The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) is encouraging regional media houses to understand audience patterns and preferences in order to ensure survival.
MCK Mombasa Regional Coordinator Maureen Mudi says most revenue models no longer sustain grassroot media houses, adding that stations need to re-look at the current trends in the newsrooms and adopt.
“Media dynamics are constantly changing and we no longer have loyal audiences. It is up to community media houses to understand what works in such an environment”, said Ms Mudi during a courtesy call at Sauti ya Pwani Radio in Mombasa.
She added that some revenue models do not expose media organisations to business opportunities, hence contributing to financial challenges most face.
Sauti ya Pwani Radio General Manager Hassan Albeity highlighted the importance of collaborations between the station and other organisations for media viability.
“We welcome like-minded organisations in our growing list of partners who focus on media viability in an era where revenue streams are shrinking”, said Mr Albeity.
The Station’s Manager Sammy Mwaura noted that their biggest challenge is not being ranked despite undertaking due diligence to ensure the station is competitive and at par with other regional stations.
“Not being ranked is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to advertising as clients want to know how you are faring in the market. We have confidence that organisations like the Media Council will help in realising our dream”, he said
Mr Mwaura added that the station that was officially launched in 2017 has a solid competitive team in different departments “which is up to task in the dynamic market”.