Yes, journalists should state their political affiliation

A columnist of note, whom shall not be named here, stated rather bashfully that in order to objective, he had chosen not to register as a voter. PHOTO: COURTESY

A columnist of note, whom shall not be named here, stated rather bashfully that in order to objective, he had chosen not to register as a voter. In his view, this enabled him to maintain the detached “observer at a distance” status. He could therefore, in good faith criticise or praise both sides of the political divide without feeling that he was being biased.

While this sort of ideological purity is bound to attract a certain amount of respect, it is alas, not necessarily watertight. In my view, it is all but impossible for one to be truly neutral by virtue of being human. Feeling nothing is not easy.

The Media Council of Kenya, going by its chairman’s press statement last week apparently thinks that it is possible to have utopian journalist with regard to the coming 2017 election.

 As per the council, the code of ethics for the practice of journalism in Kenya requires that journalist should not declare political affiliations. It is confusing that the council acknowledges that journalists and media practitioners have the right to be politically engaged, but concurrently insists that such affiliation should be ‘private’ and should not be open since this would create an impression of bias. In effect, journalists should pretend to be neutral.

My contention is that it is better to state your position and strive to be as objective as possible despite that position. This is a better bet than insisting that journalists belong to a non-existent category of humans who are capable of pure detachment and dispassion from political matters.

It is wrong and in contravention of the standards of professional journalism for media to systematically emphasise one particular point of view, but it is hypocritical to expect that private positions will not influence the way in which reporting is done.

A viable path is outlined by Antony Lowenstein, an Australian freelance journalist who candidly argues that journalists should disclose who they vote for in addition to other political affiliations that may affect their reporting. “We are subjective and need to admit that to ourselves and our readers”. If the media demands transparency and disclosure from others, why should it not be transparent too?

“The responsibility should be on journalists to explain why they are not disclosing for whom they vote, rather than claim it’s a private matter... by opening up more fully with the readers and consumers, media practitioners would build a stronger relationship with them, rather than sitting unnaturally above the debate, seemingly without opinions.

Being as impartial as possible surely is the goal while leveling with our readers and viewers that we are not hollow men and women without an agenda. Objectivity only ever existed in the minds of the deluded.”

Lowenstein’s argument is strong and seductive. It is foolhardy to insist that media personalities have opinions that affect what they write and air and what by extension they omit even if they seek to be as fair as possible. Understandably, the Kenya Union of Journalists rejected the media council’s illegal overreach.

 The union, whose position I support, is of the view that the media council should come up with a framework that will allow journalists to take a stand on political issues rather than seeking to sweep them beneath the carpet. In mature democracies, newspapers and TV stations openly state their affiliations. This is not to mean that they can report with impunity, but it helps set the record straight and avoid unnecessary confusion. Viewers and readers then have the necessary perspective to enable them form their own opinions on the reporting. Furthermore, we are aware of the fact all media in Kenya are owned by the political and business elite with strong political affiliation.

The media council itself is not exactly un-prepossessed of political leanings. Its statement appears to have been motivated by a photo of a popular TV journalist with opposition leader Raila Odinga. Whom are we fooling?