In an age where people catch breaking news on social media from reporters and witnesses; then listen/ watch the news on radio/ television respectively an hour or two later, newspapers have to do more than just report news. Unless something happened at night, the news reported by newspapers will more often than not, be news that we have heard before. It is in this regard that newspapers are re-inventing themselves by offering much more than news, and none is doing so better than the 20 year old The EastAfrican.
The layout of The EastAfrican is impressive, with the newspaper divided into several sections that are easy to differentiate. Depending on your interests, you can go straight to the section you love first, like I normally do, then check out the rest of the paper.
The paper covers the East African news comprehensively. The latest edition covered the East African finance ministers’ budgets in greater detail than most papers. As its name suggests, the paper covers East African news, with news from:
• Sudan on how Machar could be re-instated to the VP’s position;
• Rwanda on the refugees humanitarian situation;
• Uganda on how the country has abolished work permits for professionals.
My favourite part of the newspaper is the opinion part which offers different takes by different people on different views. Take for example, Charles Onyango-Obbo’s take on the Tripartite Free Trade Area deal which is slightly different from the take of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO-designate, Phyllis Wakiaga on the same issue. Not to mention, the article about the last elections in Nigeria by Sa’eed Husaini.
Interested in finding out about new inventions and research, then outlook has you covered. From digital TV migration, to the unveiling of a music service app by Apple to how a report from the UN says a new strain of banana fungus threatens world harvest.
The inside magazine is your lifestyle kind of magazine, with well researched articles on:
• Travel, like how Kenya’s historical tourist attraction sites like Fort Jesus are fading away;
• Books, like the book on Pope Francis;
• Sports, like the advice that former golfer Jack Nicklaus gave Tiger Woods.
The magazine also features a short story by various writers like Shem Mukalo’s A Scene Straight from a Horror Movie.
For those who love business news, The EastAfrican gives you more than five pages. If you are looking to import a car, then you ought to read on how importation costs are set to increase. Producers of sugar, maize, cement and other ‘sensitive’ goods will want to find out how they will be affected once the Tripartite Free Trade Area comes into effect next month. Those dealing in currencies may be interested in finding out how the regional central banks are trying to curb the fall in regional currencies.
The last section in the newspaper is the money and equity market section. This section tracks the regional share performance of various companies listed in the Stock Exchanges of the different countries in East Africa. It also includes the currency exchange rates, Government Treasury Bonds issued and their yield and coupon rates. Moreover, there are articles that explain what is happening in the market, like what is driving investors from the NSE to Nigeria and Egypt.
Whatever interests you the most, be it lifestyle news, business news, local politics, sports news or recent research findings, you will find all this and much more in your copy of The EastAfrican.
