The Real Source Of Power At Nation Newspapers

In the Bible story about Samson, we are told his source of superhuman strength was in an unlikely place that would have been impossible for his enemies to discover had he not gone and blurted it out under duress from his extremely beautiful and desirable Philistine wife, Delilah. The source of power was in his long hair, which had never seen a razor.

The same can be said about the most popular newspaper in East and Central Africa and probably beyond. Ask anybody, including journalists, what the real source of success and "power" for the Nation is and you will receive all sorts of answers. They will include the fact that the newspaper has some of the best journalists led by some of the most experienced editors (albeit sex perverts, according to junior female staff members). Others will point you in the direction of the newspapers editorial policy.

However the real source of power for the Nation newspapers is in the most unlikely place and because many of those who have found themselves pitted against the newspaper's position at the helm of the daily newspapers industry in Kenya have failed to understand this, it has been impossible for them to challenge the Nation let alone unseat her.

The Nation's real source of power is in its' distribution system. Distribution is something that bores many marketers, let alone journalists trained to deal with more exciting things like tomorrow's splash. Yet it is the key to the success of any product, more so a daily newspaper.

It is instructive that right from the launch of the Nation's first title, Taifa Leo, in 1960, the media experts brought here by the Aga Khan immediately identified the key to unseating the East African Standard, which was then the leading newspaper. This led to the introduction of the vendor system for the first time in the country. Little wonder that to date the Nation circulation department considers the vendor system as their property (that is a story for another day). Previously newspapers in Kenya were sold through "proper outlets" like shops, grocery stores and the likes.

The new vendor system spread its tentacles from the city to virtually every small town and village in the country. It took a while to built but once in place, nobody was going to sell more newspapers in Kenya than the Daily Nation.

You can probably produce a better newspaper than the Nation and even a better, more sensational splash every time, but it matters little because simple arithmetic will tell you that whatever you do, you cannot outsell the Nation, not when they have thousands more outlets than anybody else has.

It is this distribution system that makes the Daily Nation such a powerful political tool that decides general elections in the country. It is also this system that will give the newspaper windfall profits during this election year.

Under former CEO Wilfred Kiboro, a smart move further enhanced the amazing Nation distribution system and now makes it very difficult for any competitor to challenge the newspapers position. The introduction of the Nation courier services division, not only solved the problem of the escalating costs of maintaining this distribution network, but it also created a new profit center at a time when the demand for courier services has gone through the roof mainly being fuelled by the spread of the Internet and mobile telephony. One of the aspects that caused costs to begin eating away at circulation income was the fact that vehicles that deliver newspapers return empty or with bulky but worthless unsold newspapers. Now space in the van is occupied on both trips by profitable courier cargo.

This is one secret that would have greatly helped NMG CEO make quality and decisive decisions when the current crisis first reared its' ugly head (as it is, it is now too late to do anything decisive). Contrary to what many think, the real power and strength of the Nation newspaper is not in its' troubled editorial department. You can replace virtually the whole editorial department tomorrow and the newspaper will continue as if nothing happened (sorry, my journalist colleagues, I know how this makes you feel).

Over the years there have been many cases where senior writers and editors at Nation have risen so quickly in popularity that it has gone into their heads and they have entertained the thought that they may just be indispensable. Alas, many times they have left and the Nation has continued as if nothing happened, all because it never crossed anybody's mind to shave the long hair.

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