The Media Observer: January to March 2015 issue

The Media

BSERVER A PUBLICATION OF THE MEDIA COUNCIL OF KENYA

JANUARY- MARCH 2015

Digital Migration & Media Regulation

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The Media Council of Kenya is an independent national institution established by the Media Council Act 2013 for purposes of setting of media standards and ensuring compliance with those standards as set out in Article 34(5) of the Constitution and for connected purposes.

Council’s Role, Mandate, Functions and Authority The Council draws its mandate and authority from the Media Council Act 2013. Its functions are to: • Promote and protect the freedom and independence of the media; • Prescribe standards of journalists, media practitioners and media enterprises; • Ensure the protection of the rights and privileges of journalists in the performance of their duties; • Promote and enhance ethical and professional standards amongst journalists and media enterprises; • Advise the government or the relevant regulatory authority on matters relating to professional, education and the training of journalists and other media practitioners; • Set standards, in consultation with the relevant training institutions, for professional education and training of journalists; • Develop and regulate ethical and disciplinary standards for journalists, media practitioners and media enterprises; • Accredit journalists and foreign journalists by certifying their competence, authority or credibility against official standards based on the quality and training of journalists in Kenya including the maintaining of a register of journalists, media enterprises and such other related registers as it may deem fit and issuance of such document evidencing accreditation with the Council as the Council shall determine; • Conduct an annual review of the performance and the general public opinion of the media, and publish the results in at least two daily newspapers of national circulation; • Through the Cabinet Secretary, table before Parliament reports on its functions; • Establish media standards and regulate and monitor compliance with the media standards; • Facilitate resolution of disputes between the government and the media and between the public and the media and intra media; • Compile and maintain a register of accredited journalists, foreign journalists, media enterprises and such other related registers as it may consider necessary; • Subject to any other written law, consider and approve applications for accreditation by educational institutions that seek to offer courses in journalism; and • Perform such other functions as may be assigned to it under any other written law.

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CONTENTS Editorial .................................................................................................................................................5 Letters to the editor ..............................................................................................................................6 Intrigues in the analoguedigital migration .........................................................................................7 Digital journalism and the ethical fault lines ...................................................................................10 The big switch: with love from china ...............................................................................................13 Missing link in big switch was civic education ...............................................................................16 Media training institutions ‘not ready’ for digital era ......................................................................18 Council hosts deliberations over migration stalemate ...................................................................22 Media council to hold fourth annual journalism awards ................................................................23 Daggers drawn over ‘old’ and ‘new’ journalism ..............................................................................24 Radio talk-shows raise grave ethical, legal questions ...................................................................27 Drawing the line between hate and free speech .............................................................................30 Journalists’ delicate balance in using social media ..................................................................... .32 Where does blogging and journalism intersect? ............................................................................34 The big question: just who is a journalist? .....................................................................................36 Exploring ethical and professional implications of technology......................................................38 Why information access still requires a reality check ....................................................................41

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The Media Observer is published quarterly by the Media Council of Kenya with assistance from Ford Foundation. The views expressed in articles published in this publication are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the Media Council of Kenya.

Media Council of Kenya P.O. Box 43132 – 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: (+254 20) 2737058, 2725032 Cell: +254 727 735252 Email: info@mediacouncil.or.ke Editorial Team Chief Executive Officer Dr Haron Mwangi Editorial Board Joe Kadhi-Chairman Dr Martha Mbugguss-Vice Chairperson Prof Levi Obonyo Otsieno Namwaya

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Jane Godia Wangethi Mwangi Consulting Editor Omondi Oloo Editorial Coordinators Victor Bwire Kevin Mabonga Contributors Amos Kibet Churchill Otieno Bob Wekesa Dr. George Nyabuga O.W. Oketch Muthoni King’ori Lydia Anyonje

Dr. James Oranga Stephen Ndegwa Jane Godia Joe Kadhi Kevin Mabonga Martha Mbugguss Otsieno Namwaya Photo Credits Moses Omusula Kevin Mabonga Design and Layout Soloh Worldwide Inter-Enterprises Ltd

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EDITORIAL

Digital migration: We must scale the heights

Kenya’s journey to full digital broadcasting has been long and torturous. At technical and infrastructural environment level, digital switchover (DSO) came with teething challenges. At policy font, the regulator faced the challenge of buy-in from stakeholders.

The process was dogged by unending legal and administrative setbacks that led to ugly run-ins between the regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and media houses, leaving Kenyans to undergo a 20-day television blackout.

Indeed as the saying “Rome was not built in a day� goes, we may have dithered due to the obvious third world challenges but we have finally crossed over, knowing that where opportunities exist, challenges also abound.

Moving forward, there is the need to review our regulatory framework to address the resultant professional and ethical issues, content diversification and ownership plurality challenges and the need for a better licensing regime.

At the Media Council of Kenya, we are more than prepared to support efforts by stakeholders to address all consumer issues and concerns.

We also believe that enacting the long awaited access to information and data protection laws is fundamental in aiding the utilization of communication resources made available by the new digital communication system.

As an industry whose shoulders our country very much leans on to progress, we have a role in ensuring past mistakes do not cloud our promising future. Commercial logic and endless supremacy battles only serve to claw back hard earned gains.

Now that the fear of falling short of the June 2015 target for full migration is over,we should focus on putting in place a clear policy framework to facilitate seamless transition to build a knowledge society ready to move forward their development agenda.

The benefits of the new communication structure are varied as discussed in this edition of The Media Observer. First, it will support the use of other ICT services such as mobile broadband besides ensuring maximum utilisation of the scarce national frequency spectrum efficiently. This means that existing broadcasting services can be provided using less of the radio frequency spectrum they currently occupy.

According to the regulator, with adoption of digital broadcasting, consumers will enjoy improved reception quality, a variety of enhanced broadcasting applications, multimedia data and multiplicity of channels and broadcast outlets.

Other benefits include allowing Kenyans to enjoy improved video and audio quality, as well as digital dividends that will emanate from greater spectrum efficiency.

With it, transmission costs will fall.

It presents an added opportunity for Kenya viewers to have avenues through which their own stories, concerns and lifestyles are reflected.

Local content development will be a core part of the migration strategy,

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promoting development of creative industry and enterprises.

But even with the benefits in the offing, we are also aware these opportunities may predispose broadcast journalism and the communications sector to potential risks challenges that call for robust policy approaches. We unreservedly root for constant policy review by regulators and stakeholders engagement to add value to the entire communication system.

We, however should, be cognisant of the fact that all these changes above impact significantly on the potential role of media in regard to sustainable development and democratic governance. To contribute to peaceful, accountable and inclusive societies, there is a need toaddress online freedom of expression, media pluralism, selfregulation, the business model for quality journalism, investigative journalism and online hate-speech.

Inter-agency collaboration of regulators, professional bodies and media enterprises will create nexus for acceptable and impactful communication system.

We must all be open to ideas to enrich the media industry further and yet still operate within a safer environment guided by the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism. With this stride, we believe we will make a difference.

Dr. Haron Mwangi Chief Executive Officer & Secretary to the Council

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Letters to the Editor We commend the Media Council for the good work seen in the October- December 2014 edition of the Observer magazine.

The Observer magazine is quite informative and we wish to commend the Council for consistently furnishing the Authority with copies of the We loud the efforts of the Council magazine and research findings in trying to ensure objective on various issues touching the reporting and adherence to the media. We appreciate your Code of Ethics in the practice of continued support. journalism by journalists.

A. Ambani Objectivity is especially important when it comes to conflict For Director General, coverage as the misrepresentation Communications Authority of of facts whether deliberately Kenya or inadvertently may have the disastrous effect escalating a tension.

We wish to commend the Media Council of Kenya for making effort to publish an authoritative magazine on the role of media in peace building.

Charles Nyachae, chairperson, Commission for the implementation of the Constitution

We appreciate the good work and look forward to next issue.

Ojango Omumo, Commission Secretary/CEO, National Police Service Commission

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Intrigues in the Analogue-Digital Migration The public was on February 14 treated to hate drama between government on one hand and three media houses on the other over migration from analogue to digital transmission. Then suddenly, the TV stations that had been switched off were back on air, and nobody explained how and why. OTSIENO NAMWAYA now tells the touchy story.

Kenya’s long awaited migration from analogue to digital platform has seen one too many controversies, the latest being the rather startling three-week standoff between the three mainstream media houses and the government in February.

broadcasting from February 14 for 18 days under circumstances that none of the protagonists was honest about, was the climax of a process that has for long been characterized by mistrust, lack of transparency, flexing of muscles and underhand dealings.

The standoff, which saw NTV/ The truth about the tension and QTV, KTN and Citizen TV cease mistrust that had been building

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for more than two years was lost in the ensuing accusations and counter accusations, with the management of the three media houses maintaining that the government had switched them off air and the government asserting the opposite – that the stations had deliberately switched themselves off air to blackmail the government.

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the Task Force on Digital Migration, established in 2007, recommended a phased switch off, which the government adopted, meaning that the switch off would begin with some regions such as Nairobi and gradually progress until the whole country achieves full digital migration.

Digital migration was a major battlefront between media houses and the Communications Authority of Kenya.

But both sides only told the audience half the truth on what went on. The unfortunate thing is that the three media houses came back on air on March 5, and have continued with broadcasting as usual, with neither the government nor the media offering a clear account to the viewers of the truth behind the broadcasting blackout.

Networks, which had been set up by the Royal Media Services and Nation Media Group (and one would assume that KTN was going to join at some point), on technical grounds.

Even more baffling was the fact that CA could not reveal the identities of the owners of the company to the Senate committee on legal affairs and human rights.

First, it is true, like the three media houses explained, that they had been forced off air by the government. The three media houses had exhausted the court process, having lost at the High Court, won at the Court of Appeal and, finally, lost at the Supreme It should first be noted that the Court in September 2014.

Geneva Agreement of 2006, which Kenya is a signatory to, set The Nation Media Group, the June 17, 2015 as the international Royal Media Services, which deadline for a complete owns Citizen TV, and KTN switchover from analogue to had gone to court in 2012 digital broadcasting. seeking a determination as to whether the Communications Kenya set its own national Commission of Kenya, which deadline of December 31, 2012, has since transformed to the against which the three media Communications Authority of houses successfully sought a Kenya, acted fairly in awarding a court injunction pending the full Broadcasting Signal Distribution hearing of their petition against (BSD) license to a foreign the then CCK. company, Pan African Network Group (PANG), and disqualifying Setting the national deadline the application for the same earlier than the international license by the National Signal deadline was necessary because 8

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Unlike the analogue system, where once a media house has the license and the frequencies, will develop content, set up and maintain its own content distribution system, and would therefore have to set up its own transmission masts, the digital broadcasting actually offers some relief on that. The content development and signal distribution aspects can actually function independently, such that a media house can choose to focus on just content development and then distribute the content via a suitable signal distribution platform managed by another group. Alternatively, a group of media houses, like Nation Media group, Royal Media Services and KTN can come together, acquire a broadcast signal distribution license and set up a platform through which they distribute their content. They can also host other content developers on the digital distribution platform.

But before distributing digital broadcasting signal, a group or company needs to get a BSD license from CA. This is where the three media houses found themselves in a catch 22 situation after their company, National Signal Networks, failed to get a BSD license. With the deadline of December 31 closing in, they had either to offer their content to the only two available digital signal distribution platforms – PANG and the KBC owned SIGNET – or go off air and therefore out

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of business once the analogue in the country could not get, then switch off commences. the right assumption to make is that the company individuals is The two court orders issued by the linked to influential individuals in High Court in 2012 and the Court government. of Appeal in 2013 suspending the national analogue switch The three media houses off deadline, basically allowed were faced with a difficult the three media houses – and decision. They either had by extension others that did to give their content to not go to court – to continue the government owned broadcasting on analogue, SIGNET, which is managed pending the determination of the case. This relief was, however, by KBC with a stake given short lived and depended on to other private entities the outcome of the government with links to influential appeal at the Supreme Court. individuals, or to PANG, The relief ended as soon as the which they had earlier Supreme Court ruled against the sued and lost, and whose three media houses in September ownership remained 2014 and the CA predictably unknown. moved to set a new switchover deadline of December 31, 2014.

