Most journalists will be covering a General Election for the first time in the August 9 polls and need a lot of support to get it right, Media Council of Kenya Director, Media Training and Development Victor Bwire has said.
Mr Bwire urged journalists to take the ongoing trainings seriously to build their capacity which will ensure they do their job well while taking care not to inflame passions before, during and after the General Election.
“Millions of Kenyans depend on the media to make decisions on their electoral choices and journalists owe it to them to present objective, fair and balanced picture of all candidates and issues at stake,” he said at a training in Kitui. The two-day training, organised by the Media Council of Kenya in partnership with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), is aimed at building capacity of journalists based in Kitui County on elections coverage.
Mr Bwire further urged journalists to interrogate information they receive before processing and sending to the editor as news.
“We are not mere stenographers or pipelines forwarding information as received, but thinking, trained individuals with a sacred duty to the public,” he noted.
The trainings focus on conflict-sensitive reporting, combating disinformation fake news and probable emergencies and response options during elections.