Right of reply is about correcting the facts, not sanitising the news

It’s good journalism to give a person who, or a company that, has been mentioned negatively in a news story a chance to defend themselves.

In journalism parlance, we call it “opportunity to reply” or “right of reply”. It’s provided for in the NMG editorial policy and is part of the statutory Code of Ethics for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya.

The opportunity to reply is essentially letting those aggrieved by media coverage to have their say. It can help to defuse a potential conflict, including litigation. It also encourages debate and engagement with readers. The reader gets more information as the aggrieved persons answer back. It also demonstrates media commitment to fairness.

However, the opportunity to reply must not be used to sanitise the news. It must be about correcting the facts and information in the offending story, not writing another story.

In providing the opportunity to reply, editors should not depart from one of the NMG editorial objectives: News coverage should never be untruthful, wilfully misleading, superficial, unbalanced or incomplete.

The NMG editorial policy is also guided by the universally acknowledged principle that the primary responsibility of the media is to its readers. The policy protects individuals against injustices or neglect committed by public authorities and institutions, private concerns and others. Further, the policy says, all editorial content should be selected for its inherent news value and not “to appease, augment or respond to political, commercial or any other interests.”

Now consider two news stories published in the Daily Nation’s weekly business magazine, Smart Company, that appears on Tuesdays.

The first story, “Off-plan home buying loses appeal among many Kenyans”, was published on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. The story, by John Mutua, is an exposé that portrays housing developer Mahiga Homes essentially as a scam in which “investors were duped into a raw deal to sink millions of shillings”. The second story, “How real estate firm is navigating Covid-19 crisis”, was published on the following Tuesday, June 16. The story, by James Kariuki, is a positive write-up that portrays Mahiga Homes as a good business.

So, which of the two stories are readers supposed to believe? What is the truth about Mahiga Homes?

Anderson Maina was the first reader to sound the alarm about the irreconcilable stories. Referring to the story by Mr Kariuki, Mr Maina says it “advertises Mahiga Homes positively”. He asks: “What has changed in a week? Can you be more careful with your reporting since we depend on you to make investment decisions?”

Smart Company editor David Abuna did not respond to my questions as to what went awry in publishing the glaringly contradictory stories about Mahiga Homes, all within the space of one week. Nor did Mr Mutua respond to my question as to whether he still stands by his exposé. Mr Kariuki, however, did respond, saying his report was intended to offer Mahiga Homes an opportunity to reply. The developer had written threatening to sue because of the negative story published earlier. Mr Abuna then instructed him to interview Mahiga Homes on the effects of Covid-19 on its business.

“I did an interview on phone, giving Mahiga a chance to explain itself on the challenges experienced during the Covid-19 period,” Mr Kariuki said.

However, Mr Kariuki’s story is not linked to the first. It reads like a new story in which Mahiga Homes comes out clean, not a response to the exposé published earlier. And readers such as Mr Maina, who invest or are thinking of investing in off-plan houses, still do not know which of the two stories to believe.

Smart Company is in violation of the NMG editorial objective that rules that news coverage should never be untruthful, wilfully misleading, superficial, unbalanced or incomplete. It should be bold enough to report without fear or favour.

It should stand up to be counted on the side of the truth and the interests of its readers.

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