Even more baffling was the fact that CA could not reveal While the three government the identities of the owners linked stations – the state owned of the company to the Senate KBC and the Kenyatta family committee on legal affairs owned K24 – promptly switched and human rights. This could to digital broadcasting on have been either because they January 1, 2015, the three media genuinely did not know them houses that had lost the case at or they were just not willing or the Supreme Court continued they were terrified to do so. This with analogue broadcasting. has continued to raise questions The three media houses were of how CA, charged with such faced with a difficult decision. They an onerous responsibility, could either had to give their content to award a coveted BSD license to a the government owned SIGNET, company whose ownership was which is managed by KBC with unknown, if indeed its true they a stake given to other private don’t know who owns it, and entities with links to influential reject a similar application by a individuals, or to PANG, which consortium whose ownership is they had earlier sued and lost, better known. Now, without in and whose ownership remained any way attempting to suggest that the three media houses were unknown. entitled to a BSD license, it is worth In Kenya, when a company noting that the way CA handled registered in a foreign country the awarding of the second BSD and whose file at the registrar license was suspicious and, in of companies disappears a well-functioning country, it mysteriously when questions of should have been the subject of ownership emerge, and yet it is an investigation. able to win a bid for such a valuable and lucrative resource as the BSD With the mystery surrounding license, which a consortium of the ownership of PANG fueling the most powerful media houses speculation that it was linked

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to individuals in government, the Nation Media Group, KTN and Citizen TV were faced with very limited options as the digital switch off approached – either give your content to a government controlled SIGNET or to another government controlled PANG, both very uncomfortable options with worrying implications for media freedom and independence.

It would appear that the three media houses opted for neither SIGNET nor PANG, and instead sat pretty in the hope that the digital switchover nightmare would pass. In fact, the self-provisioning license a new consortium – Africa Digital Network - by the three media houses (now incorporating KTN) had acquired in 2014 had also been suspended during a tiff with CA, which accused them of carrying misleading advertisements starting January 16 about Startimes and GOtv, which the three media houses said were illegally carrying their contents and advised viewers not to buy the pay – TV set top boxes by the two providers.

When the government forced the three stations to dismount their transmission masts and switch to digital, it was tantamount to switching them off. But it is not true that the three did not have an option: they were just uncomfortable with the available options and also that their own preparations for digital migration were still far off the mark despite pretenses to the contrary.

Otsieno Namwaya , a journalist, is a researcher at Human Rights Watch. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Media Observer magazine. onamwaya@hotmail.com

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Digital journalism and the ethical fault lines As JOE KADHI argues, going through the social media in Kenya reveals the extent to which ethical principles are violated through sheer negligence or lack of professional knowledge of cardinal issues such as privacy.

Nothing has of late challenged journalism scholars more than the effect of new technology on the professional ethics. Many highly respected institutions are still engaged in research work on this new subject.

Where scholarly explorations have shown some signs of success, fascinating findings have been discovered that are likely to have far reaching effects on the mass media and on journalism.

Among the most successful researches on this challenging subject was conducted by a team of scholars led by Carrie James who is a research director and a principal investigator at Project Zero of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

As early as 2006 Carrie James’ team launched a three year project with a two-fold goals of investigating the ethical contours of the new digital media and also of creating interventions to promote ethical thinking and, ideally, conduct.

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In their book Young People, Ethics and the New Digital Media published by the MIT in 2009, the scholars explore the ethical fault lines that are raised by such digital pursuits and argue that five key issues are at stake in the new media—identity, privacy, ownership and authorship, credibility, and participation.

Drawing on evidence from informant interviews, emerging scholarship on new media, and theoretical insights from psychology, sociology, political science, and cultural studies, Prof James’ team explored the ways in which youth are redefining these five concepts as they engage with the new digital media. For each issue, they describe and compare offline and online understandings and then explore the particular

“The definition of a

journalist in the Act, which set up a minimum qualification for professional journalists, was vehemently opposed by untrained “media personalities” masquerading as journalists.

when interacting with viewers, listeners and even readers. How, for example, does a fictitious editor of an agony column of a digital newspaper deal with an extremely intimate question from under-aged readers whose identity is not even known? But when it comes to the identity of journalists the issue, in my view, hinges on the vital aspect of professionalisation.

The identity of Kenyan journalists was so well defined in the Media Act of 2007 that it posed a threat to intrusive media owners out to determine what news is for the professionals they employ.

This threat did not end with the media owners but it spread its wings to dictatorial regimes that felt really threatened by an alert and effective Fourth Estate. The definition of a journalist in the Act, which set up a minimum qualification for professional journalists, was vehemently opposed by untrained “media personalities” masquerading as journalists.

Controlling a huge percentage of the majority of radio stations in most constituencies in Kenya , MPs wasted little time in replacing the Media Act of 2007 with the ethical promises and perils that Media Council Act of 2013 which surface online. did not only sweep the definition Contextualising the thinking of a journalist with its required of James’s team brings home a minimum qualification under the challenging ethical problem of carpet; but ended self-regulation identifying digital media audience altogether as it made the

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Journalists covering an event government unilaterally amend the Code of Ethics for journalists making the entire practice of journalism in Kenya operate under the thumb of governmental inference in editorial decision making process.

The MPs’ interest in changing the law is obvious. Now they cannot only employ unqualified journalists in the radio stations they own in their constituencies; but they can also make sure the stations are used to campaign for them in the 2017 General Election.

On privacy, Kenyan digital journalism is setting new standards because technology has enabled thousands of people to start participating in activities which hitherto were professionally categorised as journalistic; but today fall under the amorphous term of citizen journalism. Blogging, music downloading and instant messaging can correctly today be described as part and parcel of Kenyans’ lifestyles. The most challenging ethical questions about these types of activities are: To what extent do these activities fall under the category of digital journalism and if they

do how ethically upright are they in matters of privacy?

journalism remains a part of our life, the ethic of privacy will be challenging to the professionals; All professionally qualified Kenyan but how to implement it among journalists know that the public’s citizen journalists will for a very right to know should always be long time remain an uphill task. weighed against the privacy rights of people in the news. It is probably impossible to But do all the bloggers in Kenya discuss the scholar’s views of respect that ethical principle? the challenges of ownership Do they even know that the and authorship in Kenya principle exists? Apart from that, without analyzing the whole journalists in Kenya are expected issue of plagiarism. For some to stick to the issues they write very strange reasons the Code about. Going through the social of Conduct for the Practice of media in Kenya at random will Journalism in Kenya which is in shockingly reveal how flagrantly both the Second Schedule of violated that ethical principle is the Media Act of 2007 and the on a daily basis either through Media Council Act of 2013 do sheer negligence or through lack not contain any ethical principle of professional knowledge of the of plagiarism. Yet plagiarism ethical principle of privacy. is today probably the biggest headache of digital journalism According to the ethical principle, all over the world. Paradoxically intrusion and inquiries into an when the Kenyan Code was first individual’s private life without formulated by the eight members the person’s consent are not of the Media Industry Steering generally acceptable unless Committee in 1993, the ethical public interest is involved. Public principle of plagiarism did indeed interest, according to the code, exist and prohibited the use of should itself be legitimate and someone else’s work without not merely prurient or morbid attribution whether deliberately curiosity. Things concerning or thoughtlessly. private affairs are covered by the concept of privacy except where Describing plagiarism as a these impinge upon the public. serious ethical breach, the I believe for as long as digital principle however explained that

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borrowing ideas from elsewhere is considered fair journalistic practice. Despite that explanation, the ethical principle was categorical that words directly quoted from sources other than the writer’s own reporting should be attributed. According to the principle, in general, when other work is used as a source of ideas for stylistic inspiration the final result must be clearly different from the original work of the reporter.

Maybe one of the reasons the ethical principle of plagiarism was removed from the second schedule of both the Media Act of 2007 and the Media Council Act of 2013 is because of the existence of the Copyright Act of 2001 which makes provision for copyright in literary, musical and artistic works, audio-visual works, sound recordings, broadcasts and for connected purposes.

Despite of the existence of this law anyone who has marked any examination scripts at University level will tell you that plagiarism is a serious problem.

number of professional ethical principles are not adhered to.

Among these are accuracy and fairness, impartiality and to a certain extent independence.

In countries where dictatorial regimes deny professional journalists their independence the Fourth Estate simply ceases to exist, leave alone their vital watchdog role in society. In media

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In countries where dictatorial regimes deny professional journalists their independence the Fourth Estate simply ceases to exist, leave alone their vital watchdog role in society.

institutions where untrained proprietors insist on interfering with editorial decision making process, the journalists’ credibility is walking on very thin ice which is often very easily exposed. When powerful commercial enterprises try to control media content, Journalistic credibility, in my journalists’ credibility is also opinion, depends on upholding seriously challenged to an extent of various cannons of journalistic that readers, viewers and listeners professionalism at all costs. always lose respect for journalists.

Professionalism, on the other hand, depends not only on In digital journalism where mastering the nuts and bolts of information superhighway has correctly getting and writing a room for both the professional story but also on strict adherence and citizen journalists, serious to professional ethics. All these news readers, viewers and can, arguably, more easily be listeners all over the world have acquired through training. mastered the art of separating Whether one is practicing the horses from the mules. When journalism through print, Kenya’s leading three TV stations electronic or digital media the almost closed down due to digital respect he or she will command migration politics, many viewers from his or her readers, viewers missed professional presentation and listeners will depend entirely of news on TV. Now that they are on the practitioner’s credibility. all back, a number of serious news followers still prefer some news That credibility however can presenters to others meaning easily be challenged when a that the yardstick to measure

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professionalism in journalism does indeed exist and is very often used to evaluate journalistic credibility.

May be the most spectacular achievement of digital journalism is, and for a long time will be, its expansion of democratic rights to ordinary people in a manner that will make them enjoy both the freedoms of expression and information in a way never experienced before. In Kenya we can be proud of our new Constitution which guarantees these rights in Articles 33, 34 and 35. Despite these rights however the country must still be in a state of shock because the Legislature’s attempt to muzzle these important rights through the introduction of Security Amendment Laws. The situation was rescued by the Supreme Court which declared this shameful attempt unlawful as it was going against the Constitution.

What Kenyans achieved through that court ruling was, among other things, freedom of expression through people’s participation in digital journalism. This freedom however comes with a number of ethical challenges including Accuracy and Fairness, Impartiality and even Decency which the Kenyan code elaborates through the Ethical principle of Obscenity, Taste and Tone. Despite all these ethical challenges however it is difficult to imagine a refined form of deliberative democracy in Kenya without digital journalism.

Joe Kadhi is a former Managing Editor of the Daily Nation and is now a Lecturer at the Department of Journalism, United States International University. He is also the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Media Observer. joekadhi@yahoo.com

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The big switch: With love from China Was Kenya ready for digital migration? Well, BOB WEKESA tells why China’s positioning in digital migration market is a lesson that planning and working in synchrony is essential

China has featured prominently in Kenya’s and indeed Africa’s rollout of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sanctioned transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting. This is largely because StarTimes, a Chinese company, has won contracts to roll out the lucrative transition in no less than 20 African countries.

In the Kenyan case, the Pan Africa Network Group (PANG), seen as an affiliate of StarTimes, has been drawn into the unrelenting controversies coming with the big switch.

StarTimes and PANG’s involvement in Kenya’s transition to digital television broadcasting should ordinarily be assessed from a corporate perspective, without dragging in the communist-partyled People’s Republic of China.

However, the charged altercations accompanying the digital switch have seen StarTimes conflated with the Chinese nation. Lines drawn, StarTimes and China have either been bashed for all manner of supposedly deleterious effects on Kenya’s broadcast sector or extolled for coming to Kenya’s limitations with regards to most things digital.

