Kenyan media general election coverage was clearly above board

With a few exceptions, the media’s election coverage has largely been above board. All through the campaign period, and even after the Supreme Court ruling, journalists have been consistent in their efforts to promote issue-based politics. This is in line with the media’s responsibility to educate the public by arming them with credible and objective information about key political issues.

The media, though owned and managed by the private sector in most progressive societies, does not exist solely for profit. It also exists for the sake of bolstering democracy by promoting citizen participation in public debate. By integrating traditional news reporting on TV and newspapers with real-time social media discussions, Kenyan media houses have been able to deepen citizen participation on key issues.

Accusations

In the 2007 poll, the mainstream media was largely blamed for fueling the flames of civil unrest by broadcasting https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images of violence after the disputed poll. We came under immense pressure from internal and external stakeholders, who unanimously reminded us that much as media is a business, it also serves the common good.

In line with this, the media has embraced responsible reporting. We saw this trend in 2013 and have seen it yet again this year. The media has steered clear from unnecessarily beaming sensitive https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images and pictures and instead focused on agenda-setting and objective reporting on issues of national interest such as corruption.

Though the Constitution protects press freedom, many journalists still face intimidation when reporting on issues such corruption. Kenya was ranked 95 out of 180 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, indicating that there is still a lot of reform needed.

Nevertheless, despite the obvious risks, we still see bold features every day in the media exposing graft. This kind of reporting arms voters with objective information for better decision making and deserves acclaim. Media houses are also facing financial challenges. There have been long delays in payment of advertising revenues due to the general downturn in the economy. Moreover, advertising revenues are growing at a much slower pace due to the emergence of alternative online platforms where brands can reach their target audience.

Despite operating on a lean budget, media houses have deployed more resources than ever before in various parts of the country in order to comprehensively cover campaign activity. This comprehensive coverage has been especially instrumental in promoting devolution as it has highlighted key issues at the county level. It is telling that most newspapers and TV stations have segments specifically set aside for county news.

Gains made

Going forward, the media needs to sustain the gains it has made. Especially crucial is the need to intensify the practice of fact-checking. Though the Internet has replaced traditional news as the foremost platform for breaking news, the global phenomena of fake news currently plaguing the Internet means that people still trust their newspaper.

The Kenyan media therefore needs to safeguard public trust that it still enjoys. An opinion poll conducted by InfoTrak in 2016 indicated that 87 per cent of Kenyans had confidence in the media and were content with the informative, educative and watchdog roles it plays.How the media covers the repeat elections could strengthen or weaken this trust. The media needs to be balanced in its reporting and objectively present arguments from both Jubilee and Nasa.

The US’s recent election is an interesting case study of how favoritism can go wrong. Overall, Clinton got a total of 57 endorsements from the US’s largest newspapers while Trump got only two. Moreover, the general sentiment in the media before the elections was that Clinton would win by a landslide.

When the opposite happened, not only was the American media embarrassed, but public trust in the media also plummeted. Kenyan media should avoid making the same mistake and be balanced in its reporting. This will not only serve to their advantage, but also advance democracy in our country.

 Mr Kittony is the National Chairman of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry [email protected]