The fourth estate crying out for urgent bailout

Journalists record the swearing-in of Kisii Governor Simba Arati. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

Indications that the traditional media industry is on its deathbed are all over. In just two months, two reputable organisations; one international and a local one, have put out notices of redundancy.

All are informed by decreased revenues, increased costs and gloomy projections into the future. And as the common phrase puts it 'sisi mashabiki ndio tunaumia', it is the hundreds if not thousands of employees who owe their livelihoods to the industry that bear the greatest brunt.

It is unfortunate that the media industry never got its chance in the many economic forums that led up to the election of the current administration. If it did, it would have been a perfect chance to point out how and where the government has contributed to the gloomy projections.

Government advertising contributes a sizable chunk of the revenue for most media organisations particularly the print sector. In Kenya, some projections have put that figure at 30 per cent of newspaper revenue. However, it seems, the government has been bent on bringing this figure down.

It began with introduction of the Government Advertising Agency back in 2015. The agency had a self-imposed target of 50 per cent reduction on government advertising expenditure.

Then comes pending bills. At some point, the government owed the media over Sh1 billion. At the moment, the media joins many contractors waiting for the new government to sort out the pending bills.

While we wait, there is another elephant in the room; the government's plan to further cut down its expenditure. It began with instructions to new governors to cut down on publishing congratulatory messages on the daily papers and instead use social media handles. A double edged sword. On one side that aimed to curtail wastage of public resources.

However, on the other side it points to a potential shift in policy from publishing government advertising and communication in papers to a policy that allows use of social media handles only. That will definitely dent potential revenues for media houses. Already, the private sector has slowly shifted to their handles, websites and influencers as an alternative way of reaching out to clients. If the government joins them, we are doomed. Then, there is the ongoing process to cut down government budgets by Sh300 billion that began earlier on in the week. Beside the travel, entertainment and mandazi expenses that always become first victims, media budgets are more likely to feature. We hope not.

Journalists are among thousands of hustlers looking forward to a better life in the current administration. As it is now, most are struggling to put up a facade. Behind, it is a daily game of hide and seek games with the landlord. While they move around with big brands on their back, on the ground it is a different story. Serikali saidia.