Because broadcast spectrums and airwaves are a scarce resource, and it is healthy to hold the merits of StarTimes’ stake in Kenya’s transformation of its broadcasting sector against the potential demerits. A major bone of contention has been that the Kenyan government’s awarding of the digital transition contract to

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StarTimes runs counter to the ethic of support for homegrown media establishments – specifically Nation Media Group, Royal Media Services and the Standard Group.

A number of supplementary accusations ranging subtle insinuations of corruption to China’s poor human rights and press freedom record have been thrown into the spat.

Whether flawed or correct, the singular focus on the whys and wherefores of StarTimes’ involvement, and by extension China’s role in the digital migration saga, risks distracting many from the underlying factors that have propelled Chinese Information and Communication Technology firms to prominence globally.

Are there lessons that Kenya, the government and particularly

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the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, the Communication Authority of Kenya and media firms can learn from the current situation?

Specifically, can we borrow certain ideas from China rather than throw away the baby with the birth water?

Looking at legal, policy and practical steps that Kenya has been implementing in the digital space, one gets the sense that actions are being done with the urgency of an emergency. Yet, Kenya has had nearly a decade to plan for and execute the digital broadcasting transition.

One may fault China on many scores – for instance, lack of openness with regards to media and communication sectors.

But it is near-indisputable that the unique Chinese approach of meticulous planning and staying the course of agreed strategies, have put it in good stead to secure its digital transition at home and use the experience gained to spread tentacles to Africa.

Take the case of StarTimes.

Founded in 1988, the company has enjoyed an enviable status as one among few private companies certified to contract for foreign projects in the radio and television industry. This would be akin to a Kenyan company being singled out to undertake digital migration, a proposal that would shield such a company from competition. This would certainly touch off hue and cry from the rest of Kenyan ICT industry, as such an edict would be interpreted as uncompetitive in a liberal market economy.

In the case of China, the principles of socialist market economy, which is essentially a mix of planned and market economies, allow for the selection of certain 14

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companies to spearhead strategies especially when certain sectors are opening up.

The favor extended to StarTimes in China has ensured that it leverages the suit of broadcasting technologies, skills and

“The favor extended to StarTimes in China has ensured that it leverages the suit of broadcasting technologies, skills and experience that it gained in China to excel abroad.

experience that it gained in China to excel abroad. Through favorable government support, including access to resources from Chinese policy banks and inclusion in the Chinese government’s lobbying, the company is an able structure and wins contracts in Africa.

It is hard to find a Kenyan private company that enjoys such support in the local digital space, let alone internationally. Kenyan IT firms are generally hard put accessing the hefty financial layouts required to undertake projects on the scale of digital transition. Kenyan IT firms may boast of appreciable skills sets in the African market, but trail their Chinese counterparts by far when it comes to digital migration technology in their possession.

ahead of ITU’s decision in 2006. In 2001, China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) which is the counterpart of Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, laid out a five-year high definition television strategy. As with most plans that have the stump of approval of Chinese leaders, this one – focused on digitization of cable TV ahead of satellite and terrestrial television – was already registering success by the time the strategy period ended in 2005. In other words, the Chinese looked into the crystal ball and started going digital before the ITU made the decision to commit all nations to digital broadcasting.

By comparison, Kenya, like most African countries, only started working out policies and strategies for digital transition after the ITU decision – thus effectively becoming latecomers. Those who follow the Kenya information and communication technology sector will remember that the first major shift in the industry was in 1998 when a new policy broke down the then monolithic Kenya Posts and Telecommunication Corporation as well as liberalizing of the broadcast sector.

The next major development in Kenya was the 2009 amendment of the 1998 policies and laws – which many would remember as having attracted a lot of controversy. The point to remember in all these is that the first policy shift (1998) did not take cognizance of digital migration while the second one came three years after Kenya had appended its signature to the ITU digital television migration The StarTimes’ story is part of the with the deadline set then, for bigger Chinese picture. Kenyans this year (2015). The upshot is railing at the ‘People’s Republic’ that Kenya is a late entrant on the need to reflect on the fact that its digital migration beat in terms of digital migration kicked off way the legal and policy framework,

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whereas China is one of the suppliers would be sourced from nations that can be held up as outside the country. Because China had developed and tested front runners. a digital broadcast capacity at Hypothetically, one can assume home, it became a walk in the that Kenya’s delay in laying out a park for its companies – those nimble legal and policy framework manufacturing set-top boxes for served to hold back all players instance – to worm their way into in the digital migration process the African market. from preparing for the big switch.

On the other hand, China’s early A key lesson to draw from China’s decision to go digital became the approach to digital migration is sweetener of expansion of China’s that Kenya’s broadcast sector, if television market. From the early not all, needs visionaries who can 2000s, Chinese innovators and see trends and patterns well ahead industrialists threw their energy of time and plan for eventualities. into research, development, Secondly, need arises for tinkering production and marketing of with the current digital policy digital gadgets and equipment, and regulatory regime to ensure many of them attuned to digital that government and private players plan, act and speak from television broadcasting. the same script. Granted, Kenya Indeed, one of the strategies that will be hard put streamlining China developed as part of its decisions in a manner similar to broader transition was specifically China’s command-style modus to grow a digital broadcast operandi. Still, room does exist industry, often borrowing for government and business to technologies from the west and share forward looking strategies adopting them to the Chinese with an eye on pickings for the environment. In Kenya’s case, it private sector. As it is, Kenya is appears there was no plan for losing lots of foreign currency research and development and to foreign companies making a creation of a digital broadcasting kill from a multitude of digital industry. Instead, a decision transition opportunities.

At seems to have been made that the very minimum, a stop-gap technology and equipment

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measure to salvage the situation is called.

Thirdly, even as government and private sector are urged to work together, the latter can ill-afford being caught flat-footed in the next phases of digital transition.

For instance, it is anticipated that transition from analogue to digital radio broadcast will follow the television transition. Will Kenyan private sector, particularly broadcasters who won radio frequencies, be ready for digital radio transition? Well, a good place to start in looking at the radio transition would be China.

Just what is China doing in the radio transition space?

A short answer for the many exemplars from China would be: Plan well, act in synchrony.

The writer, a Kenyan journalist, is PhD candidate at Communication University of China, Beijing and Research Associate at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa. bobwekesa@gmail.com

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Missing link in historic switch was civic education As JANE GODIA writes, prior to full migration, Kenyans should have been briefed on the differences between analogue and digital, target dates, policy issues and the resultant financial implications

As three mainstream media houses and the Communications Authority (CA) dug in over digital migration, civic education emerged as the missing link between Kenyans and the government over the process.

While the battle was between the regulator and media houses, the old adage that ‘when two elephants fight, it’s the grass that gets hurt’ played out right before our eyes.

The government, in its own intelligence, assumed Kenyans understood what the process entailed. However, this was not the case. A conversation with a number of Kenyans showed there was not enough information, coming from the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology and the CA vis-àvis the media houses.

According to a joint report by African Governance Monitoring

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and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP), Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA) and Open Society Media Program (OSMP) titled Kenya: Public Broadcasting Survey, most Kenyans do not know the difference between analogue and digital broadcasting. The report says: “Kenyans will have access to a range of new services and will be faced with new costs and the pressure to change quickly to services they may not be familiar with.”

or given information. Most are still not privy to changes coming their way in the manner of TV viewing.

Viewers remain the most important category in the axis of TV viewing. Before KTN, NTV, QTV and Citizen came back to air after a 20-day blackout beginning February 14, views from consumers showed most were ignorant of the process. In an interview, one woman said: “Serikali, tafadhali, turudishie TV yetu mtutoe gizani (Government, The survey says the Taskforce please bring back our television on Migration from Analogue to and remove us from this Digital Broadcasting anticipated darkness).” this scenario and proposed that in the migration process, the This may have been the reason government gives priority to the activist Okiya Omtatah went to concerns of consumers who are court and accused the Supreme Court of failing to protect the likely to be the most affected. public’s rights in its determination of a dispute between media According to a resident of houses and CA over digital Kibera slums, most people migration. Omtatah in his watch their favourite argument, said the courts only programmes at night. considered broadcasting rights of media houses and went ahead Guidelines by the International to order they be issued with a Telecommunications Union licence but did not consider the (ITU) on digital migration were rights of viewers. originally prepared for African countries.

The guidelines, According to a resident of Kibera references, regulations, initiatives slums, most people watch their and obligations may have been favourite programmes at night. communicated to governments, “Coming back home to blank ministries and communications screens is something that caught authorities. However, the most everyone flat footed.” important people, who are the viewers, have not been consulted Initially, many people in some

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estates in Nairobi and other urban centres bought set boxes as a way of earning income. “In a small room or hall, people would pay about Sh20 to watch football.”

been watching programmes for free since we bought TVs.”

has changed). However, they do not understand the difference between what is going on now and what they had previously.

“How can I pay Sh800 per month yet I don’t have power? I would rather be without a TV,” argues They argue that even if a set box The Kibera resident says: “All another slum resiudent. is retailing at below Sh2,000, how we see are tents pitched with many Kenyans can afford to buy marketers offering the best deal. However, those who are a little the gadgets at a time poverty is There is no proper awareness more knowledgeable argue: biting hard? These are some of creation from the government on “People do not understand what the issues the survey by OSIEA why it’s important to buy the set the switch off is all about. There reports to have been put forward has been no civic education on by the Taskforce on Migration boxes.” what is going on and why the from Digital to Analogue in Kenya.

She says: “The focus is more on the migration. The confusion is made cost rather than the content and worse by companies selling The report says that the taskforce purpose and nobody has told us set boxes who have also cut recommended a campaign be in a simple way what we should off viewers from the free to air conducted to inform consumers expect. It’s more of a question of services which are, in all purposes, on the need for and the benefits the willing buyer, willing seller.” local channels.” of migration. “This consumer education should include the Another resident says: “I don’t He adds: “They sell two different difference between analogue understand digital migration. sets of decoders. The decoder that and digital services, set-top boxes, People are being told to buy allows one to watch channels for period of migration, switch-over decoders for programmes. You free apparently is more expensive dates, policy issues, financial are being told that if you want than the one where people have implications, quality of services to watch more programmes you to pay for the channels monthly.” and reception problems,” the pay more but other than that, survey quotes the taskforce.

The one-off (free to air) is said to there are no details.” be retailing at between Sh4,000 “Consumers are mainly concerned She adds: “All I understand is that and Sh5,000 while the cheaper about financial implications these stations which have been option (pay TV decoder) is being of the switchover, how much switched off are fighting for us — sold at between Sh2,000 and necessary equipment will cost, the common man.”

Sh3,000. whether the cost will be within their purchasing power,” it said.

“They are now telling us to pay if For most Kenyans, the talk is we want to watch TV, yet, we have that “TV imechange” (television The taskforce recommended that the Kenya Bureau of Standards and CA set minimum standards for boxes to be used in Kenya as a measure to ensure the market is not flooded with low quality equipment.

In all this, what the citizens failed to get was the much-needed civic education.

Jane Godia is a Gender and Media Expert and serves as Managing Editor at African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWCFS). jgodia@awcfs.org

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Media training institutions ‘not ready’ for digital era Content is king and as the first digital broadcasting steps get underway, the process will may not stand test of time unless training institutions are equipped to train content producers, argues Dr. GEORGE NYABUGA

by the Internet and associated technologies. Although mobile telephony was then still at its infancy in many parts of the world, there were fears that (traditional) media would suffer irreparable damage if it refused, was unable or unwilling to develop and unfurl new sails to withstand the stormy waters aided by the technological winds that were fast sweeping through the globe.

In January 1996, Microsoft founder Bill Gates coined the phrase content is king. In an essay published on the Microsoft website, he wrote: “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet (read media and now television), just as it was in broadcasting.”

