Objectivity, impartiality and inclusivity have been cited among key areas that will culminate into professional coverage of this year's General Election.
Media Council of Kenya (MCK) staff attending a joint stakeholder conference on election coverage and other sector regulations organised by the Communications Authority (CA) in Mombasa underpinned the crucial role the media will play in assisting voters to make informed choices.
MCK Manager for Regulatory Affairs Mr Terence Minishi and the MCK Mombasa Regional Coordinator Ms Maureen Mudi affirmed the Council’s commitment to ensuring professional coverage of the polls.
"The Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya, the Programming Code and the Guidelines for Election Coverage all have pointers towards responsible journalism," Ms Mudi said.
She affirmed MCK’s commitment to ensure journalists remain ethical, adding that the Council will roll out a series of trainings for journalists throughout the country.
"A team was recently constituted to spearhead training of media on election coverage starting with development of a training manual to ensure quality in reporting," said Ms Mudi.
Mr Minishi urged journalists to adhere to the accuracy and fairness, confidentiality and accountability while reporting.
A member of the CA Board Mr Mahmoud Noor affirmed the Authority’s support to media houses.
"We want to bring sanity in the industry. There are those who are operating without licenses and others are yet to comply with the requirements. Our intention is to support them to conform," he said.
The workshop was officiated by CA's Coast Regional Manager Mr Joseph Kamunge and attended by officials from Kenya Film Classification Board and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.