This year’s World Press Freedom Day, usually observed on May 3, comes at a tough time when journalism is facing quintet of converging crises: a global pandemic, a struggling business model, disinformation, mental health crisis amongst journalists and declining safety and security of journalists.
These five crises have thrown Kenyan journalists into a season of unprecedented uncertainty and confusion even for veteran journalists who until a few months ago had claimed to have seen it all. To put it bluntly in the words of a former colleague; “I love journalism but journalism does not love me back.” This is true for many Kenyan journalists who put in hours of news gathering and risk their lives only to reap the bare minimum.
Journalists Mental Health
While a lot has been said in webinars and guest essays like this one, perhaps it is time for us to consider a few practical steps to address some of these issues. On the global pandemic, we often forget that journalists too are victims of Covid-19. Many have contracted the disease and some even died of the virus.
According to Press Emblem, a Geneva-based organisation, 1,248 journalists across 75 countries have died due to Covid-19 complications since March 2020 till today. Five of those journalists are Kenyan, with Brazil recoding the highest at 187. Journalists need to be fully protected from Covid-19, whether it is through ensuring they are first in line for vaccination or even providing them with adequate health insurance for their peace of mind.
On mental health, it is time for those in Kenyan media leadership to declare journalists’ mental health an industry-wide crisis. It is a fact that we like to sweep under the rag, but Kenyan journalists need a lot of psychosocial support. Journalists spend their days listening to people’s problems and covering horrific situations, but nobody asks if they are okay, let alone reach out to help. We need to destigmatize mental health in the newsrooms and provide journalists with safe outlets including free access to professional help.
Safety of journalists
Regarding the issue of safety and security of journalists, we must not only train journalists on media law, digital safety, sensitive reporting and secure communication through a structured system of continuous professional development, we must also do more to protect journalists who put their lives on the line for a story. Safety of journalists goes beyond offline threats. Journalists must be protected from online bullying, smear campaigns and character assassinations on social media for simply doing their jobs.
Female journalists in particular, need to be protected at all costs. Surely, those who perpetrate such attacks must know that there are consequences for spreading lies against a journalist on Twitter or those swampy places on the internet. We must move beyond lip service and bring honour to the journalism profession. Some of these problems could be solved through policy, but most them can be resolved by the stroke of a pen. It’s time for media leadership in this country to protect their greatest resource; journalists.
This article was first published in Saturday Nation on May 8, 2021.
Dr Njoki ChegeReport by Aga Khan University’s Media Innovation Centre analyses the country’s millennials and digital natives’ media consumption habits.
That’s why I think today is such a great space for us to sit back and reflect on the questions that could help us shape the kind of journalism that we want to see in our local and global community.
The report specifically analysed eight major variables which include: newsroom structure and resources, media ownership and business models, organisational capacity, innovation culture, journalism culture, financial trends and results, content quality and COVID-19.
Three media startups have graduated from the Innovators-in-Residence program when they pitched their ideas in a ‘demo day’ at the Media Challenge Initiative Hub in Uganda
The partnership will also ensure that local content is curated and distributed to better optimize the product and meet the needs of Kenyan online users.
A team of young, Tanzanian tech-savvy communication professionals is dreaming big. It seeks to usher a new dawn in media business management in Tanzania by optimising employee output
As Form One students settle into a new life in secondary school, this has also been a period of reflection. We have read tear-jerking and heart-warming stories of determined students who overcame many odds to get an education and how well-wishers came together in their aid.
A free and independent press is the cornerstone of any democracy and the foundation of economic success, mostly because through our free press, we’re able to hold the leadership to account.
The three-day event, held simultaneously in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, was crucial in taking the teams through the necessary dos and don’ts as well as introduce coaches, trainers and mentors that will walk with them through the programme and curriculum.
Started in 2019, the MiC plays a significant role in mainly supporting the next generation of media entrepreneurs in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda through trainings, mentorships and start-up grants to bring about media viability.
Our new talk series, #ConversationsAtMiC, seeks to explore and tackle issues, challenges, and opportunities within the media startup industry. The series aims to invite guests who would empower media startups to grow and develop further.
The Media Innovation Centre analyzed the applications to demonstrate the need for Media Innovation support in the region and a call to organisations, governments, and philanthropists to fund media start-ups in East Africa through grants.
Put in context, it is safe to argue that the plural media in Kenya could be in the business of reaching the audience and not necessarily serving this audience with public interest, local news.
The Hub intends to provide high-quality media support services such as co-working space, hosting events, and dialogues for media innovators who are intentional about creating solutions to journalism’s challenges.
Other than the grant, we saw it best to provide a vast set of trainings that will equip the founders with the necessary knowledge and skills to run their business.
Girls must grow up knowing that they can be presidents, engineers, CEOs, and we as a society must learn to be comfortable with women working in traditionally male-dominated professions.
We must give context and background to audiences about what the news means to them or what it means to specific groups of people.