Consequently, the technophobes and neo-Luddites who refused to embrace change and adapt to the new environment found themselves stuck deep in the technological hurricanes with threats of death. In fact, a few companies that refused or were slow to change died in what has turned out to be an unforgiving environment Such prophetic and pragmatic technological requiring innovative thinking, pronouncement captured the then goings-on almost new business models, risk-taking two decades ago as people, and constant look out for new institutions and organisations products. grappled with the ripples of Accordingly, since the late 1990s the technological waves then during the dot-com boom, we sweeping around the world. have experienced numerous A lot of water has passed under troughs in media business. the bridge since Gates made Many major media houses have acquiring that statement which reflected metamorphosed, new lives and embracing new the futuristic thinking that the modi operandi in a business media needed to change to defined by cope with developments created environment 18

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digitisation and convergence.

They have had to develop new platforms, merge with or acquire competitors in the battle to survive. Even journalists and media practitioners have had to acquire new skills, become multiskilled as the ‘old skills’ become obsolete or irrelevant.

What’s more, ‘old’ media were and are still losing business as the digerati, and digital natives and immigrants move online, choosing and consuming media texts, from music, to newspapers, films to music, from online platforms and oftentimes for free.

What were once profitable media businesses started to collapse.

Newspapers like the Christian Science Monitor stopped doing the daily print version in 2008 and moved onto web to publish a weekly news magazine with an international focus. Such demise marked a sad but unstoppable trend where old media business models were increasingly becoming antiquated.

As Michael Massing consequently argued in his 1 December 2005 article in The New York Review of Books aptly entitled The End of News?, the problem then facing newspapers was and perhaps still is ‘generational’. To him, older

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A journalist and a technician at a television editing suite. people (he was writing about Americans but the same could be true in many parts of the world), or an estimated 70 per cent, read a newspaper daily. Fewer than 20 per cent of younger people (Americans) did the same. Such trends were commonplace around the world. It was thus change or perish.

And when in 2006, the Regional Radio Conference (RRC-06) held in Geneva, Switzerland, asked countries to migrate from analogue to digital platforms to take care of changes, it became apparent that the old order was clearly antiquated, and was fast coming to an end. The journey had to start in earnest. Those fast enough could catch the train out of the analogue wilderness where it would be difficult to survive.

And thus begun a journey set

to end on 17 June 2015. It was is a consequence of numerous replete with challenges, most of factors among them the media them surmountable however. houses’ obstinacy and narcissism built on self-worth, interest and Nonetheless, since that chicanery meant to maintain and announcement was made and continue with their monolithic the journey to digital migration business ethos. started, a lot has been written about the switchover process. In There is no gainsaying that we Kenya, the journey has not been would still be held to ransom smooth. Citizen, KTN, NTV and by the media houses if the its sister station QTV switched off government had not stood its on Valentines Day 2015 for days ground and declared that the as they sought to pressure the deadline for the digital switchover government to postpone the was not negotiable. Thus the switchover. But the government debate has now moved on from stayed put. When it became the technical stuff to content. Thus apparent that the government to conclude that content is king was not shifting, and that they in the new digital dispensation were suffering irreparable is not to romanticise the role of damage, they threw in the towel content in the popularity and and resumed broadcasting. survival of the TV and indeed broadcast (even online) industry.

The controversy aside, it is evident To capture and retain audiences, that the process is sometimes the stations must offer audiences little understood. This ignorance

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more; they must enrich consumer experience in a highly competitive media, and particularly television, industry. The number of televisions channels available on the digital platform has gone up substantially, and many companies are now fighting for survival.

What’s more, with the impending entry into the television industry fray by the leading mobile telecommunication company Safaricom (I, however, think it’s wrong to allow Safaricom entry into the television industry), it is apparent that content will be the determining factor in the survival race. For with its financial might, Safaricom will have the capacity to take on the more established mega media companies and perhaps outdo them. This will be compounded by the fact that instead of channelling its adverts and attendant revenue to the media houses, the mobile phone company will be airing its own ads. Those who have relied on its revenue will have to look elsewhere. This notwithstanding the fact that the pie has to be shared among many (old and new) players.

light men and women, soundmen and women, etc.

Accordingly, the place of training institutions has now become ever more important. Yet, it also becomes vitally important to ask: Are media training institutions in Kenya ready to play their role? The rather simple but idealistic answer would be: who else? But therein lies serious challenges. Do they possess the capacity to do it? Do they have the human, physical, and monetary resources to do it?

Such questions demand urgent answers from the government as the driver of the digitisation process, and the institutions themselves as they seek to become relevant in expanded broadcasting space.

Accordingly, it is obvious that training institutions are not yet ready for the digitisation process.

But as they say, Rome was not built in a day. Besides, the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. The first digital broadcasting steps may have been taken but the process will remain wobbly There is no doubt that there is unless institutions, including increased and rising investment media training institutions, in media schools, and that huge are equipped to train content resources have been poured into producers. Content may be king, but that king is wobbly without the support of the next Accordingly, it is obvious generation of innovative and knowledgeable producers who that training institutions have passed through credible are not yet ready for the training. digitisation process. But as

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they say, Rome was not built in a day. Besides, the journey Whilst the effect on media of a thousand miles starts houses is yet to be felt, there with one step. is growing optimism that the digitisation process opens many opportunities for content producers who need to fill the lacuna that will be created by the proliferation of television stations. Already, we have seen the emergence of such television stations such as Njata, Sayare, Lolwe Television Network and others riding on the expanded broadcasting space. All these television stations will need knowledgeable, imaginative and innovative content producers, including script writers, producers, camera men and women, editors,

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Human capital, both quantity and quality, is without doubt one of the most biggest challenges facing the industry. It is clear that the country does not yet have the human resources to go round the training institutions. In short, the country lacks the human capital to train new producers, editors, journalists, cameramen and women, soundmen and women, and others vital to content production.

Dr. George Nyabuga is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication

the procurement of materials and equipment necessary for training. gnyabuga@yahoo.co.uk Of course some are still incapable of raising the capital necessary to purchase the expensive media equipment, and thus lack vital resources like studios, cameras, lighting equipment, etc.

Despite the investments, however, a more serious challenge is emerging. In fact, it has been around for a while.

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The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) will hold its Fourth Annual Journalism Excellence Awards (AJEA) on 4th May 2015 to concide with the World Press Freedom Day held annually on 3rd May.

SPONSORS

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INSIDE THE COUNCIL

Council hosts deliberations over migration stalemate By: Kevin Mabonga Media Owners Association chairman Sam Shollei emphasised the need to consider public interest in the digital Migration process.

Engineers Daniel Obam and Fred Ambani from the Ministry of ICT and CA respectively, made a joint presentation on digital Migration, and responded to concerns raised by participants on the technical part of the process.

MCK CEO Haron Mwangi addresses stakeholders at the peak of the digital migration standoff in February

The Media Council of Kenya convened a stakeholders meeting in February to help resolve the standoff between broadcasters and the government over digital migration.

The impasse between Royal Media Services, Nation Media Group and the Standard Group and the Communication Authority (CA) led to a 20-day television blackout.

The meeting brought together Media Owners Association, the Ministry of Information Communications and Technology, CA, Kenya Editors Guild, Kenya Union of Journalists, 22

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Kenya Corresponds Association, Association of Media Women in Kenya, civil society and scholars.

Media Council of Kenya Chief Executive Officer Dr Haron Mwangi called on participants to handle the discussion with sobriety. He pointed out the need for a quick resolution so that Kenyans are not denied their right to access information.

Mr Linus Kaikai, the Chairman Kenya Editors Guild urged the regulator to be fair to all the players involved. He said the process should be carried out harmoniously.

Prior to the stakeholders meeting, the Council had issued a statement on the migration.

In the statement, the Council said legal and administrative challenges had bedeviled the exercise. “Whereas, the Council is in full support of the digital migration exercise, we are worried that that this process will be delayed in contravention of the internationally agreed digital migration deadline of June 30, 2015,� read part of the statement.

The Council outlined the importance of migration, saying the digital platform would allow deployment of other ICT services such as mobile broadband besides facilitating a wider choice of programmes, hence diversity and plurality of content.

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INSIDE THE COUNCIL

Media Council to hold fourth Annual Journalism Awards By: Kevin Mabonga

of the year, journalist of the year, gender reporting award and the environment reporting award.

While giving a review of the 2014 AJEA, Media Council Chief Executive Officer Haron Mwangi noted the general improvement “We saw a remarkable improvement in the number of entries and quality of stories in 2014 compared to the previous years.” Dr. Mwangi noted. He further commended the judges for the transparency in the process.

AJEA has attracted several sponsors including Safaricom, UNDP, UN Women, KCB, Multi Choice the Communications Authority of Kenya, Net Fund, MCK has previously feted journalists for sterling performance.

UNESCO, KNATCOM and the The Media Council of Kenya As the custodian of professional Ministry of ICT is preparing to hold its fourth and ethical standards, the Kevin Mabonga is the Assistant Annual Journalism Excellence council established the AJEA to Communications & Information Awards (AJEA). create a forum through which officer at the Council, these standards are recognised, kmabonga@meiacouncil.or.ke The event will be held on May appreciated and promoted.

4 2015. The awards ceremony, organised by the Council Journalists in print, radio, television to recognise and uphold and online will be recognised and professionalism, will to coincide rewarded. The categories are: with the World Press Freedom ICT and telecommunications, Day. children and youth affairs, sports, tourism, arts and culture, The Council received more than photojournalist of the year, 800 entries in this year’s awards cartoonist of the year, business, and the gala night will be held good governance,camera person at the Kenyatta International of the year, health reporting, Convention Center, Nairobi. More free press Kenya, television and than 300 journalists will attend. news bulletin, young journalist

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in print, radio, television and online will be recognised and rewarded.

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Radio journalists at work in a state-of-the art studio.

Daggers drawn over ‘old’ and ‘new’ journalism The puzzling question occasioned by the growth of social media and ‘citizen journalists’ is all about the future of journalism as a profession. In the wake of the do-or -die battle between the old and the new,DR MARTHA MBUGUSS examines whether journalism will survive challenges of new media.

Blogging is a fairly new web application service developed

by Pyra labs in 1999 and bought

by Google in 2003. This is the practice of maintaining a website or page containing opinions, or experiences, mostly kept by individuals. Blogging, mostly wished away by traditional journalists, is now widely recognised as citizen journalism.

If you were to search the term “blogger” in 1980s and older Thanks to blogs, Facebook, dictionaries and thesaurus, Twitter, Youtube and other social networks, the mainstream chances are you will not find it.

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media are no longer the sole or primary source of news. Social media enable people not only to interact but also create, co-create, share, exchange, modify and comment on existing information and ideas. The social networks are becoming trendy, occasioning the reference to mainstream media as traditional.

Social networks are also described as “alternative media.”

Although alternative media is viewed as a tool that fills in some

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information vacuum, it is also considered as contributing to deprofessionalization of journalism.

Given the above perception, trained journalists see the new media as invaders, amateurs lacking in training, expertise and credibility. But that has not stopped the new media from creating following, widely known as virtual community. A virtual community is “collections of people who commingle on the Internet in a wide variety of computer-mediated social groups usually based on mutual interest and irrespective of geographical proximity (Franklin et al 2005 p272). Such communities occasionally benefit the mainstream media by providing useful, timely and valuable information.

With every passing day, the saying “if you cannot beat them, join them” is proving true between traditional and new media.

Journalism practitioners, trainers, researchers and information policy makers are drawn towards thinking, assessing, appreciating and critiquing social media and trying to find the necessary and useful links between the traditional and new media. In such a scenario, it has become necessary to scrutinise the merits and demerits of the two types of media and the likely future they could offer.

