Stakeholders should address existential threats to media freedom

Journalists set up their cameras before a press conference. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Kenya celebrated World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday. Its theme is "Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for all other human rights". People and societies can protect all other rights by seeking, receiving, and imparting information. You can't claim a right you don't know about. If you can't express yourself, you can't convey your dilemma and seek solutions.

Even though Kenya ranks well in the region, there have been concerns about press freedom and freedom of expression. Government censorship and interference worry media practitioners. Another existential threat is the declining viability of the traditional/legacy journalism model centered on Radio, TV and selling Print Newspapers. These models depend on government advertising. News consumption has been disrupted by digital technology, and big tech has gained power. Now that anyone can publish, the public is exposed to more misinformation and disinformation. It is common for news not to be curated by editors, which was a safeguard in legacy media.