CS roots for credible journalism as world marks press day

By Catherine Muindi

ICT Cabinet secretary, Joe Mucheru, has urged journalists to disseminate truthful, verifiable and factual information to the public, especially as the 2022 General Elections approach.

The CS said the mainstream media must be different from social media platforms which he said are awash with all manner of propaganda aimed at swaying voting preferences.

“Verification and fact-checking should be at the core of the journalistic etiquette and this is one way of ensuring the sustainability of legacy media in a digital world as an authentic source of information,” said Mucheru.

The CS was speaking during the 19th Annual General Meeting for the World Association of Press Councils (WAPC) hosted by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) at a Nairobi hotel.

He challenged regulators around the world to lead their organisations in nurturing media policies that are not limited to national landscapes adding that the convergence of industries through technology is there to stay.

He described the media industry in Kenya as one of the most vibrant regionally with 150 FM stations spread across the country, 271 TV stations, five mainstream daily newspapers and over 100 online-based media platforms.

“This robust growth has been made possible by the deliberate support accorded by the Government, through the creation of an enabling environment and allocation of resources to grow and expand the media sector,” he said.

Mucheru further said that one of the biggest milestones for the Kenyan media industry was the 2015 digital migration that opened up the space for the establishment of more platforms. “As we are all aware, access to Digital content is shifting away from channel-specific systems to Over The Top (OTT) streaming platforms such as Netflix, iTunes and our very own ViuSasa,” said Mucheru, adding that these platforms are capable of providing consumers with access to a variety of news and entertainment content through the internet and at the comfort of their mobile devices.

While acknowledging that policies and regulations the world over are constantly playing catch up with the rapid digital technology advances, Mucheru said the Government, through the Ministry of ICT, has developed the 2019 National ICT policy, “that futuristically envisions the benefits promised by the fourth industrial revolution”.

The MCK Chief Executive Officer, David Omwoyo, said the Council is targeting to train about 2,000 journalists on fair reporting and avoiding misinformation and hate speech.

“The Media Council of Kenya is working on a training manual so that journalists across the country can practice impartiality in their work, especially this electioneering period,” said Omwoyo.

The WAPC Annual General Meeting comes at a time when the world is commemorating the World Press Freedom Day which is celebrated every 3rd of May globally, under the theme, Journalism under Digital Siege.