200

As you see, we’re celebrating 200 blog entries since this little project started. Congratulations Bitterjug!

And now here’s the real entry:

Last wednesday the deputy principal handed me the Daily Nation newspaper open at a page near the middle. The article there showed a nice picture of president Kibaki and told of how although he doesn’t speak out on all topics that arise in Kenyan politics, he is still doing his job and all the better for not making hollow promises. The other articles on that page were a list of achievements of the current government and some other advocacy. The whole thing was written in the same text as the rest of the paper and laid out just like any other page of the Nation.

Its just that … there was no accreditation for the article, which most opinion articles have — and let’s face it the article read very much like opinion — and at the very top of the page it said “Advertisement” or something similar. In today’s Nation I spotted a reference to this full-page advertisement and a suggestion that it was indicative of the current government slipping into the ways of its predecessor.

Talking about politics is something of a national sport in Kenya and the newspaper is to that sport as the ball is to soccer. I’ve heard people say that Kenyans love to read the newspaper but that most skim-read and some read only the headlines. Without a careful examination, last wednesdays political advertisement for the incumbant government looks **just like a normal article**.

Any of you guys ever seen any other tricks like this?