•Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A little excitement made me rush for the Nairobi Stars, the new tabloid on the street by Kiss FM. Despite the aggressive marketing campaign, it failed to impress and will be a while before I grab another copy. Could be I am not in the target market niche. I seriously wonder what went wrong at the editorial desk and the printing press:
I still think politics sells. Politics is part of real life stories that happen every day. Even Business Daily shelves its business angle whenever there is huge political story.
Too bad that such a crazily marketed paper would not join the ranks of the Daily Nation and Standard so soon. Kenyans know no tabloids, just the gutter press!
- Despite being all coloured, the front page colour scheme was dull and not catchy.
- Coloured photos would have appeared attractive on glossy paper.
- Wondering whether they lacked a good artist to design the Nairobi Star Logo.
- www.nairobistars.co.ke is non-existent and so is nairobistars.com. Misrepresentation!
- Juicy headlines, no meat; just like the standard.
- Assistant health minister abortion assertion is one-week old news...a detailed account of how he helped a nun get an abortion would have been better.
- Story on Jeff Koinange lacked flesh, just stating the obvious and the rumoured.
- Where is the column by John Githongo? Hopefully his diary while in government and not preachy stuff on corruption, if his column ever comes
- Kamlesh Pattni on business: why Pattni of all the 'businessmen' in Kenya?
- How to start a business Pattni's way;
- Research: Know the big shots, who they listen to and how much cash will move them
- Expert Advice: A little pressure from above will make experts throw caution to the wind and you have your way. CCTV works wonders when distributing cash to politicians
- Documentation: Shred, shred, shred and physically trample the hard disks
- Patience: Greed is not being impatient.
- Risk: Be prepared for extended remand sessions, long hours testifying in commissions of inquiry into your business acumen and genius, public name calling etc. Money made in business still guarantees you a good life
- Good article by Carol Mutoko...had to 'bail' out her mom from industrial area police station for overlapping using an old police friend. Reminds me of "Do you know anyone?" Me thinks her column is better off as a blog post in KBW than in Nairobi stars.
- I expected something to the effect that Radio Africa Ltd will be listing at the NSE in the next four years in a public IPO.
I still think politics sells. Politics is part of real life stories that happen every day. Even Business Daily shelves its business angle whenever there is huge political story.
Too bad that such a crazily marketed paper would not join the ranks of the Daily Nation and Standard so soon. Kenyans know no tabloids, just the gutter press!
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4 comments:
you hit the nail on the head, my friend. especially about the website that exists only virtually in their brains.
@kugz, I wonder whether they will survive. Have never bought another copy and I actually forgot it exists. No Kiss FM, No classic FM, No Nairobi Star coz I realized those two stations were 'hyping' the paper.
@AKUS,I ALSO WONDER THEY TALK ABOUT AKINA NAMELESS&NONINI AND MOST NAIROBIANS WHO CAN AFFORD A PAPER ARE NOT INTRESTED IN THESE GUYS LIFE SI KUIMBA PIA NI KUHASLE KAMA FUNDI WA GARI VILE VILE NDIFU WA MBAO ,MUJENGO THE DIFFERENCE NI CLAD TUU?
Has it really been this long since we were subjected to Nairobi Star? Wow!!! And they're still in business. I think Nairobi Star is a value added part of an ego trip for Caroline and her posse. It's full of their opinions. I mean the three actual sentences in the paper. Gotta say, when in a salon, the pictures are morbidly fascinating to go through. It such God-awful crap through. We should impose some sort of standard in Kenya. People read this crap and think they are getting informed. To quote, "Education has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading."