From complicated to clear, news we understand

Sham Jaff
Sham Jaff
Aug 25, 2017 · 4 min read

One of the reasons I started my own world news email newsletter is the fact that the news we consume everyday is written in a way that’s boring, complicated and too long.

I had to do it differently because we all deserve easy news. Why? To understand what’s going on better and faster. Without having to know complicated concepts, an extended vocabulary or a lot of time on our hands to really get all the relevant details and context of a news story trending.

Let me give you an example of what I do every week. For this post, I’ll take an article on the Kenyan elections (another reason I started it: to introduce diversity of news topics) from The Guardian and rewrite it (in Italic) in a way for you to understand better and faster.

Long queues formed outside polling stations across Kenya on Tuesday morning as fiercely contested presidential elections got under way following last-minute calls for calm from officials and politicians.

The The Guardian article starts with this paragraph. But why not add the amount of voters right at the beginning? They do that much later in the text. But I included it right away at the beginning, because #makessense

19 million (out of 48) Kenyans are queuing up for hours across the country to vote. It’s getting tense.

Many voters had waited for hours in the rain to choose between the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been in power since 2013, or the veteran opposition politician Raila Odinga. The most recent polls did not indicate a clear winner.

Vote for who? Either for the current leader Uhuru Kenyatta or the opposition Raila Odinga. It’s a close call.

An estimated 180,000 police officers and members of the security forces have been deployed amid fears of violence after the result is announced, which may be as early as Wednesday morning.

Around 180,000 men are making sure this election doesn’t get ugly Wednesday morning when the result is announced.

The campaign was marred by hundreds of violent incidents — including the murder of a high-profile election official — issues with new voting technology and widespread concerns about fraud.

180k seems a lot, right? Well, someone died already.

More than 1,100 people died after the losers rejected the election result in 2007.

And remember the 2007 election? More than 1,100 people died back then ’cause #sorelosers.

In recent days bus stations have been busy as many Kenyans have left major cities for provincial areas which are seen as safer. Others have stockpiled groceries, phone cards and other essentials.

Many Kenyans have even left major cities and prepared for the worst case, just to be sure.

Now, the next few paragraphs in the article continue to talk about the tension and the fear of another #sorelosers situation. Much later in the text, you can find a link to a “Quick guide to Kenyan issues”, which I assume many think this is very valuable information. Instead of going on and on about how violent these elections can get in Kenya, why not talk about The Why?

Finally, the article talks about it at the very end and we find out that Odinga and Kenyatta are fighting an old battle.

Observers see the election as the last showdown of a dynastic rivalry between the families of Kenyatta and Odinga, 72, that has lasted more than half a century.

The presidential candidates’ fathers — Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga — fought together for independence from Britain in 1963 before becoming bitter rivals.

Odinga is making his fourth attempt to gain power. He claims that elections in 2007 and 2013 were stolen from him.

The men belong to two of the country’s main ethnic groups, Kenyatta from the Kikuyu, the largest, and Odinga from the Luo.

Both have built coalitions with other influential communities in a country where voting still takes place largely along ethnic lines.

To understand why this is a big deal, well, the reason people vote for you in Kenya has little to do with what wonderful plans you have for the country. Which ethnic group you belong to is more important. The candidates belong to two of the main ones — Odinga from the Luo, Kenyatta from the Kikuyu. Whoever has built stronger coalitions with other influential communities wins.

And just at the very end, it talks about the hard facts at hand:

Kenyatta’s first term saw a massive infrastructure drive and steady economic growth of more than 5%, making Kenya one of the best performing economies in Africa.

However his record has been undermined by soaring food prices, ongoing high unemployment and major corruption scandals.

Reason to vote for Kenyatta: he made Kenya into of the best performing economies in Africa. Reason to vote for Odinga: Kenyatta made food expensive, didn’t do much about the high unemployment and major corruption scandals.

Putting it all together, I’d place and leave out bits and pieces of information a little differently. Here’s my final draft:

19 million (out of 48) Kenyans are queuing up for hours across the country to vote, either for the current leader Uhuru Kenyatta or the opposition Raila Odinga. It’s a close call. On the one hand, Kenyatta made Kenya into of the best performing economies in Africa. On the other, food is expensive, many are unemployed and there have been major corruption scandals.
Around 180,000 men are making sure this election doesn’t get ugly because someone died already and the last election got really ugly (and deadly).

Good to know: The reason people vote for you in Kenya has little to do with what wonderful plans you have for the country. Which ethnic group you belong to is more important. The current candidates belong to two of the main ones — Odinga from the Luo, Kenyatta from the Kikuyu. Whoever has built stronger coalitions with other influential communities wins.

What do you think?

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