By Victor Bwire,
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 11- Media coverage and performance on recent events including politics related to the 2022 General Election has seen an increase, in comments on the quality of articles, feedback on coverage, and criticism to content and approach.
Mature and professional reaction and comments of media coverage of national issues especially within these digital times full where content sometimes is laced with misinformation is a very healthy issue.
It serves as a real-time fact mechanism, ensures accountability from the media, and improves access to quality information by citizens.
While many consumers of media content engage in content improvement and generation through especially online platforms, others seek court redress and get huge compensations from the media while others have resorted to attacking journalists individually and the media.
Media criticism is welcome as a peer review and accountability mechanism for the profession and an assurance that people are still consuming media products.
The recent status of the media perception survey by the Media Council of Kenya recently indicated that trust in the media in the country is stable, with radio and TV coupled with online platforms being major sources of information to citizens and by extension print media through its online versions.
However, the operating environment for the media has drastically changed and new ways of doing things are required.
The current business operating environment, including demands for accountability, quality content, respect for the rule of law, and dwindling revenue streams requires that the media industry reinvents news ways of operating; both in terms of new business models and enhanced professionalism and self-regulation.
Tough times require tough measures, and the media industry should be reminded that to survive, they must work on increasing public trust and spur audience confidence, through quality content with a focus on public interest issues, which audiences identify with.
And this is achievable because others elsewhere are doing it; just interact with colleagues from countries such as Sweden and Denmark and you see the possibilities.
Accountability to the profession and consumers, seeking and reporting the truth in the face of misinformation, minimising harm to the society especially this electioneering period and related political heat and transparency in both business and professional obligations are the irreducible minimums for the media.
Media serves the public good and in fact, broadcast media uses national resources; the frequencies are issued with firm conditions to ensure public service, and citizens have a duty and right to monitor and demand accountability from the media through feedback, sensible criticisms, and correcting the media.
These accountability mechanisms are essential and a constant reminder to journalists that they serve citizens and content must reflect and meet the desires of citizens.
Within this thinking, media professionals must understand and appreciate the genuine reaction by citizens when they become unprofessional and irresponsible in the performance of their duty.
Journalists are human rights defenders, for they investigate human rights violations, monitor and document governance issues and expose vices that afflict the society; and do that effectively and professionally, they must work to seek informed and factual information that allows citizens to get educated on matters affecting them.
To remain vehicles for informed public debates and framing of national discourse using the right based approach, the media must work towards creating solidarity and a common agenda for the media fraternity in the country to not only reduce the divisions in the sector, but ensure that media issues are part of the national agenda and the a conducive environment is created for the media to play its role in national development un hindered.
People in the profession must open up to the reality that media is under capture by dark forces, an internal reflection is urgently needed and there is an opportunity for redemption. But this cannot happen if journalists continue living in denial.
The capture is from investors/owners, advertisers (public and private), commercial (dwindling revenue streams) and technological including fake news and influence of citizen information sources and lack of professionalism.
Instead of media owners and editors worrying too much about their balance sheets, they should support efforts to improve professionalism and unity among journalists with a view to the creation of structures that enhance media professionalism, accountability and welfare.
Media in Kenya is not a rogue industry and journalists are guided by a professional code of conduct thus Kenyans should not seem helpless when offended by the media or journalists should feel free to complain about mistreatment of their stories by their editors or sub editors.
The profession has enough mechanisms for self-regulation, both as an industry or at personal level. Indeed, the best mechanism globally to raise complaints against the media, in fact media related breaches are civil in nature are best handled outside the judicial/court system.
Section 23 of the Media Act 2013 establishes the Complaints Commission at the Media Council of Kenya, which is mandated to, amongst other things, regulate the ethical and professional standards of the Mass Media and to arbitrate disputes between (a) Public and the media ( b) Government and media (c) Intramedia disputes.
The Commission bases its decisions on compliance with the code of conduct of the practice of journalism in Kenya; contained in the second schedule of the Media Act 2013.
The Commission redress decisions are meant to act as deterrence against wanton behaviour by the media.
The Commission has listened and made rulings in a number of media-related cases that should inspire people to use it in solving media-related disputes, and the industry must respect the decisions made as a way of strengthening self- regulation of the industry.
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