In her paper “A balance to mainstream media power: Kenya’s alternative media, Thuo, in Exploring Kenya’s Media Policy 1963-2013p92, posits that the traditional media have played very important roles in promoting development, democratization, civic education and advancing human rights. They have been known to advocate change, inform and educate people

on developmental issues, and mobilise them for national development. The success of mainstream media in reaching audiences and setting agenda has been heightened by their credibility, thanks to the contribution of gatekeepers including trained journalists, editors, and sub-editors’ efforts to instil and guard professionalism and ethics.

Their contribution not withstanding, traditional media have faced challenges that the new media, by their very nature bypass. The shortcomings are occasioned by time and space.

The traditional media products take longer time as the work gets scrutinised. The mainstream media can possibly place employed journalists, stringers and/or correspondents in every corner of the country/world.

(in Exploring Kenya’s Media Policy 1963-2013 p 71) recalls, mainstream media had become silent. Bloggers have also been clear heard during crisis like the Westgate terrorist attack. Besides distributing information, they also questioned Western media like CNN for “their sensational coverage” of the attack and forced the channel to apologise.

In a nutshell, citizen journalists have brought in a new freshness to journalism through speed, crowdsourcing ability, which brings representative, diverse ideas and points of view to bear on their many recipients and offering thousands of people to be engaged in important debates.

Social media competes, challenges and contributes to the mainstream media.

The many advantages of social media have not, however, overcome some obvious demerits. The main concern is The main concern is that many bloggers and other that many bloggers and citizen journalists are not trained, hence they sometimes lack the other citizen journalists ability to ask or think about the are not trained, hence right questions or handle issues they sometimes lack the ethically. Issues of objectivity, fairness, balance, respect for ability to ask or think privacy are compromised by about the right questions citizen journalists. They have or handle issues ethically. been accused of publishing false and defamatory information, especially against public figures.

Citizen journalism on the other They have also been accused on hand is about public citizens dwelling on trivial and non-issues. taking an active role in collecting The shortcomings are extended to and distributing from wherever traditional media, especially when they are. Traditional media they use material emanating practitioners sometimes turn from citizen journalists. They risk to citizen journalists, including spreading rumours and unverified bloggers, for crucial information. information, which could lead to expensive legal suits and loss of There are times such as during credibility which they have built the 2007/2008 election violence over the years. when bloggers became much sought after providers of The puzzling question occasioned information. As Sambuli 2015 by the growth of social media and

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‘citizen journalists’ is on the future of journalism as a profession.

Daggers are drawn in a do or die battle between the old and the new. Will journalism survive the great challenges posed by the new media? The mainstream media industry is gearing up to the new landscape as some indicators demonstrate. To start with, the traditional media is acknowledging and appreciating social media’s significance.

Several traditional media have set up a Facebook and Twitter presence as complementary

The main concern is that many bloggers and other citizen journalists are not trained, hence they sometimes lack the ability to ask or think about the right questions or handle issues ethically. platforms through which to communicate especially for breaking news. Besides using stories from bloggers, they have also introduced blog section which they offer to contributors from blogosphere. There are some media houses today that insist on their potential employees being bloggers. They consider blogging as a form of experience in journalism and one that could add value to their operations.

all aspects of Internet publishing.

AOP members include media heavyweights like the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Guardian Unlimited and News International.

Media and journalism scholars have not been left behind.

Meerman Scott (2013) for example wrote a title “The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyer” which is quite telling. The social media, as a unit, is being incorporated into the academia. In his book “Talk like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds,” Gallo’s (2014)TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, an appreciation of the fact that we are living in a technologically driven world. The Internet is key in the communication field.

Journalism books’ authors are taking note and writing books that incorporate or are wholly dedicated to online journalism covering topics like Online Journalism: Reporting, Writing and Editing for New Media (Craig, Richard. 2005), Online journalism: Principles and practices of news for the web (Foust, James. 2005), Web journalism. Practice and promise of a new medium (Stovall, James.

2004).

Ethics, a key component of journalism, has also been addressed by some authors such as Friend, Cecilia and Jane Singer.

2009 in their Online journalism ethics: Transitions. Other books are geared towards online news Another pointer is the setting writing, journalism in digital up in the United Kingdom an age and convergent journalism Association of Online Publishers among others.

(AOP) in 2002 intended to present a unified voice to the Several universities and colleges industry and government on have introduced or are planning issues and concerns relating to to introduce online journalism 26

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units in their programs. Soon, it is expected that there will be fully fledged concentrations on online journalism in institutions of higher learning. Such may lead to preparing professional bloggers with capacity of being self-employed. In future, media outlets could consider creating opportunities of hiring or contracting professional bloggers, and rewarding them.

Such an eventuality could save on costs while providing benefits from more sources.

As journalism trainers join the bandwagon, there are some points they must ponder on. The first is whether future journalism will be similar to the present and past. Will journalism need to be redefined and perhaps renamed?

Which, between the needs of immediacy and the news values of fairness and balance, will give way? In terms of style, will the new type of journalism tilt more to the TV and blogging conversational style and forgo the formal print style or will there be a balance between the two? Will journalism of the future stick to conventional language or will it adopt slang and the short text message format? And what will be the likely consumer expectations?

Will they still expect journalists to be responsible and accountable?

Time to address these questions is now!

Dr Martha Mbugguss is a lecturer of Mass Communication at Africa Nazarene University and a member of the Editorial Board of the Media Observer magazine. mmbugguss.mbugguss@gmail. com

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Radio talk-shows raise grave ethical, legal questions Proliferation of stations in Kenya coupled with the fight for wider audience base and attendant revenue share has promoted the growth of programmes that blatantly contravene the code of ethics, writes O.W. Oketch generously feed listeners with a three course content laced with obscenity, racial sarcasm, sexual innuendos, religious and/or ethnic stereotyping.

In a 2013 report titled, ‘Assessing the Application of Ethical Standards and Professionalism in Talk Radio in Kenya,’ the Media Council of Kenya revealed that a majority of radio listeners continue to express concerns on the quality of Talk radio is a fast emerging moderation, caller comments and format of new media containing inappropriate topical discussions discussion about topical issues. in call-in radio talk shows.

The shows are regularly hosted Numerous complaints regarding by a single individual, and often the ethics and professionalism of feature interviews with a number radio talk shows have also been of selected guests. received by the council. These It also typically includes an touch on the inappropriateness element of listener participation, of topics, invective, unverified usually by broadcasting live and reckless commentaries from conversations between the host callers and guests, uncontrolled and listeners who “call in” to the interventions from callers and show. Listener contributions are inability of hosts to moderate and usually screened by a show’s control discussions. producer(s) in order to maximise The report further reveals that audience interest and, in the case some callers and participants get of commercial talk radio, attract paid to express sensationalists’ advertisers. sentiments about controversial In Kenya, ‘MwalimuKing’ang’i’ is issues to generate debate and a character popular in Nairobi interest. According to the report, during rush hour in private and some callers and public transport. At such times participants get paid to commuters, either inadvertently express sensationalists’ for those in public service matatus sentiments about or purposely for private motor controversial issues to vehicles, tune in to the now notorious morning or evening generate debate and radio talk shows whose presenters interest.

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proliferation of radio stations in Kenya coupled with the fight for wider audience base and attendant revenue share has further promoted the growth of talk shows.

The report further revealed that media practitioners with little or no training in journalism form 85 per cent of complaints hence grave concerns exist that with the now unfolding digital migration, obscene airing is bound to rise due to lack of content and increased competition. In the previous legislative regime of the Media Act 2007, the Media Council attempted several interventions towards addressing the ever increasing complaints including imposing fines on radio stations violating the code of conduct through their radio talk shows but the situation has remained prevalent. This synopsis therefore attempts to revisit the issue of radio talk shows within the prevailing media environment especially after the enactment of the Media Council Act 2013 [hereinafter referred to as the Act]. The foremost guiding principles are laid down in Article 33(1) (2) & (3) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.

The relevant provision states that the freedom of expression is guaranteed including the freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas. However, this freedom is not absolute and

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does not extend to hate speech, incitement to violence, advocacy of hatred including ethnic incitement, vilification of others or incitement to cause harm.

sole prerogative to set media standards and regulate and monitor compliance with those standards which powers are donated by Article 34(5) (c) of the Constitution.

complaint can be processed.

Section 34(8) of the Act introduces a novel invention not known to any country of granting the Media Council suomoto (on its own accord) powers to lodge a This code is exhaustive and complaint on behalf of the public. covers a diverse range of Upon a fair determination of any prohibited grounds of obscenity, complaint section 38(1) of the Act lurid sexual innuendoes, sexism, provides for penalties including but not limited to apology, The Code of Conduct correction, public reprimand, imposition of administrative fine for the Practice of and suspension or removal of Journalism 2013 which is the particular journalist from the a constitutionally binding code deriving from the Media register of accredited journalists.

Lastly, in the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, every person is required to respect the rights and reputation of others. Section 3(2) of the Act further speaks to these guiding principles and requires journalists and media practitioners to demonstrate professionalism and respect for the rights, personal dignity and privacy of others while exercising their rights to Council’s sole prerogative freedom of expression.

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The starting point is Section 6(1) (h) of the Act which obligates every journalist to submit to the accreditation protocol of the Media Council which is the exclusive body charged with the responsibility to verify and certify the credentials of any journalist. It is important to note that section 2 of the Act defines a journalist as any person who is recognised as such by the council upon fulfillment of a criterion set by it.

The implication of this definition is that both professionally trained journalists and ‘citizen journalists’those who do not have a background of journalistic training but nevertheless are talented radio and/or TV presentersare subject to professional regulation by the council. The latter are deemed to have voluntarily, unequivocally and without reservation submitted themselves to regulatory penalties as prescribed by the Act if they are found to have violated the code.

Both are required to observe the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism 2013 which is a constitutionally binding code deriving from the Media Council’s 28

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In Esau vs Heart 104.9FM Case No: 01/2011, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa received a complaint regarding alleged racist language used during an early morning broadcast on the Respondent’s station. The defence was that the reckless commentaries, racial words were used within a satirical slurs, religious and/or ethnic context. stereotyping and payment for The commission held that satire publication of news which are could not always excuse, the most daily breaches committed by severe of breaches touching on radio talk show programmes. The social and/or ethnic integration. complaints and dispute resolution In the commission’s view the mechanism of the Media decisional criteria is often Council under its strengthened whether the offending words are Complaints Commission can to be viewed as being those of a robustly tackle such breaches if particular presenter, who regularly effective strategies and adequate broadcasts on the morning tools are utilised to tighten show. He can therefore be said the regulatory noose towards to have a certain reputation and achieving a wider scope of a following. Thus, the general compliance. tenor and tone of his utterances The reconstituted Complaints are likely to be predictable to the Commission is compliant to likely listeners. In Mondray Oliver Article 159(2) (d) which places vs Heart 104.9 FM Case No: 14/2011, a premium on substantive the commission adjudicated on a justice without due regard to similar complaint. technicalities. Complaints can be It concerned a radio broadcast lodged by anyone aggrieved from in which a morning radio talk the actions of any radio talk show show presenter did not cut off host. The procedure is straight a phone-in listener who used forward and simplified since unsuitable language at a time even on the basis of oral, written when children might have been of informal documentation a listening. The commission in a

to set media standards and regulate and monitor compliance with those standards which powers are donated by Article 34(5) (c) of the Constitution.

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MIC ON: radio’s popularity as a mass media remains undisputed. unanimous decision held that Broadcasting service licensees must not broadcast material which, judged within context, sanctions, promotes or glamorises violence or unlawful conduct based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or mental or physical disability. They must also avoid broadcasting material which is harmful or disturbing to children at times when a large number of children is likely to be part of the audience. It was stated that no excessively or grossly offensive language should be used before the water-shed period on television or at times when a large number of children is likely to be part of the audience on television or radio.

Lastly, the enforcement mandate of the proposed broadcasting code of ethics, intended to regulate content aired should be transferred from the Communications Authority of Kenya to the regulatory ambit

of the Media Council of Kenya which is the sole body envisioned under Article 34(5) as the body to set media standards and regulate and monitor compliance with those standards. The Supreme Court of Kenya in Petition No. 14 of 2014 (Digital Migration Case) affirmed this position.

