been picked up by a number of news sites in the country,
such as the Nyasa Times and Malawi24 (the latter under the rather salacious title “Malawi blood sucking title”), but of western publications,
only the Financial Times reported on the incident as part of a wider story
by Joseph Cotterill on graft allegations against Peter Mutharika. While
it is possible to listen to Capital FM online (at www. capitalradiomalawi.
com), much of the output is in Chichewa, which is spoken by over half
of the country’s population, despite the official language of Malawi
being English. As such, it is easier to follow stories on the company’s
Facebook page, which highlights radio shows such as “Power to the
People” (which, despite the black power fist, is largely dedicated to
listeners contacting the radio so that their favourite vintage hits will
be played) as well as a large number of local stories in English and
Chichewa. The station was launched in Malawi by journalist Alaudin
Osman in 1999, providing music and news and “aims to give the people
of Malawi a voice, by providing quality broadcast news, information
and entertainment programming that will assist them to speak out for
better services and good governance”.
116
Its partners include the BBC
World Service and Voice of America, and Moyo has explored the role
subverted the early promises of citizen journalism that were presented
in a rather rose-tinted fashion by commentators such as Dan Gillmor at
the start of the millennium. While it has been propagated all too easily
across those social media networks that, in the space of a decade, have
become the conduits of news consumption (with algorithmic gatekeepers
often unable to discern truth from obvious lies), the mainstream media
itself has undergone incredible transformations when it seeks to gain
traction in this noisy and combative digital marketplace. The golden
age of the Anglo-American model of objective news is long departed –
if it ever existed. Yet while Donald Trump creates a reality distortion
field around the American presidency that is, for the moment at least,
far more effective than that which Steve Jobs notoriously threw about
Apple, away from his effects on news media the impact of social media
can be very different.
On 10 August, 2018, Capital FM Malawi reported that the national
police service had been caught in another corruption scandal. According
to its Facebook page,
This latest scandal is on the procurement and distribution of police uniforms during the 2001/2002 and 2004/2005 fiscal years.
According to a legal document from Ritz Attorney’s, Karim Abdul of
Africa Commercial Agency fraudulently received over K585 million
from the Police in the contract.
The company is accused of inflating figures and failing to supply the
goods as per the contract.
115
The story had been picked up by a number of news sites in the country,
such as the Nyasa Times and Malawi24 (the latter under the rather salacious title “Malawi blood sucking title”), but of western publications,
only the Financial Times reported on the incident as part of a wider story
by Joseph Cotterill on graft allegations against Peter Mutharika. While
it is possible to listen to Capital FM online (at www. capitalradiomalawi.
com), much of the output is in Chichewa, which is spoken by over half
of the country’s population, despite the official language of Malawi
being English. As such, it is easier to follow stories on the company’s
Facebook page, which highlights radio shows such as “Power to the
People” (which, despite the black power fist, is largely dedicated to
listeners contacting the radio so that their favourite vintage hits will
be played) as well as a large number of local stories in English and
Chichewa. The station was launched in Malawi by journalist Alaudin
Osman in 1999, providing music and news and “aims to give the people
of Malawi a voice, by providing quality broadcast news, information
and entertainment programming that will assist them to speak out for
better services and good governance”.
116
Its partners include the BBC
World Service and Voice of America, and Moyo has explored the role