RISASI BY TERRY NYAMBURA

Let me start by defining music…the art of combining and arranging sounds to be produced by human voice or instrument, creation of mind in form of artistic works and finally music can be defined as intellectual property meaning any talented artist who sits down to compose, sing or produce music is wealthy already .This is why governments around the world establish non profiting bodies like MCSK to publicize n promote the rights of its members n in particular collect n distribute royalties which is these are moneys collected from intellectual property(music) to the copyright owner being us the musicians but only if we are registered members of this statutory body(MCSK) so when an individual, company or group of people wants to use somebody’s property for commercial purposes it is the right of the copyright owner to be paid. A musician can live large, drive big cars and build dream houses only by getting royalties. Apart from shows and compact disk sales there is also license fee only collected by MCSK from matatus, taxis, restaurants, airports that belongs to the members. There are radio and television stations that pay a lot of money to the body according to the number of plays. For a moment ask yourself who benefits from these music the guy in a suit with a big stomach behind the desk doing all the paperwork or the artist who struggles to write, record and deliver good quality music.

Martin Agoya a.k.a Risasi started off as a mentor and musical Godfather poxi presha’s back up artiste way back in the mid 90’s featuring in two of poxi’s albums with the deh menshan crew.The crew comprised of poxi, fullstop (black supremacy), newtone, suzuki and Risasi .Due to some differences in their interests and disagreements between him and his mentor poxi, Risasi decided to quit the crew and went solo doing a ‘dis’ track which had an immense critical acclaim and positive response. Risasi decided to further forge ahead and do his 1st album with Andrew Madebe of jikoni studios titled ‘Right track.’ For the first time in his life he was making a decision in my musical career that had all my hard work with the crew at stake but still felt i was on the right track. He was later joined by his younger brother Suzuki and they did the album together. Songs like “Mombasa raha” feat. nyota ndogo, “niko masaa” and “mbona” did great and the response was encouraging. Then he and suzuki did their second album with hassan majid and babli omar of TABASAM RECORDS titled MZIKI YANGU. Which futured monster hits like “miss digida”, “mr deejay” “leta show” “ngoma” ft cloud tissa and “wacha waseme” featuring ugandan superstar jose chameleone. Riding on the success of the album i decided to invest in a music lab SASAITA ENTERTAINMENT in partnership with Austria based dance hall/ragga artiste cloud tissa where he did his debut solo ALBUM “MUMMY” which among others includes the smash dancehall anthem “WATU WOTE” featuring collo a.k.a D.E.P of KLEPTOMANIAX.the album also features artists like riko,c.l.d,lady bee ,cloud tissa and cannibal……Cloud tissa in part works on professional videos and different talented producers doing audio production.

KTN NEWS CRITIQUE

In the new design of journalism which is multimedia journalism, KTN has managed to create the platforms for their target audience to get News and information in different forms. Radio Maisha and KTN live for the radio and television forms respectively, while they have the standard group online version as well as the KTN website.
KTN live brings in an informative and authoritative form of News presentation. KTN news are always updated and take up the 24/7 mindset of bringing up-to-date News. Like the story of smuggling of huge consignments of gold into Kenya, the 7’oclock News gave the angle of President Kabila meeting with President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila odinga and having indoor discussions in the Harambee house.
The same news piece in the 9 o’clock News Bulletin brought in a different angle giving a back story with related stories of the same news piece such as the story of a lawyer representing a US National giving testimony over his client’s rights as he was being detained in Congo over alleged claims of smuggling 2.5 tons of gold. It connects the viewer to relate past stories bringing a new fresh look into new the ‘Kabila visit story’

LIGHTING, CAMERA MOVEMENTS, SOUND GRAPHICS
KTN live virtual studio works on a green screen by chroma keying. In the Saturday Live News coverage, the news anchor Anne Kiguta had on a blue top .The dressing in comparison with the blue background would easily come out as a risk since the anchor may have appear faded into the background. Props to the lighting director who managed to give a good balance of lighting.

KTN News Anchor Anne Kiguta on Sataurday live news

The producer also allows the break of monotony by allowing different positions when anchoring by directing the floor manager to allow the anchor to present from the News desk as well as transiting to a different position when presenting the short video clips in the opening montage. Their interviews also include the two third policy is enhanced which is advisable in the rules of framing interview shots.

