The Media Council of Kenya in partnership with the National Council of Churches of Kenya recently conducted a capacity building session for 50 journalists drawn from 40 counties across the country on election preparedness.
The activity was part of the Council efforts to ensure that journalists are well quipped to cover the electioneering process by ensuring that they acquire the right skills on thematic areas including access to information, hate speech, safety, conflict -sensitive reporting and fact checking.
“Access to information is a key component of election coverage because only when journalist acquires the right information can they report the truth, educate the masses and demand for accountability. This safeguards them from unfair criticism and attacks that comes with misreporting”, said MCK Manager for Press Freedom, Safety and Advocacy Ms Dinnah Ondari.
The Council’s Accreditation and Compliance Manager Ms Rebecca Mutiso urged journalists to ensure they are accredited before the General Election as it will be a major requirement in covering the polls.
“The Council is planning to roll out trainings for accredited journalists on election coverage. This will seek to minimise cases of breach of the Code of Conduct the Practice of Journalism in Kenya and ensure all journalists are held accountable for their actions during the election period,” she said.
The Council’s Manager for Research Planning and Strategy Mr Leo Mutisya who heads the Council’s media monitoring function cautioned journalists against being misused to spread hate speech and misinformation.
“Media is a valuable tool that can promote free and fair elections if professionally managed, however, as we have noted in the past, media outlets can easily be misused with disastrous consequences. Journalists should therefore observe journalist ethics at all times”, he said.
The journalists were also sensitised on how to acquire MCK accreditation and issued with identification kits as part of ensuring their safety in the line of duty.