Additionally, the broadcasting institutions must be required to have all the qualifications inclusive of a well-equipped studio in order to be accredited. The Council should consider introducing a scorecard policy that will rate the performance of all media houses regarding professionalism.

by Radio stations, callers to be discouraged from using vulgar language that may create ethnic profiling among others.

To help curb unprofessionalism and lack of training of media practitioners, the Media Council should actualize the formulation of a programme to introduce a standard curriculum for all accredited media institutions.

Ultimately, the Complaints Commission must bite the bullet and be more innovative, progressive and effective in enforcing compliance and weeding out instances of breaches of the code by radioThese ratings will then be talk show hosts. distributed to advertisers who will use the information to decide which media houses to work Hon (Mr) O.W. Oketch, RM is with. Additional measures that a Commissioner at the Media the council must introduce are Complaints Commission and training of talented and celebrity a serving Deputy Registrar/ co-hosts who do not have Magistrate in the Judiciary of journalistic training by respective the Republic of Kenya. media stations, adherence to professional code of conduct woketis@gmail.com

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Drawing the line between hate and free speech MUTHONI KING’ORI explores this debate in the wake of arguments that the National Integration and Cohesion Act should be amended forthwith since it does not define hate speech adequately incite ethnic hatred. Hate speech also comprises distributing shows or plays, recordings of visual images or producing, directing or providing programmes that are likely or intended to fuel ethnic hate.

Before the 2007 post-election violence, hate speech was not a term many Kenyans discussed often. Although in previous years there had been political violence in some sections of the country, it is the 2007-2008 violence that shocked many into debate about hate speech and its power to divide a country.

The Kofi Annan-led negotiations which led to the formation of the coalition government also saw the enactment of the National Cohesion and Integration Act by Parliament in 2008. The rationale of enacting this law that led to the formation of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission was to help improve ethnic relations fuelled by the violence.

Section 13 of the Integration Act defines hate speech as the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, display of written material or publication or distribution of written material that is meant to stir up ethnic hatred or which may actually

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arguments that the law on hate speech has in the recent past been used to curtail citizens’ freedom of expression.

Accusations have been leveled against the executive and county governments, with many arguing that the hate speech law and Ethnic hatred has been defined as other laws in the penal code hatred against a group of persons are being used to stop criticism in terms of colour, race, nationality against corruption and other or ethnic or national origins. misdeeds.

Persons prosecuted and Of particular concern has been convicted under the act may be the arrest and prosecution of a fined up to Sh1 million or handed number of bloggers for posts a sentence not exceeding three that they have put on their social years or be ordered to pay the media. The issue has been what fine and also serve the jail term. some have termed selective The act empowers the commission justice. This is where politicians to investigate complaints of continue to spread hate on both offline and online platforms but are still free men and women This is where politicians whereas ordinary citizens continue to spread hate on both blogging are subjected to the law offline and online platforms but as soon as they are deemed to are still free men and women have violated it. whereas ordinary citizens blogging are subjected to the But what exactly is freedom of law as soon as they are deemed expression and what makes it so to have violated it. controversial. Why is it sometimes looked at as hate speech rather ethnic or racial discrimination than free speech? and make recommendations for prosecution to relevant The right to freedom of expression authorities. The commission also is contained in Section 33 found has the power to publish the in Chapter four (the Bill of Rights) names of persons or institutions in the Constitution. The section whose words or conduct may states that this right includes the undermine or have undermined freedom to seek, receive or impart or contributed towards information or ideas; freedom of undermining good ethnic artistic creativity and academic relations or who are involved freedom and freedom of scientific in ethnic discrimination or the research. propagation of ethnic hate.

However, this right is curtailed However, there have been if one propagates war, incites

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violence or engages in hate speech. The protection also does not cover one who advocates hatred that entails ethnic incitement, incitement to cause harm, vilification of others or propagates discrimination based on ethnicity.

Eric Kivuva, an advocate of the High Court, calls the balance between hate speech and free speech a dicey situation. He argues that in both cases, there are two inherent rights conferred by the Constitution and that we must ensure that we do not respect one over another. “The right to a reputation limits the right of expression. You are not allowed to abuse someone just because you have the right to freely express yourself. But at the same time, one should not curtail your right to express yourself on matters that are important to you as a citizen,” he says.

MrKivuva feels there is need to amend the National Integration and Cohesion Act saying that it does not define hate speech adequately. He elaborates that a crime must be fully defined for deterrent measures to be effective.

Although the law has some shortcomings, the lawyer says the real problem with the Act is in its implementation. He argues that the Integration and Cohesion Commission should do more in executing its mandate to investigate, shame and bring to book those who blatantly violate the law.

Nathan Masambu, a former journalist and a media trainer is in agreement that the cohesion law needs to be amended. He says that the hate speech law was hurriedly passed by Parliament because of the 2007 post-election violence. He feels it should be

refined because it is a law that was born out of the pain and agony of the violence rather than rational reasoning.

“The National Integration and Cohesion Act is intimidating and chilling. It scares people from expressing their rights. It intimidates people from assembling online to communicate on crucial matters facing the country,” MrMasambu says.

The question of interpretation brings to mind hate speech allegations facing Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria. He has been accused of spreading hate by allegedly posting a Bible verse about circumcision on his Facebook account. The MP is challenging the accusations by maintaining that he did not author those words in the Bible.

What about hate speech on mainstream media online platforms?

Hezekiel Gikambi, project manager, swahilihub.com, a website that is powered by Taifa Leo and Mwananchi newspapers both owned by the Nation Media Group, explains how they ensure their online platforms are not used to disseminate hate speech.

The journalist contends that mainstream media have managed to avoid the hate speech loopholes because of the gatekeeping process and editorial policies that clearly stipulate what is acceptable and what is not.

“This way, hate speech does not find its way on either our offline or our online platforms,” he says.

Gikambi says a lot of what editors have to deal with on the website is not hate speech but unsolicited comments such as calls for hook ups and comments from people trying to sell different wares. He says some people try to ride on the website’s popularity to drive their own agenda rather than just make comments on the debate generated by the stories on the website.

On regulation of social media, Gikambi feels the platform should not be constrained by strict laws but that at the same time those who use it should do so responsibly.

Muthoni King’ori teaches Mass Communication at St Paul’s University, Limuru muthosh4@yahoo.com

Gikambi says most of the stories that are likely to elicit hate messages are those on politics. “We have moderators/editors who sieve the comments as soon as they are posted to ensure that hate messages don’t go through,” he explains.

“Some people also try to post naughty messages but they are sieved before being allowed on the section where the audience comments,” he adds.

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Journalists’ delicate balance in using social media The advent of social media opened unlimited space and freedom for journalists and all to express themselves. But as Churchill Otieno explains, this freedom may not be that unlimited, after all. endorsements. Wait, that may not be strictly accurate, that is why the emphasis is on “assume”. What is more important here is what perception do you project if you are always retweeting one side of a debate and not the other? This may injure your reputation as a non-partisan journalist, yet that How does one do quality reputation is what elevates you journalism in the age of social above other social media users. media? Social media is fun and everybody is entitled to a piece, Second, all you post online will except it cannot be anything live on endlessly, even if you delete it only a few moments goes for them. later. It therefore helps to develop From a public communications the discipline to fight back that perspective, social media is a all familiar urge to be the first minefield for all the crimes in to break it. If you want, learn the book – libel, hate speech, to count to 10 before clicking personal attacks, trolls, misogyny, on the publish button. Always remember, those who get it virtual mercenaries and more. wrong are remembered much Social networks have emerged longer than those who break it as a powerful channel for first. distribution of news and information. Naturally, journalists Third, do not lie to yourself, you have swarmed in. Given the noise only have one persona – hence and misrepresentations that you are your employer. Forget abound online, journalists and that false cover provided by your their media brands often play guerilla account in which you the critical role of verification. have deliberately picked a code Hence, many may get away with name and left out details on amplifying rumours and other career and employer. If it matters “unconfirmed reports’, but not a enough, there are tools to out individuals behind whatever journalist. account. More importantly, if you The potential points for tripping ever have to use your account for are many, but these 10 are work, then it is better to clearly currently more pronounced and identify yourself. call for some editorial guidance Four, do not bring your employer by way of a newsroom policy. and/or colleagues into disrepute.

First, assume that your On this, really, it is about common retweets and shares are indeed sense, better summarized as 32

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don’t do anything stupid. It is assumed that you are a member of this tight-knit community called the work-place, and that you understand the code in terms of what goes or doesn’t.

In a newsroom context, editorial guidelines will give pointers to help staff navigate these gray lines of boundaries.

Five, as goes in every workplace, keep internal communications confidential. In nearly all instances, a newsroom is part of a business or an organization whose members have a fair expectation to a level of privacy in their communications. You are part of this family, help in keeping it tight, warm and happy.

Six, apparent partisanship can be discerned through content analysis of a journalist’s timeline.

If you are always commenting about KalembeNdile’s The Independent Party (TIP) would it be construed that you have a more than journalistic interest in its matters? Though this may be innocently done, it would matter less when the trolls arrive on the scene. It pays to keep an eye on how you are portrayed when

Social media is a minefield for all the crimes in the book – libel, hate speech, personal attacks, trolls, misogyny, virtual mercenaries and more.

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New media now offers solutions at finger tips. your posts are read item by item media. Social media has had an as well as when they are read empowering effect for women together. journalists, but a pattern of cyber misogyny against women Seven, just obey the law of the public figures is also emerging. land, simple. If the law says you Editorial leaders would need to shall not publish the identity of recognize this and help protect a child in difficult circumstances, their women journalists from it covers your online activity too. online abuse, sexual harassment Many laws cover online conduct and the attendant psychological without being explicit about it, and even physical risk. This is you are on notice. particularly important now that Eight, journalists are public figures most newsrooms are pushing and their work can make some their journalists to get active on people unhappy. Online trolling social media as part of their work. and cyberbullying is a tactic used Ten, journalists may be good by some people in attempts to in ferreting out facts that the influence a journalist’s work. It is powerful may not want published, an affront on the independence but they often are not the best of journalists and every modern in packaging their profiles well newsroom will need to guide to help project themselves as their staff on how to steer authorities in the beats they cover. through this and tip them on self A clear policy should provide defence measures. A newsroom professional guidance on how has a duty to come out strongly this can be achieved, especially against cyberbullying of its staff. It given that in the social media is a duty to colleagues, a duty to sphere their accounts may exists the profession and a duty to the as co-brands to the organisations’. nation.

Related to this is the need for Nine, women journalists some operational guidance, are emerging as targets for for instance, can reporters misogynistic attacks on social break stories on their personal accounts before the same goes

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through editorial gatekeeping?

Digital media extends press freedom in important ways, newsrooms must actively secure these gains for all gender. For example, women journalists may need some training on how to deal with cyber misogyny, and newsrooms may cover instances of these attacks as valid stories to drive public awareness, debate and hopefully action.

Going forward, newsrooms editorial policies need to be more of a guidance tool than a dos/don’ts edict. It should offer journalists advice on how to engage in social media while sidestepping the mines, and empower them with strategies and tactics for defence against trolls and online misogyny. Its tone should be more of a friend’s than a prefect’s.

Churchill Otieno, is the Managing Editor for Digital at Nation Media Group. cotieno@ke.nationmedia.com

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Where does blogging and journalism intersect?

LYDIA ANYONJE explores whether blogs are the new form of journalism even in the absence of tight scrutiny that journalists are subjected to for purposes of accuracy, decency and quality deep seated fear among media owners, practitioners, trainers and the public that bloggers may be taking over the traditional role of trained practicing journalist as purveyors of information.

