Church-run media houses have been urged to uphold professional reporting as Kenya heads to the 2022 General Election. Principal Secretary for ICT and Innovation at the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Mr Jerome Ochieng’ has called for adequate preparation by the media industry towards the polls.
PS Ochieng’ who officiated at the Media Council of Kenya training of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops media and Communication managers in Kisumu today commended MCK for its various initiatives to prepare the media for the elections, including capacity building, safety and protection and provision of working spaces for Kenya’s media.
“The training of over 2,100 media workers on elections in the last two months is commendable given the critical place of the media in elections, including that of being the election watchdog to ensure free, fair and credible elections”, he said.
“I urge the media to always share factual and objective issue-based information to guard against sensational reporting that might lead to conflicts during elections. The media should uphold professional ethics and knowledge of media laws”, said the PS.
The PS at the same time urged journalists to fact-check information they come across on social media platforms before sharing the same with their audiences, adding that the electioneering period comes with a lot of misinformation that might affect objectivity if left unchecked.
“The media ecosystem has gone through several changes and is dominated by different players. This therefore calls for vigilance on information around elections and the role of the media in acting as gatekeepers”, said the PS.
The PS commended the media for organising ongoing debates for candidates in different political seats, saying such fora provide platforms for politicians to engage the citizenry on issues affecting them.
Media Council of Kenya CEO David Omwoyo urged the church-run media to undertake more research in order to present quality news to their audiences.
Mr Omwoyo also called upon Catholic media and communication managers to reflect on the role of communication and to remain at the centre of real issues affecting society and matters of national interest such as elections.
He called for enhanced training of media and communications staff to enhance the capacity of Catholic media houses to effectively communicate matters of national interest such as elections.
He affirmed the Council’s commitment to continue supporting the media towards professional coverage of elections through capacity building.
The two-day training for the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops media and communication managers is one among the several the Media Council of Kenya is undertaking across the country to prepare the media for the August 9 polls.
Sessions to be covered at the training include; Ethical Principles to consider when reporting an election, Covering Gender and Special Interest Groups in an election, Journalists Safety, Security and Protection during elections, Live Broadcasts, Phone-ins, Talk shows and Interviews, Rights and Responsibilities of the media, journalists and citizens in elections, Opinion Polls during an election, Understanding the Electoral Cycle, Hate Speech and Misinformation during elections, the media’s role in enhancing Integrity and national values, Conflict-sensitive reporting during elections, Probable Emergencies and Response Options during elections.