Kenya: New media pose challenge to traditional journalism [opinion]

In this final of a two-part series, Nation Media Group director Gerard Wilkinson looks at why media firms should transform: The group’s publications, with their unparalleled countrywide availability, served the still young democracy as a conduit between the people and the powers that be, probing actions, exposing mistakes and presenting alternatives.

 

In retrospect, it was a role that, over the years, proved of considerable importance, contributing to the preservation and, indeed, development of many of the country’s democratic institutions. At the same time, the Nation also played a part in achieving the expanded state of press freedom which Kenya exhibits today.

 

Public engagement and inclusiveness, rather than political entitlement, are at the heart of a healthy democracy. In the end the common good is served by a strong, independent and principled media who, even with their imperfections, facilitate the reporting of developments, the analysis of the facts and the debating of issues, all so significant to Kenya and Kenyans.

 

The unsuccessful attempt, in 1975, to politicise the leadership of the Nation group, through the imposed appointment of a new chairman from outside the company and its board of directors, further underlined the importance of upholding the group’s independence.

 

It was this commitment to independence — spelt out in the company’s published Editorial Policy and Guidelines — that, throughout the 1980s and 1990s and into the new millennium, enabled the Nation to meet its responsibility to its readers by, among other things, pressing for the removal of detention without trial with its implications for human rights, challenging the introduction of queue voting as infringing one of the very basic elements of free and democratic elections, the secrecy of the ballot and reporting and commenting widely on the campaign for the adoption of a multiparty political system, allowing for the representation of different shades of opinion and the discussion of alternative electoral platforms.

 

With the eventual introduction of multiparty elections in 1992 — and the presidential and parliamentary polls — the Nation, by making its editorial columns available for analysis and debate, sought to ensure balanced coverage of the different parties, their programmes and candidates.

 

The emphasis over the years on carefully researched, factual and unbiased reporting was also instrumental in bringing to light a whole variety of memorable stories of great importance to Kenya and Kenyans, from the unacceptable misuse of state funds to the pernicious ethnic cleansing in Rift Valley.

 

This disciplined and non-partisan approach was to prove particularly crucial in reporting and commenting on the extensive constitutional review debates since 2003. In addition to the Nation’s independence, such editorial coverage was undoubtedly underwritten by the commercial strength of the company and the increasing professionalism of its staff, attributes that were over the years to receive recognition beyond Kenya’s borders, leading to invitations for the group to establish publishing activities, for instance, in neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania.

 

There were, of course, times when the Nation got things wrong. A newspaper or a news broadcast is the product of the work of human beings, and both are virtually unique in that they are, in essence, new “products” every day. Bread too, of course, is fresh every day, but the ingredients remain the same.

 

News as an ingredient is, by definition, ever changing. Men and women in the media, often faced with tight deadlines, are no less prone to making mistakes, or failing in their judgment, than humans in any other walk of life. However, the media in Kenya have had a relatively short and, at times, turbulent history and the building of the profession was not to be achieved overnight.

 

For this reason, the achievements over the years since independence have been all the more spectacular. Kenya’s media, by and large, are no more, and probably considerably less, venal than in most countries of the world. News, reported in an independent and unbiased manner, contributes to a well functioning society, enabling the public to make informed judgments and hold their representatives and the country’s institutions accountable.

 

Without an independent media, freedom would have had less meaning in Kenya’s earlier years as a fledgling democratic society. Unfortunately, this is very often not fully appreciated or understood.

 

Fierce criticisms

Genuine misunderstandings or concocted misrepresentations of the performance of the media have, at times, brought about fierce criticism or, worse, sanctions which at times have contributed to the challenges facing the media in meeting their obligation to provide valuable public service journalism.

 

It may indeed be that, from time to time, the media in Kenya, as much as elsewhere, have failed to perform these functions as well as it might have. The very real challenge in the future, however, is whether, with the massive changes currently facing the industry, the media can continue to perform these functions at all.

 

As a company which early on embraced the new technologies of the day, the Nation, along with media companies around the world, must transform itself in the face of the revolution impacting traditional newspapers with the emergence of the new digital media.

 

While the Internet, the mobile telephone, etc, media platforms already embraced by the Nation, offer tremendous possibilities and benefits, especially in terms of versatility and accessibility, they raise serious questions in relation to the development of an economically sustainable model for the continued delivery of professionally researched and reported news, meaningful factual analysis and unbiased commentary.

 

In general, these “new” media tend to be reliant more on the press release, official statement and, increasingly, on questionable “citizen journalism” and blogs, than on solid investigative reporting and clearly identified news sources.

 

Such journalism risks being undermined by partisan propaganda and rumour instead of thriving on professional and thoughtful reporting and commentary, largely free of vested interests. The somewhat cataclysmic — if arguable — predictions of the eventual demise of newspapers and their replacement by these new sources of news pose very serious questions as to the nature of their contribution to the health of the democratic process.

 

There is no doubt that the future of journalism is increasingly challenged around the world. In this context, as we look back at the Nation’s history, the significant contribution and considerable success of the group should be seen as a very real tribute to the dedication, patriotism and courage of those many Kenyans, as well as their Tanzanian and Ugandan colleagues, who over the years and more particularly in those earlier days, have served the industry with such commitment. These are the men and women to be especially remembered and celebrated as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Nation Media Group.

 

Gerard Wilkinson, after a brief academic career, served as a senior executive at the Independent Newspapers, Dublin, Ireland, managing director, Nation Newspapers in Kenya, and head of public affairs at the Aga Khan Secretariat in France. He joined the Nation Group as marketing director in 1971 and was appointed managing director of Nation Newspapers in 1975. He initially served as a board member from 1973 to 1978, returning as a director in 1980 and serving continuously since then.

 

- March 24, 2010 by Gerard Wilkinson

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Source: (accessed on 25.03.10)