The Kenyan media has come under attack in the recent past for its conduct and alleged lack of proper regulation. Despite these attacks and accusations especially from the political class, it remains the most trusted institution by the people.
Why is the media generating such sentiments and why does it get the overwhelming support from the citizens as opposed to the government?
The media in Kenya is quickly transforming from the conservative nature in the past to a more liberal institution concerned with social progress. In the past, a liberal media was considered unhealthy as it encouraged mass participation and government scrutiny which was incompatible with the conditions at that time. It was widely perceived that liberalized media could undermine weak and fragile states and that freedom of speech and information access should be restricted in favor of support to the state in some instances. This was coupled with complete state support with the abstract idea of supporting the state meaning supporting the regime in power It was very risky to the journalists and the media could not survive the harsh implications of any signs of contempt.
Today, the media see social change as a fundamental principle of authority and oppose any form of censorship that limits free expression. They believe that the sole purpose of government is its effectiveness and have boldly gone out to ensure that government is accountable to the people. These are ideals that the Kenyan people relate with and want to associate with hence the overwhelming support from the general population.
Any functioning democracy is founded in a communication sector that functions adequately, allows informed public opinion to develop freely. Michael Kunczic says: In a democracy, journalists have a special political purpose and responsibility. To him, democracy is above all, a culture of dialogue in which opinions of dissenters is respected and intellectual debates is allowed to safeguard democracy, yet every society has an elite that is the most powerful in politics, an elite that is most powerful in business and in common, they do not want their affairs critically observed. He says corruption and abuse of power are most effectively fought by Democratic journalism.
In their practice of democratic journalism, journalists must be guided by ethical standards that establish norms for good and fair behavior. Fair play dictates that journalists should never publish anything negative about anyone without an opportunity to reply. The alternative press in Kenya is notorious for publishing half baked and biased stories without regard to media ethics. Any kind of work can provide an arena for developing personal integrity or not. Journalists must avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety as well as any conflict of interest and should neither accept anything nor pursue any action that might seem to compromise their integrity.
This is no escaping the question of ethics in journalism but calls for measures to address these issues. Journalists have a responsibility to the people to ensure that they are independent impartial, practice fair play and report and publish information that is true and accurate. The answer in this does not lie in government regulation but in effective self regulation. Journalists are responsible to readers, listeners and viewers and not the government, media owners or commercial enterprises.
Freedom of the press belongs to the people is it must be defended against encroachment or assault from any quarter, public or private, but at the same time, the media has to be able to regulate itself effectively and be able to address complaints against it and offer redress. In Lichtenberg’s view, the freedom of the press should be contingent upon the extent to which it promotes certain core values. In circumstances where the media suppresses diversity and impoverishes public debate, the arguments for the freedom of the press turn against it and regulation becomes an option
Through the initiative of the Media Industry Steering Committee, an ethical code was established to ensure that international practice standards are adopted locally and the media industry is subjected to public scrutiny.
In the quest for self regulation, the media should not act unilaterally but engage in open minded consultations with appropriate colleagues as well as dispassionate outside parties such as experts, lawyers, ethicists. The government should only come in to enforce the media ethics approved the regulating institution and facilitate their work to serve the public interest and result in the greater good.
We must stand for the media not by supporting it when it is wrong, but by seeking ways to improve it.
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