Graphics in multimedia journalism is essential since it makes relationships clear and illustrates more complex information to make it understandable. In the Saturday Live News coverage the sports news piece by Robert Soi explain how the volley ball women’s beat their Ethiopian competitors in the qualifiers round to the All African games. Graphics gave the viewer better understanding in comparisons of the winning sets.

The use of NAT POPS (recorded sound on scene) to bridge the story and move it forward. The story of the KCB rally championships had pause instances of rally engine sounds before the voice over narration continued moving the story forward.
In conclusion I think KTN has managed to bring out its ‘A’ game in converging its News Items. I would think their online website would integrate better with viewers than the traditional online News paper which mostly contain still pictures as compared to video clips which are more interactive. I acknowledge their good effort in the use of their virtual studio in minimizing technical glitches like light.
IAN KAROKI
07-1151

NEWS CRITIQUE BY STEPHANIE WAIRIMU

Hi everyone!

I know alot has been said about KTN news, but I would still like to add my two cents.

I have been watching the 7 P.M. and 9 P.M. news on KTN and Citizen TV. KTN unveiled a new virtual studio some months back. This was in response to Citizen TV’s new studio. The difference is that Citizen got it right on the real studio. It may have cost them a whole lot of money, but I must say it was a worthwhile investment. KTN on the other hand were given a raw deal by whoever came up with the plans for the virtual studio as well as those who executed the plans.

Word of advice to KTN, cheap is expensive.

The lighting is horrible. It makes the presenters look like something right out of Casper the friendly Ghost or the Adam’s family. And their make up does nothing to help the situation. On 13th April 2011, the 9 P.M news presenter looked so white and on the 7 P.M news, the presenters loked yellowish. It is disturbing to ones eyes to try watch the news. the lighting should be changed or they should at least try and get the presenter’s clothes and make up to match up with the lighting.

The background is yet another thing they are going wrong. On the 7 P.M Swahili news, the presenters look like they are part of the background. A backlight should be used to separate the presenters from the background.

On the 9 P.M. news, the background looks rather cluttered. It is confusing to the eye and at times draws attention away from the news being read. they should really think of keeping it simple, don’t try too do too much on such a small space. Borrow a leaf from Citizen TV.

Citizen TV in an effort to stop presenters from sitting all through the Bulletin, they have spiced it up allowing presenters to move around on different sections on the bulletin. KTN tried yet again unsuccessfully to ape this and again they flopped. On 7th April 2011, during the 9 P.M. news, Anne Kiguta and Michael Oyier almost knocked one another down as they tries to manouver the set. It tales time and practise so maybe in time they will be able to move well on set without bumping into one another.

Another issue with the KTN news is the hiring of rather incompetent and inexperienced presenters. You can not just put anyone on tv because you have no one else. On 12 th April, 2011, Nicholas Mudiba, a sports anchor literally started reading the news following some lines using his fingers. KTN should think of investing in quality presenters. You have to spend some to gain some, well in their case they have to spend more to get more.

Competition is healthy, but whenyou try to copy your competition at least make sure you do everything better than them.

When asked a while back if they will consider changing their set due to the public’s demand, one of the Senior Reporters lamented that they liked it and were not ready to change it. Well, about three to four weeks ago, Synovate released media ratings. And guess what, Citizen was at the top when it comes to News, while KTN was right down there with KBC. Let us hope that now they will take the people seriously and change it.

KTN we are watching. Your stubborness could be your doom so act fast.

Citizen news at 9pm 13th April 2011

PICTURE COMPOSITION
For long Citizen News have always made me sit back and watch but on wednesday the 13th of April things didn’t work well for them. Their picture composition was demanding since there were lots of reflection as well as dull images of the presenters. However, I think this must have been caused by lack of expertise since the three point lighting was not well observed. The key light was very weak which means it was not a spot-light as usual but a floodlight. When the problem of light ocuurs images look dull and this was very evident on this day. When one is lighting an object or subject should make sure that the angle from which the lights are placed does not distort the image sharpness in anyway. On the other hand, the graphics on the virtual screens covered the face of the presenter and one couldn’t see their face well. When Tony Timasse was reading business news, his image was not clear at all and I think the someone’s face shouldn’t at any given time blend with graphics.
SOUND QUALITY.
The sound quality this particular day was very good as usual and I think the sound engineer is doing quite a good job right there. SoundBits from the reporters were very clear as well as the video clips. One thing I like about their sound is the balance between the sound levels because one can’t really tell the difference between a reporter on the ground as well as his voice-over while he/she is not appearing on the screen. The kind of microphones used are unidirectional so they don’t pick sound from various directions thus this helps in reducing the backgroung noise.

