Media Council of Kenya held its inaugural media training and engagement in Garrisa and Tana River Counties from 5th -9th October 2020.
The forums held in the two Counties were two pronged, with members of the public, Civil Society organization, media and county government officials participating in the Media Information and Literacy (MIL) Forum, while Media Practitioners attended the media training under the auspices of MCK Africa Media Academy.
The role of the Academy is to serve the needs of media professional in Management, Editorial and Content Development positions by providing them with continuous professional development courses. Topics covered during the Media Practitioners training included; Ethics and Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism, Understanding Mass Media; Print, Online and Broadcast Formats, Presentation Skills, Understanding Talk Shows, Identifying Fake Content and debunking, Identifying hate speech in media content, Interviewing skills, Conflict Sensitive Journalism-How to manage conflict while on-air, appropriate language for broadcast and Professional Compliance and Accreditation guidelines
The MIL strategy mainly targets the media, civil society organizations, county government officials, local religious leaders, people living with disabilities, the session focused on creating understanding on the role of the media and how editorial decisions impact societies and the role of each player in ensuring the media performs its duty professionally and independently.
The MIL’s Forums and trainings have in the past enabled the MCK identify key challenges facing the media industry while at the same time acting as feedback mechanism in terms of policy briefs and advisories to the Government and other media stakeholders.
Areas of discussions during MILs are; The Key tenates of a MIL and Relating MIL to civic space, Profile presentation on MCK, Media Regulation in Kenya, Roles and responsibilities of journalists. Media complaints’ resolution mechanisms, Debunking fake news-discussing ethics for online journalism and digital content, Access to Information critical for journalism and civic space and Role of media and public interest- media as an opportunity for public discourse.
During the events in Garissa the CEO Mr. David Omwoyo paid a courtesy call to Garrisa County Commissioner Mr. Meru Mwangi at his office. During the meeting they discussed areas of collaboration in ensuring safety and protection of journalists in the county. The CEO later addressed the Garissa journalists and reminded editors and media owners of the risks faced by journalists on particular assignments including Covid-19, emphasizing on the importance of being provided with protective gear.
A similar training was held in Hola town, Tana River County, where participants were sensitized on the role of the media and how they can work together to enhance media professionalism during the MIL while Media Practitioners were trained on different aspects of the media.
The MCK Head of Strategy and Media Development Directorate Mr. Victor Bwire paid a courtesy call to Hon. Michael Nkaduda, Speaker and Mr. Abdullahi Hussein, Clerk of the County Assembly at the County Assembly office in Tana River. The discussion focused on promoting and enhancing synergies between the media and the Tana River County Assembly. This is expected to help in enhancing quality of reporting issues on devolution within the county. "The MCK has a Complaints Commission which is a quasi-judicial system that deals with complaints against Journalists" noted Mr. Bwire during the meeting. Hon. Nkaduda on his part said the County Assembly has an open-door policy and journalists are free to access the premises and file their stories.