The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has urged the media to balance coverage and ethics as most people rely on the media and online platforms for information.
MCK CEO Mr David Omwoyo has at the same time asked rotary groups and associations to affirm their role in mirroring good values to the society as we head towards the General Election.
“As we head towards the General Election, the media has a role to play in doing its best to report facts and protect public interest”, said Mr Omwoyo when he addressed the Rotary Club of Nairobi East.
He affirmed the role of the media and urged journalists to uphold professionalism.
“The media by and large remains to be the mirror of the society. Journalists should ensure that their personal biases do not hamper their work as it is the greatest threat to information integrity”, said Mr Omwoyo.
Mr Omwoyo spoke on the critical role played by the media as an agent of information especially during elections.
“Kenyans rely on media around the elections period to know what's happening. This has translated to more pressure on media to deliver information with accuracy and speed,” he said.
He noted the short falls that come with reporting which has put the industry under harsh criticism due to unethical conduct by journalists.
“Journalists are required to inform the public and contribute to civic education. They should desist the urge of endorsing or declaring candidates as winners but instead focus on matters of public interest”, he said.
He emphasised on the role played by the Council to ensure ethical practice of journalism during the election period to enhance professional coverage of election matters.
“The Council developed a guideline for elections coverage and has so far trained over 2,900 journalists, media practitioners and creatives on professional coverage of elections. From the trainings, we have witnessed a change in news coverage on elections issues and adherence to the code of conduct for journalists”, he said
Mr Omwoyo explained that the Council, through the Media Information Literacy Forums, engages with the public to create awareness around media issues and emerging trends in the industry.
“At MCK we have MILS to teach people about fake news and recently, we launched the iVerify platform in partnership with United Nations Development Programme and trained fact checkers to aid with real time debunking of such information”, said Mr Omwoyo
He underpinned the role of the Rotary Club in moulding a generation with values by saying, “Rotary club plays an important role in espousing values to the society. I urge you to ensure that we bring up a generation that upholds ethics to create a country with dignified professions”.
In response to questions raised during the meeting, Mr Omwoyo noted the efforts being undertaken by the Council on social media platforms saying that it has trained and accredited members of the credible ones.
He further stated that the Council has accredited over 50 percent of new journalists most of whom will cover the general elections for the first time and lauded the media for playing its part in voter education.