The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has emphasised the crucial role of media in reporting on climate change, urging journalists to adopt innovative storytelling methods to boost public awareness and policy engagement.
This call to action comes ahead of World Radio Day (WRD) 2025 that will be marked tomorrow.
During a training session for journalists at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, MCK CEO David Omwoyo challenged local radio stations to prioritise localised, solutions-oriented reporting that showcases the real impact of climate change on communities.
"Any success in journalism is founded on impactful storytelling", Mr Omwoyo stated, emphasising that a lack of relatable narratives weakens public engagement and the urgency for action.
He encouraged journalists to move beyond simply reporting disasters and instead focus on humanising climate change through lived experiences, adaptation strategies, and policy interventions.
Mr Omwoyo stressed the importance of radio returning to its core function of serving the public interest, ensuring climate change stories reflect local realities rather than generic global narratives.
He cautioned against sensationalism and misinformation, urging journalists to maintain accuracy and ethics in their reporting.
“We must return to the essence of radio—bringing real community concerns to the forefront", he said.
Earlier, MCK Director for Media Training and Development Victor Bwire highlighted the need for journalists to frame climate change stories through political, economic, and social lenses to capture its multifaceted impact.
"Climate change is no longer a peripheral topic; it is a global phenomenon that demands prioritised coverage," he said, calling on journalists to lead public discourse on climate change adaptation and resilience strategies.
Mr Bwire emphasised the role of the national government in climate change mitigation, referencing the Climate Change Act 2016 and its implications for county governments.
He stressed the importance of journalists actively interrogating climate policies, financing mechanisms, and the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities.
"Journalists must ask the hard questions on climate financing, policy implementation, and community adaptation strategies. The media has a duty to make climate discussions relevant to the everyday citizen," he said.
The training session, organised by MCK in collaboration with Kenya National Commission for UNESCO and Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications covered topics such as best practices in climate change reporting, misinformation and fact-checking, UNESCO’s guidelines on climate change reporting, and the role of Media Information Digital Literacy (MIDL) in climate change coverage.
MCK is encouraging media practitioners to leverage WRD 2025 to highlight climate change issues through impactful storytelling.