JOYADAMS MUNENE 09-0786

Human interest news feature- Sosnes Olindo

Ignorance is always expensive to Elites

The adverse temperate conditions in Daystar University Athi River Campus provoke different student lifestyles. This ranges from engaging in different activities for example swimming during weekends.

Some of the students preparing to enjoy a swim in the water dam on a hot Sunday afternoon

This could either be done in Lukenya Gate way hotel at a cost of three hundred shillings or in one of the water dams located near the workshop, within Daystar University Athi River Campus. Students have decided to spend some of their weekends swimming in this swamp, since the costs of paying at Lukenya hotel seem unaffordable for many who seem to enjoy it at this swamp.

Applying all the swimming technics in the dam with Daystar conctrary to the swimming pool in Lukenya Gateway hotel

Related story on dam and swamp water

We interviewed one of the students who joined Daystar University in January 2010 and did not want his identity revealed, said that Daystar University Student Association- DUSA is delaying in pushing for the idea of having a better swimming pool in Athi River Campus.

students maximizing their Sunday afternoon in for swiming in the dam close to the school workshop

The dam which traps most of the rain water from the lukenya hills, its water is always used for construction within Daystar University Athi River Campus, acts a car wash for some of the Daystar cars and buses. The dam is a source of life to many animals.

The water which seems contaminated has some fingerlings floating dead as a result of pollution in the dam. This indicates that the dam can support life on minimal basis.

A related story, click here A rare delicacy in schu- by Sosnes
The water dam poses great risks to the students who have decided to enjoy the swimming in this swamp. This implies that students who take these risks of swimming in the dam are likely to be infected. Read more

THE DUAL WITH A HEART FOR ENTERPRISE

Small Beginnings

It was when necessity proved its priorities when invention came about for the two accountant students in Day star University. Peter Ndungu a third year Accounts major at Athi-river and Rogers Nzivo of the same major (Accounts) decided it was unreasonable to watch untapped market in Daystar waste away when in fact it could work to their advantage.

The dual settled for an initiative after weighing various options most of which were duly profitable.”How about we take orders from customers and supply right at their door steps?” Peter Ndungu consulted with his patner in business. I guess he may have borrowed a school of thought from Uchumi supermarkets CEO Jonathan Ciano when he said in the weekly NTV Daytime show PM LIVE that in business its all about the customer , knowing your customer and his needs will always reward you handsomely.”Take the supermarket to your customer if you have to.”Mr. Jonathan advised.

Chapa investments was born after much oral and written Market research. It was a case of taking advantage of untapped market that the competitors had not tapped into.Chapa investments is in the business of supplying pastries like chapatis and pancakes right at the customers door step free of charge and at a subsidized rate.

Compared with the local hotels in Daystar University that offer the same food commodity at higher prices,(Chapatis at 30 Kshs) i guess any blind consumer would opt for the ‘better option’. In fact Chapa Investments delivery service plus the student pocket friendly rates is a win win situation if you ask me.

The challenges

If you have ever established an enterprise before you know that any enterprise doesn’t come without its pitfalls. The dual have to invest heavily in managing the most rare of resources ‘Time.’I guess i could stand to be corrected as ‘rare’ could be relative.

Being students the two have to juggle between school work and Business which sometimes is inevitable to come short of one of the activities. Waking up at 2.30 p.m everyday to prepare not less than a hundred and fifty chapatis for supply is way beyond any students scope of sacrifices.This challenge leads yet to another pit fall, what the Business community likes to call ‘overflow of demand’ where the demand is higher than the supply.In this case Chapa investments falls into this pitfall of too much demand than the supply accorded.