But more serious than the fear that bloggers will supplant journalists is the manner in which information in the blogs is collected, packaged and Blogging, a digital method of conveyed to the public as well content distribution, is becoming as the ethical issues around the a legitimate quick way of getting blogging process. information to the public. In the information society, nobody According to Jacob Friedman, a wants to be left behind in the scholar, blogging has broadened the market place of ideas by digital transformation. allowing more people’s voices The enhanced social media to enter the discourse. This is, platform coupled with the if you ask me, quite liberating, smart phones explosion has empowering and fodder for a exponentially transformed the truly democratic society. manner in which information is gathered, organised, packaged Is blogging then the new One notorious and disseminated to the masses. journalism? blog reader describes blogging journalism sugarcoated We have blogs on almost as everything ranging from lifestyle, with opinion. This implies that real estate, financing, family blogging does what journalism issues, fashion, agriculture all does and goes even further the way to religion and politics. to provide what is missing in Managing these blogs is a new the mainstream media. Does crop of digitally savvy individuals this mean that journalists have mostly working for themselves or outlived their sale-by date and should be immediately and for others. permanently be replaced by the Blogging has catapulted many swift agile blogger? people into the public limelight, with some becoming overnight My view is that trained, sculptors of opinions and professional journalists will always perceptions who command a be required in society and they can massive youthful following. This never be the same with bloggers. state of affairs has occasioned a Journalism has to do with training 34

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and observing the code of ethics.

Journalists interview sources and investigate issues before editing and disseminating information.

How many bloggers have the time or even the capacity to do this?

Bloggers are indeed important to society since they offer the alternative voice. In fact, they can become good journalists later if they are ‘trained’ on how to professionally and ethically handle the issues, persons and content. Anyone can be a blogger but not everybody can practice professional journalism.

All one needs to do to become a blogger is to acquire a personal computer with a connection to the internet or possess a smart phone, have a personal email account or a social media account, be techno savvy and off they go, ready to blog.

Usually, a blogger decides whether or not he wants a public blog viewable by anyone on the internet or a private one.

Admittedly, blogging involves many hours of writing posts, adding new pages, promoting the blog on social media platforms and general maintenance of the site. This is a lot of work.

The truth is that bloggers are sharing knowledge and building audiences, making friends, making money and establishing careers for themselves right from their online projects. Their existence

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and relevance to society is not in question. However in Kenya and other developing countries, blogs are viewed by many as less reliable sources of information which only provide an antidote to the usually more accurate mainstream media.

Veteran radio journalist Winnie Malala, who is now a public relations practitioner, says most bloggers are simply noisy whistle blowers without ethics. “These so called digital scribes are spewing content that is one-sided and not countercheck ed.

Nobody can confuse this for journalism.

Journalism in this country has come of age,” she says.

A few bloggers whose training is in journalism are blogging for their media houses. Many other bloggers do it for monetary, political, social and personal reasons. Nobody checks their work; they are accountable only to themselves. The crux of the matter is that it is very easy for distorted unverified information to pass through the blogs ‘dressed’ as facts. Many bloggers are not exposed to the newsroom experience, peer review and the editor’s hawk eye; neither have they benefitted from the skills usually imparted to journalism students in a formal training programme.

Where then do blogging and journalism intersect? The work of bloggers is useful to journalists but does not necessarily make one a journalist unless they have been trained through a formal programme or real life experience

in a media house.

Media houses are increasingly demanding multi-skilled graduates who can handle writing, camera work, running

case one requires to seek redress over defamation and invasion of privacy.

Further, bloggers are not under the tight surveillance and scrutiny that journalists are usually subjected to for accuracy, decency and quality. Even though bloggers do research, they simply write in their own style, to an audience of their choice.

Some ardent readers of blogs suggest that the advantage of this freedom is that bloggers can tell a story as it is without fearing a backlash. Tamara Okiya, a 24 yearold law student at the University of Nairobi says: “Blogs always lay the truth bare. They reveal what the regular media people are afraid to say.”

and maintaining organisational blogs and other websites among a host of other competencies.

Blogging may in fact be one of the knowledge assembly options at the journalist’s disposal which he may use to develop stories and interrogate issues.

There are a myriad of challenges on regulation. As the bloggers roll out information, it may be important to ask questions about whose voices they represent. For all intents and purposes, these blogs are simply the thoughts, perceptions and opinions of the individual bloggers mostly subjective.

Are there water-tight legal mechanisms to address the dysfunctions of the blogs especially if they cause serious economic and political ramifications? I do not think so.

One peculiarity with bloggers is that they can and do post blogs anonymously, making it very difficult to track the authors in

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This freedom is good for the ideals of democracy and empowerment of citizens in this era of citizen journalism but is extremely counter-productive especially if that ‘truth” has not been properly verified by the blogger.

On whether blogs need regulation, there are those who feel subjecting blogs to strict regulatory measures will derail gains made by the Constitution on access information. Bloggers provide space for controversies and discussions.

Bloggers have their own niche and should strive to seek ways of self-regulation by developing a credible and practicable code of ethics.

Lydia Anyonje teaches communication at MasindeMuliro University lydinyonje@gmail.com

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The big question: Just who is a journalist?

DR. JAMES ORANGA takes a look at the internationally acceptable standards of journalism and attempts to describe who should be called a journalist.

On May 2 2014, I was honoured to share a platform with Prof TawanaKupe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) of the University of Witswatersrand, South Africa.

This was during the Media Council of Kenya 2014 Convention at the KICC. I had been tasked with making a brief presentation, as a discussant, on media professionalism trends of which Prof Kupe, also a renowned communications and media scholar, was the Keynote speaker.

journalist. Or more critically, who should a journalist be? I am well informed that a plethora of definitions and descriptions exist in dictionaries, encyclopaedias Prof Kupe gave me an expected and the virtual realm with but pleasant encouragement. He regard to this question. Some supported my clarion call that are even tailored to suit the legal journalism should ideally be a framework of given nations. post-graduate qualification. My thesis on this is the fact that one From a functional perspective, can only report authoritatively a journalist is one who informs on an issue that he or she society on crucial issues of public understands with absolute depth concern, one who enables and intensity. For this reason, it members of the public to make works better if one, for example, sense of trends and events, first goes to University to pursue one who enlightens citizens an undergraduate course in on matters that are hitherto commerce, Law, Medicine, unknown, one who motivates Political Science, History or any public interest in governance other discipline - then later and societal leadership, one who a degree in journalism – and makes the world beyond ours then becomes a journalist, who visible and appreciable and, in primarily specializes in reporting democratic domains, one who issues that relate to his first critiques the structures and operations of the state. degree.

I have made this suggestion in When these responsibilities several fora. I believe it provides and their weighty implications the best answer to who is a are appreciated, one pertinent 36

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question invades the mind: What competencies are essential for their fulfilment? It is my contention that journalistic competencies can be broadly organized at two levels. The first level would comprise of propositional skills. These would include solid knowledge, which is attainable through continuous and extensive reading and research since it is the journalist’s burden to know and master the key issues of different subjects and to constantly keep him/herself informed of local and global events. He must also master the art of identifying and making good use of credible sources of information, be they primary or secondary. Propositional skills enable the journalist to not only address a subject of interest with manifest depth, but also to answer the questions that audiences may have in a way that guarantees accurate decoding.

The second level comprises of dispositional skills. These include the values we are nurtured to

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master in journalism schools.

Key among them would be: professional discipline and loyalty, professional satisfaction, flexibility and boldness. Journalism is both enjoyable and challenging. It needs one who can endure the hazards of the profession; globe trot and appreciate diverse cultural, socio-economic and political environments, defend the principles of the profession with zeal and gusto and embrace the reality that journalism is in practice; the world’s most powerful profession with which comes great responsibility.

Dispositional skills also include exceptional writing skills, which I must confess, is very rare among young persons joining journalism schools in this day and age. As a journalism instructor with experience now spanning 10 years of University teaching, I can tell you for free that among the tens of cohorts that have passed through my classes, those who can write well have been so few that I remember them all by name and handwriting. My consolation has always been that the market will sort them out. My respected Professor, Joe Kadhi, used to tell us that journalism is a Darwinian profession, where only the fittest survive. I totally agree.

and dispositional talents that guarantee ground breaking and trailblazing journalistic reporting is to undergo systematic, practical and credible training. The option of self training or apprenticeship also exists, but there has to be a system to ascertain their thresholds of rigour.

I have always rejected the notion that anyone can be a journalist. I dare say once again, that some people cannot just hack it. Back in the days when I went to Journalism School, as an admission prerequisite, we were subjected to a very competitive interviewing process. You had to prove that you had what it takes.

Your writing and presentation skills were thoroughly vetted.

I remember quite vividly that during my year of admission, out of 193 persons who were interviewed at the School of Journalism, University of Nairobi, only 25 of us received letters of admission.

Winfrey herself, is a trained journalist from the University of Tennessee. Back to where I began, you must have recognized all the propositional and dispositional talents I proposed in her.

Let me conclude by reiterating that there are three sides to the debate on who a professional journalist should be; the professional side, the unprofessional side and the side which, for lack of a better

“

The only way one can master all the propositional and dispositional talents that guarantee ground breaking and trailblazing journalistic reporting is to undergo systematic, practical and credible training.

description, I choose to call the middle ground comprising of journalism wannabes like bloggers, Twitter and Facebook enthusiasts. They have, in This tradition has over the years the recent past, become so produced some of Kenya’s most overzealous that a few weeks celebrated journalists. David ago one of them told me to Makali, KwamchetsiMakhokha, my face that they are the new MutumaMathiu, Dennis Onyango, journalists. Whichever way you Tom Mshindi, MutegiNjau, Alex look at it, one thing is for sure; Chamwada and Joe Ageyo are the professional side stands tall just but a few of those persons and is irreplaceable. You don’t from my alma mater. I dare say, expect professional delivery Other dispositional skills include also, that their professional class from unprofessional characters. communicative competence, speaks not just for itself but Professions such as law and linguistic competence, good also for professional journalistic medicine recognized that mantra interviewing skills with a whiff of seriousness. ages ago. It is my contention that sanguine character, up-to-date time has come for journalism to computer skills, photography I have similarly rubbished the follow suit. I fear too early for my skills and ability to critically absolute balderdash that those mind mis-gives a day when our think. Cognizant of the fact that who masquerade as journalists profession will have more quacks, we are essentially globalizing, can be as effective as trained who will waste no time to take it multilingual ability is an added journalists. Global trends tell a over and render our hard earned advantage to an international different story. The one television professional skills irrelevant. God program that has attracted the journalist. highest number of audiences, forbid!

The old debate as to who recorded the highest levels a journalist really is should of commercial success and be rendered irrelevant if the transformed its presenter to a Dr James Oranga is a Lecturer expected standards for delivery billionaire is the Oprah Winfrey of Mass Communication at are upheld. But, it is logical to Show. Needless to emphasise, the School of Journalism, appreciate that the only way one the face behind the much University of Nairobi can master all the propositional appreciated presentation, Oprah joranga@uonbi.ac.ke

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Exploring ethical and professional implications of technology AMOS KIBET examines how pressure to lower ethical standards and sensationalise stories to obtain more sales and outdo competitors has intensified with technological advancement over the years.

The media ecology is a chaotic landscape evolving at a furious pace due to technological innovations.

Professional journalists share the journalistic sphere with tweeters, bloggers, citizen journalists, and social media users. In the digital era the journalist’s traditional role as an information mediator has entered a crisis.

The eruption of new forms of communication such as blogs or social networking software can offer an alternative to the biases and restrictions of mainstream media houses.

It is evident that there is tension between traditional journalism and online journalism. The culture of traditional journalism, with its values of accuracy, pre-publication verification, balance, impartiality, and gatekeeping, rubs up against the culture of online journalism which emphasizes immediacy, transparency, partiality, nonprofessional journalists and post-publication correction. A good example is the subject of anonymity.

Anonymity is accepted more readily online than in mainstream news media.

Newspapers usually require the writers of letters to the editor to identify themselves.

