Give no room to those out to kill our free Press

Kenya joined the rest of the world in observing the Press Freedom day on Tuesday. It is an occasion which the media finds time to assess its freedom from external influences, mostly the State which has, in the recent past, infringed on media freedom and made the work of journalists much harder. This year’s press Freedom Day theme was aptly titled; ‘Access to information and fundamental freedoms- this is your right’.

Because despite constitutional guarantees, Press freedom is under threat.

The threat is especially from two arms of Government: the Executive through the State and its agencies like the Communications Authority of Kenya, Kenya Film Classification Board; and from a Parliament that is spiteful of media in its entirety.

Government withdrew advertisement from media in a bid to arm-twist it into doing the State’s bidding. Up until 2013, government spent nearly Sh2 billion in print and broadcast advertisements. Last year, it spent half that amount.

Under the guise of instituting austerity measures, the Jubilee-led Government in 2014 migrated most of its content online which with its low penetration, meant there was little or no value accruing to tax-payers. It then beat a quick retreat and formed the Government Advertising Agency that routes all advertising needs from Government agencies to the media.

The expectation was that cash-strapped media houses would go bowl in hand seeking State largesse for advertisements, a situation that would make it easy to manipulate them. A free, vibrant media is a key ingredient in democracy. Kenya deserves a free media. Cumulatively, all media contributes at least Sh8 billion in taxes.

What logic therefore to deny media Sh2 billion and lose Sh6 billion? Almost all media houses have had to lay off staff to stay afloat.

Ultimately, a threat to the media is nothing short of a threat to democracy and freedom. It must be stopped at all costs.