Peter Ndungu: Partner entrepreneur of Chapa Investments

Achievements

Since its small beginnings Chapa Investments has grown within its limits as a small enterprise by adding a bicycle to its assets.

The Mountain Bike Investment which cost the enterprise Kshs 4000 made good its value as it now provides the enterprise with better and more efficient delivery services. Now as your trusted supplier Chapa investments assures of timely deliveries at the comfort of your house or hostel.

Future plans

The advantage of running a small enterprise is being in position to plan for expansion at the entrepreneurs choice of time. It can be a much recent or future plan. For Peter and Rogers the niche market is rich with opportunities to expand. Chapa investments plans to go into the computer services business in a permanent premise.

In its recent future the dual plan to employ more people as suppliers in the various hostels identified while they concentrate fully on production.For Chapa Investment its partnership is its cornerstone by combining both the human and financial resources the investment has potential to expand. “I hope to continue with the support from my partner in its future initiative and as for Daystar students, small beginnings is the mother of all investments so take charge and pursue opportunities.” says Peter Ndungu in his closing remarks.

Posted by Ian Karoki
Com 467 A
07-1151

9th Feb News at 4p.m

News bulletin for Shine 103.1fm on 9th February 2011.
Time: 4pm
Script Writer: Sarah Alaro
Presenter: Alice Kariuki
Jingle
It is exactly 4p.m, you are tuned in to Shine 103.1fm. I am Alice Kariuki.
Jingle
In the headlines,
• GBS hosted in Athi-river
• D.C.F goes to the theatres
• Case against athlete aborts

Jingle

Story 1
Good News Broadcasting Station (GBS) today visited Daystar’s Athi-river campus. Hosted by CADS, the event dubbed ‘Reach for the Stars’ is in Daystar to promote talent among the students. The event, which basically involves competition in talents and academics, has been held in secondary schools as well as universities and their subsequent colleges all over the country. The winner in the talent competition is expected to walk away with Kshs. 25,000 as grand prize while the 1st runners up walks away with Kshs. 6000.
Our reporter Zoe Glorious covered this story.

Vox pop

Story 2
Daystar Christian Fellowship (DCF), will be showing a movie at the P.A.C court on Thursday the 10th of February 2011 starting from 7.30p.m. This event is dubbed D.C.F goes to the theatres. It will be a form of infotainment in which students are set to learn as well as enjoy. Discussions on various issues will be tackled thereafter.
Our reporter Zoe compiled the following report.

Vox pop

Story 3
According to capital news, a case against athlete Samuel Wanjiru was aborted, after his lawyer told a Nyahururu court that Wanjiru was under instructions from his personal doctor to have bed rest. Wanjiru is accused of being in possession of a firearm and threatening to kill his wife.

Outro
That is all we had in the news for you this hour. For comments and suggestions, please email us at shine103@gmail.com or write on our facebook page, shine fm daystar. Keep it Shine fm, I am Alice Kariuki.

Jingle

News

It is exactly 4p.m when 103.1 Shine FM brings you the news at the top of the hour.
In the headlines:
1. Recess breaks comes to an end
2. Culture week approaches
3. ICC cases dealt another blow
Good afternoon, I am Alice Kariuki
Story 1
Students have returned to campus after a recess break which lasted two days. The students who went to various places for their recess seemed to have drained out their energy as not much hype can be felt on campus. However, there are students who have not yet returned to school. Our reporter with this story.

Vox Pop(30secs)

Story 2
Daystar culture week is around the corner and this, is a period when students get to share their different cultures with the rest of the Daystar community. Pancras Mutuma, the DUSA secretary General encouraged students to participate and make it lively.
Vox Pop(30 secs)

Story 3
The Truth Justice and Reconcilliation Commission (TJRC) and the Gender Violence recovery Centre (GVRC), have announced their collaboration in response to needs of survivors of sexual and gender based violence. Briefing the media at the TJRC head office,commissioner Margaret Shava said the commission recognized GVRC as experts in this area, and was pleased to have them as partners. Ms. Grace Wangechi, executive director of GVRC said they would provide counseling services and any necessary medical support needed at the TJRc’s hearings countrywide.