Today, we have a mixture of traditional and new media and its implications are tremendous to the profession. The developments in journalism are driven by vast economic and technological changes. Some of these trends have profound ethical import for journalism. The adoption of new media technology has changed information gathering, editing, packaging, and dissemination which is re-shaping journalism in ways we’d never have imagined possible. The online world allows the direct access to sources and bypasses the journalists. The code of conduct that guides mainstream media caution journalists to use anonymous 38

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sources sparingly and only if certain rules are followed. The codes warn journalists that people may use anonymity to make unfair or untrue statements at other people, for self-interested reasons. Online media do not require anonymity. Online users resist demands from web site and blogs to register and identify themselves. Anonymity is praised as allowing freedom of speech and sometimes helping to expose wrong doing. Critics say it encourages irresponsible and harmful comments. Many times, mainstream media contradict themselves when they allow anonymity online but refuse anonymity in their newspapers and broadcast programs.

The proliferation of online versions of news media has changed media consumptions habits by the audience. Reliance on oldtime and slow mainstream media is taking a backstage as audience seek fast and immediate sources of news. Currently, millions of

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Last year’s AJEA winners bloggers, news web sites and web broadcasts have become part of mainstream media platforms in audience reach and share.

The adoption of online media platforms has a number of ethical and professional implications.

First of all, the increased competition between online and mainstream media in terms of breaking news has affected the quality of news reports. Online versions of mainstream media have adopted unprofessional recklessness that is detrimental to the principles of cross-checking facts as contained in the code of conduct for the practice of journalism. Newsmakers face increasing competition to cover all the pertinent stories and reach

sources before their competitors.

Majority of media websites and online editions news have resorted to wall-to-wall, 24 hour coverage to ensure that they can provide the story to their readers/ viewers as soon as it occurs. The danger is that speed will prevail over accuracy, and journalists will exchange their ethical motives as fact-checking truth-seekers for the love of breaking a story.

According to a publication by the Journalism Ethics for the Global citizens, while some journalists turn to transparency to justify the claims in their reports, others have resorted to a much more careless form of writing, dubbed “journalism of assertion.� Many blogs and independent e-zines,

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lacking an engrained sense of duty to the truth or to readers, have developed a journalistic style of unsubstantiated opinion.

Ideas are accrued and then restated, without regard to their origin or factuality.

New media encourages people to express their opinion and share their thoughts candidly. Many online journalists take pride in speaking their mind, compared to any mainstream reporters who must cover events impartially.

They see themselves as partisans or activists for causes or political movements, and reject the idea of objective or neutral analysis.

According to a publication on digital media ethics by the

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University of Wisconsin, partial or partisan journalism comes in at least two kinds: One kind is an opinion journalism that enjoys commenting upon events and issues, with or without verification. Both opinion and partisan journalism they argue, have long roots in journalism history. However, their revival in an online world raises serious ethical conundrums for current media ethics. Should objectivity be abandoned by all journalists?

Which is best for a vigorous and healthy democracy impartial journalism or partisan journalism?

technology poses difficult questions for photo-journalists and those who depend on them to document events. Widely publicized photo tampering scandals have dented public confidence in the profession and so number strategies have been proposed for grappling with the ethical issues surrounding image manipulation. The ethical problems surround image editing are not just a problem for journalists. ‘Seeing is believing’ for millions of people in the world and so image editing presents a problem for society in general.

Pressure to lower ethical standards and sensationalise stories to obtain more sales and outdo their competitors has been made more rampant with new technology. What the mainstream media cannot publish has found its way to the online editions where journalists publish stories with bold abandon. Newsrooms have become small parts of large corporations and consequently, profit-seeking and economic imperatives have caused newsrooms to compromise their ethical standards. Business values, such as the need to meet the demand of investors and advertisers have trumped journalistic integrity. Since many news companies are publicly financed corporations, newsroom owners or their senior staff may feel the pressure of investorfriendly quarterly reports. Inside the newsrooms, journalists may find themselves in conflicts of interest reporting on economic and other issues that may have a direct impact on interests of their media houses.

Online commenting can put reporters, especially beat reporters, in trouble with their editors or the people they comment about, especially if the news outlet says it provides impartial reporting.

The American Society of Media Photographers’ code of practice requires members to “photograph as honestly as possible, provide accurate captions, and never intentionally distort the truth in news photography. Never alter the content or meaning of a news photograph and prohibit subsequent alteration

Many news organizations encourage their reporters to use social media to gather The transition from traditional to information and to create a digital photography has brought “brand” for themselves by starting new ethical challenges to photo- their own blog, Facebook page, or journalists. The widespread Twitter account. However, online availability of image manipulation commenting can put reporters,

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especially beat reporters, in trouble with their editors or the people they comment about, especially if the news outlet says it provides impartial reporting.

For example, a reporter who covers city hall may report dispassionately in her newspaper about a candidate for mayor. But on her blog, she may express strong opinion, saying the candidate is an unlikeable and incompetent politician.

Such comments would give the candidate cause to complain about the lack of impartiality of the reporter. The ethical challenge is to develop social media guidelines that allow reporters to explore the new media world but also to draw reasonable limits on personal commentary.

The numerous complaints received by the Media Council on ethical and professional implications of adopting and using technology by various journalist is testamentary to the fact that it’s a contemporary problem. Technology should not destabilise the ethical behaviors because it stems from moral convictions. The ethical challenge that majority of media houses face is to redefine what independent journalism in the public interest means for a media where many new types of journalism are appearing and where basic principles are being challenged.

This can only happen if we clearly understand the implications of journalistic reporting regardless of the platform they use; whether online of mainstream media.

Amos Kibet is the Research & Media Monitoring Officer at the Media Council of Kenya.

Kibet.amos@mediacouncil. or.ke

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Why information access still requires a reality check The grass is the last thing that crosses the mind of any bull involved in the fight to control access to information in this digital environment, as STEPHEN NDEGWA explains.

Access to information has become one of the cardinal human rights across the world. Even in closed societies or countries that have declined assimilation into liberal democracy, there is increasing clamour by people to know what their leaders or other relevant parties are doing, which has direct impact on their welfare.

From America to Africa, citizens and the civil society have compelled governments to enact laws that allow them to get official information on demand. But it is not just from the public sector that people are invoking their right to know. For instance, there are instances when information is demanded from non-public actors, especially in legal matters.

We are living in the information and communication age, where knowledge has spread far and wide. Proliferation of the World Wide Web has broken down barriers of space and time, enabling people living thousands of miles apart to communicate in real time.

In Kenya, the public’s right to access information is anchored in several legislations, including Article 35 of the Constitution,

which provides that: (1) Every citizen has the right to access: (a) Information held by the State; and (b) Information held by another person and required for the exercise or protection of any right or fundamental freedom.

Other statutes are Article 34(5) (Freedom of the media); Media Council Act (2013); and Article 34 of the Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Act 2013.

the digital space in the country.

The three major media houses – Royal Media Services (Citizen TV), Standard Group (KTN) and Nation Media Group (NTV) – had sued the government for what they alleged was discrimination in the distribution of digital broadcast licences in favour of foreign firms.

The second issue concerned the deadline of the analogue switch off. The big three were of For most Kenyans, media is the the view that the government’s months prior major channel through which set deadline a few to the June 17th, 2015 global Even as the government cut-off was unfair, as they were pushed for a final closing still in the process of setting up the necessary infrastructure for day, it did not make migration. But after the three lost attempts to reduce the the case, the Communications Authority of Kenya immediately import taxes for the dismantled their analogue digital signal access transmission equipment, leaving gadgets. millions of viewers facing dark they access information. Even screens. when they suspect corrupt The stand-off was so acrimonious activities in public offices, they that at one point an angry lack either the time or capacity Cabinet Secretary for Information to demand the relevant records and Communication Technology, for scrutiny. This explains the Dr Fred Matiang’i, threatened to perennial love-hate relationship cancel the television broadcast between the government and the licences of the litigants over what Fourth Estate, with each seeking he termed “public incitement an upper hand as the main against the government over source of information. On one digital migration.” hand, the state feels insecure with a free media, while on the other, Now, during and after these the media accuse the former legal tug-of-wars, little attention of stifling their watchdog role was given to viewers of these free-to-air channels. Neither through draconian legislation. the government nor the media This scenario is illustrated in the really considered that many poor protracted legal battles between Kenyans (the users of information) the government and leading would be alienated from news television broadcasting houses and information after the switchleading to the final migration to

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off. The stalemate lasted 18 days.

Even as the government pushed for a final closing day, it did not make attempts to reduce the import taxes for the digital signal access gadgets. While it is easy for the middle class to subscribe to media companies that distribute content like DSTV, Star Times and Zuku, or to buy the subscription free set-top boxes, it will take quite some time for the lower market segments to get on board.

This will definitely aggravate their disempowerment.

The difficulty of the Kenyan situation is captured in a report by Panos Institute West Africa titled, “Challenges and Perspectives of Digital Migration for African Media”. The report observes: “… most cases of digital migration do not mean that analogue transmissions (whether TV or radio) cease one day and digital broadcasting begins the next.

There is typically a lengthy overlap envisaged. This is because a long process is needed in which broadcasters, signal distributors, regulators, manufacturers, governments and the public align themselves so that the digital transition works successfully.

This is especially acute on the consumer side, where millions of people are saddled with analogue sets that were never designed to receive digital signals directly.

Until a threshold of public uptake is reached during a transitional period, it is not possible to reach the final moment of “digital switch over”, where the analogue transmissions are turned off

Digitisation has now become a global reality. and the “digital dividend” can be released for other purposes.

To have a premature analogue switch-off would leave millions without access to broadcasting”.

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Some media analysts were of the view that the battle of the airwaves in Kenya’s digital migration was centred on the profit motive with little or nothing to do with access. Indeed, one of the directors of a licenced digital media company associated with China remarked before a Parliamentary Committee that he did not know the identity of his Kenyan counterparts! The secrecy points to the involvement of influential people in government or persons closely associated with the powers that be.

integrated digital services without reverting to some analogue systems.

Even in cases where money may not be a hindrance to accessing the necessary hardware, education may pose a challenge to the use of digital software. In rural Africa, for instance, large populations are still operating on the periphery of the digital sphere for lack of know how. While there is now an abundance of services available, they utilise only the basic of them, like money transfer.

A similar hindrance has to do with copyright. The creation of both digital software and programmes is a multi-billion dollar global industry. Once created, these channels of content are sold all over the world to the extent that the original owners cannot keep track of their use or abuse.

This proliferation has brought with it an increase in cyber-crime where criminals manipulate digital content and programmes to divert information either for sabotage or material gain. As genuine or copyright software is expensive, users revert to counterfeits which expose them One of the issues raised on more to the foregoing stated risks. digitisation is the usability of the various platforms and their Ultimately, it looks like information segmentation in terms of taste, users in the digital era matter culture, ideology and affordability. mainly as customers who earn Generally, introduction of the revenue for the providers of digital interface has been done technology and content. In rather drastically, with little what appears as a race against attention given to seamless time, digital technologies are migration from analogue systems. becoming obsolete at a fast rate, demanding an upgrade every Still, we are still faced with a couple of years. This calls for strong digital divide brought about consumer protection bodies that by the cost factor. For instance, will ensure vulnerable users are the cost of transacting business not disadvantaged in accessing online is expensive for those who timely and relevant information can only afford to buy airtime in an affordable manner. in small denominations. Smart phones are still the preserve of a The writer is a communication consultant and current affairs relatively small number of people analyst. in areas like Africa, which makes it difficult for the majority to enjoy ndegwasm@yahoo.co.uk Digitisation has now become a global reality. Apart from media, all the major trade, finance and economic sectors are operating on digital platforms.

It is now common to transact many types of businesses through the numerous Internet enabled gadgets in the market, ranging from mobile phone to computers. However, the more technologically developed countries have reached and surpassed the digital threshold, while others are still struggling to establish the requisite infrastructure.

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