Contemporary Threats: Media Freedom

Democratic rhetoric has unilaterally blamed absence of media freedom to government interference characteristic of African and oriental governments’ spewing vitriol that has determined discourse around media freedom.

However new threats to media freedom are in the offing as democracy spreads across the world.

I have come to like the BBC news channel in recent times due to its informative programming especially the coverage on Africa and the world as a whole. There was a time when we had our own Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. During the Moi regime and all the authoritarian use of the media to benefit myopic government ends, KBC lost all credibility as a media corporation and was more of a government mouthpiece akin to what we have as the government spokesman today.

Rightly it came under criticism and in an information age where there is a deluge of alternative media all and sundry migrated from KBC. It has since been plagued with losses, lagging behind and anecdotal affiliation to compromised media.

Why it did not transform into a respectable government funded media corporation like the BBC should be thought through if we believe in free press.

I say this because I believe the new threat to press freedom is over-commercialization, capital monopolies and political interest infringement.

When we opted away from government media we have since fallen to the corporate class who like the authoritarian governments driven by need to yoke people in propaganda, are driven by narrow minded self interest in profit. This has watered down journalism into sensational crowd pulling shenanigans mostly influenced by bigoted owner interests like the Ruppert Murdoch’s News of the world.  This is perhaps the biggest threat to journalism presently.

Plus with the rise of monopolies journalists are forced to play along editorial policies, some of which they do not even believe in. It closes out small entrants just like the autocratic bottlenecks used to.

To protect press freedom at this day and age we must look beyond the traditional threats into contemporary ones that threaten substance and importance of the fourth estate. We might have to go back to the traditional foe, the government corporation as a an alternative that is not driven by the myopia of profit but capable of churning out worthwhile journalism like the BBC and still leave the space open for alternative media. 

We own the media!

It is that season again that politicians show just to what extent they own this country. They will barter whole communities to self-beneficial causes n flout money around like a carrot n we will mindlessly follow.

It is sad though that instruments that should try to shift us from this self-imposed shackles should be so compromised. It has been my argument that the media (my profession) has never been impartial in Kenya. And as I argued we should adopt American style of journalism where media houses are out-rightly leftist or right and let the reader decide from a perspective of knowing who controls the media house.

As it stands media in Kenya is controlled by owners, political interest and most at times tribal inkling of its owners. (With all campaigns against tribalism I wonder why media houses have not yet been put in perspective in terms of fueling the vice.)

In recent times we have seen an influx in media personality poaching which stands as a strategic move of increasing readership and viewership. However subject to the knowledge that media houses are tools in the hands of their owners in terms of editorial policy this is a sorry situation.

The media which is supposed to sell the gospel of non-tribalism is owned by tribal overlords. It not uncommon that they run opinion polls of very contentious natures, will announce results that will agitate electorates, will give a black out to issue based candidates and will pretend to be impartial.

The most troubling thing tough is that while the mass of Kenyans follow the media personalities to their new abode like wildebeests they are being set up for political slaughter. It’s a wonder that in this time of elections it has become inherent for media personalities poaching.

The bubble might pop, I know, when we realize as Kenyans we have been wooed to some media houses by personalities who will sell political propaganda (sometimes tribal) and a few with integrity like Mohamed Ali will have the balls to turn down the salary motivation and return to their niches refuting to be pawned.