Story 3
Civil societies on Tuesday presented 1.4 million signatures, against deferral of the Kenya ICC cases. The lobbyists, presented their petition to three permanent members of the security council, requesting them to turn down Kenya’s application. The three members are, the British, American and French governments. The American ambassador to Kenya, Michael ranneberger said deferring the cases would promote impunity.The British high commissioner to Kenya, Rob Macaire warned Kenya against using the security council to shield itself from criminal responsibility. However, the French ambassador,Ettiene Poncins said he did not wish to pre-empt today’s informal discussions at the council where kenya’s request will be considered.

That is all we had in the news for you this hour, stay tuned to 103.1 shine FM. For questions or comments, you can reach us on our facebook page 103.1 Shine FM or email us on shine103@gmail.com. Good afternoon, I am Alice kariuki

BY CALEB. MUST WE?

When I listened to Hon. William Ruto in Court Room 1 in the ICC,i am confused by the Kenyan politics language. MUST WE bring controversy in everything even in our dates of birth? Why cant we answer what has been asked without aimless defences.

Who said the Ruto accusations can only be found in a movie,wasn’t that a mockery to humanity bearing in mind that we still have IDPs in camps. What shall Somalis say if we say ours can only be found in movies.
It is very disheartening to hear wise men or the so called honourables speak in such forums only to show their ignorance to the present situation.
Worse enough,we hold prayers for the COME BACK of the OCAMPO six as if they are Kenyan Diplomatic Heroes after a well fought fight. This question needs an answer,MUST WE?

CALEB: CITIZEN TV NIPASHE NEWS CRITIQUE

Credits:
I must begin with acknowledging the entire Citizen T.V crew for the good job they have been doing and give credit to the chairman and the entire management. Citizen News is my favorite especially the 7P.M Nipashe news since I like swahili.
STUDIO
The Citizen News is presented on a real desk unlike the previous virtual desk/background. This real representation gives the news what the media personalities call a “sexy touch” to the news. This is because the first impression when one gets contact with the station,is very important to grab the attention of the audience who the media is competing for.
NEWS PRESENTATION
The news presentation is very objective and not compressed but selected in a way to inform the public in time. When citizen does their news,for example in the Rally in Rift Valley when Ruto and Uhuru visited the part,it gave a very objective presentation of the news.
I like the tosses and crosstalk between the citizen presenters since they appear informed and objective.

Citizen news is presented in a simple way that the public can identify with and it is at times comical to kill the monotony. This is brought by the Swaleh Mdoe’s style of presentation in the TAFAKARI ya BABU section and this keeps the audience attached to the station.

The news organization is also amazing especially in selecting the main stories. for example the ICC case in Kenya has been in the lime light for long and has been the main story in the entire media firms and when the Tanzanian Healer story came in,it was in the lead to break the political notion in news such that I felt relieved.

The dressing of the News anchors is also awesome in the station,this is because the colors do not create undesired effects of reflections that cause another interpretation of the set. The eloquence of their presenters is good.

SEGMENTATION
Citizen News presentation is segmented well to serve the entire audience. There is the Hard news segment that mostly takes the lead,the Business,the Sports and Weather which gives the citizen news a comprehensive touch to the news.
On Fridays at 7P.M, is another segment The HEKA HEKA za siasa. This segment is well edited and the clips link very well to each other such that you would think it is a continuous clip.
This section sums up the Friday news in style and I always long for the segment because it summarizes for you what you missed in course of the week.
VIDEO,SOUND and LIGHTING
The sound and lighting aesthetics give meaning to the video clips shot. Citizen News has well lit studio which gives a good look to the presenters and studio whole look. There are no shadows on the presenters or the walls since the studios have used the preferred lighting with a good back light which separates the presenter from the background so that they do not appear attached unlike KTN and KBC.
The sound and audio levels are of high quality especially their reporting in the streets proves a good use of boom mics which gives a well filtered voice.
The video presentation is awesome especially in executing the camera angles. The angles and shots communicate a lot and citizen has used them especially in the HEKA HEKA segment to communicate a message.

Convergence
Citizen TV also has reached the convergence with the Radio Citizen and Inooro Fm stations in informing the masses. When I listen to Radio citizen,I get a simplified version of the TV news and also in Inooro Fm the same case. This gives the importance of convergence.
In conclusion,Citizen News are the best in my opinion.
By CALEB KAMAU