'News avoidance' should worry the media

Journalists wait to be addressed by a section of politicians at the Nairobi Serena hotel on February 13, 2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The traditional media is on throes of a 'mad' revolution. It could decimate it or strengthen it to beat the odds and cheer up to the challenge of digital disruption.

Media sector players now face the stark reality - having to make most difficult choices, often bordering on the undesirable. In my recent scholarly interaction with South Africa's journalism media lab of Wits University, one thing hit me - the extent to which independent journalism is threatened by 'news avoidance.'

It is a nerve-racking phenomenon where viewers, readers and listeners cherry-pick or altogether avoid news they find depressing or negative, or which run counter to their beliefs. This trend should worry the Kenyan media more, given the deep-seated political divisions that have seeped into our choices of consumable content. Even as trust in media takes a hit, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism says in a recent survey that around 36 per cent - particularly those under 35 across geographical locations - are running away from news because it dampens their mood.

In the aftermath of the August 9, 2022 elections, my private conversations with various quarters suggest a significant number of local audiences detest the news. A fed-up James Musyoki in Makueni moved his TV set from the living room. Others switch off their sets when prime time news approaches.

During or soon after the polls, the embellished attention on media content was plausible, only that it may have failed to bring a balanced perspective into the actual or perceived role and effect of media content in the polls, generally.

I do not have the actual statistics of news avoidance situation in Kenya but the trend is pretty much widespread - mostly because of not just the perceived 'negativity or bias of content' but also the rising penetration of alternative media - talk of social media and other informal sources. At least 10.7 million homes have access to radio or television in Kenya. The print audience size has shrunk, with our four dailies doing a combined average of 100,000 copies. It is clear journalism is 'seeing fire' and voices - online or from civil and advocacy groups - are becoming the in-thing!

A recent Media Council of Kenya study on content consumption showed Kenyans averagely spend three hours a day on social media, higher than the global average of two hours and 24 minutes. This relates to the high affinity for online showbiz and networking.

As a journalist and a scholar, I would like to play the devil's advocate here. This is a crunch time. Apart from ensuring content diversity and deliberate 'hope' or 'solution' stories, local media houses should take the challenge to demonstrate that their content is ever in the best interest of society.

At the same time, it least helps to redeem media credibility when stories put out there suggest undue political influence. The media sector should now invest in more strategic audience studies to understand their concerns and address them without hesitation. One reader lost is far too many. The traditional media must seal every loophole or risk irrelevance in the brazen digital revolution.

The Fourth Estate enjoys public goodwill and citizens who love free speech will always stick their neck out and defend it against rogue forces out to muzzle independent media. The media has to reciprocate by demonstrating that stories published or aired serve the wider, not sectarian, interests. This way, the industry will gather the firepower to live on. News managers and media houses have everything to lose if news avoidance spreads. Their work will be futile. Audiences are the most prime asset to the media. The industry must collectively bring back its revered fans.

Reporters and editors must uphold ethics and fight misinformation with gusto. It will be a good way to start. The rulebook is clear. The industry must carry everyone along, their political disposition notwithstanding.

The writer is an editor at The Standard. Twitter: @markoloo