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Is Kim Kardashian News?

Should the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service be keeping up with the Kardashians' visit to Armenia?

Should the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service be keeping up with the Kardashians' visit to Armenia? And how does Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Hausa get at the truth about accounts of sightings of the missing Chibok girls?

Do celebrities bring news stories to life or are they just too trivial to be on the World Service? Earlier this week, Kim Kardashian visited the country her father came from for the first time. Her visit coincided with a period of commemoration on the 100-year anniversary of the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces. The presence of Kim and Kayne West brought that episode in the country's history to global attention. But was the way the World Service covered her visit too trivial? Some listeners think so. Simon Peeks from the World Service answers that criticism.

And a year after the capture of the Chibok schoolgirls in Nigeria, listeners respond to a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Hausa story in which journalist Ahmed Salkida, who claims to be close to the leaders of Boko Haram, said the girls were "well and alive". The audience want to know how the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ can be sure Salkida is telling the truth and why they're broadcasting what they see as claims, not facts. The head of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Hausa service, Mansur Liman, explains to Rajan Datar how they substantiate such claims and why they chose to broadcast the interview.

Image: Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloe visiting an Armenian memorial to the events of 1915. Credit: Getty

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10 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 Apr 2015 01:50GMT

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  • Sat 18 Apr 2015 17:50GMT
  • Sun 19 Apr 2015 09:50GMT
  • Mon 20 Apr 2015 01:50GMT

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