Newsroom ethics is a precondition for democracy

Media Council, allies and the Government of Kenya launch the Media Code of Conduct

World Press Freedom Day and the Media Council Annual Summit this week highlighted the resilience of Kenya's fourth estate. The publication of a new media code of conduct is timely, given the regular criticism and the current challenges the industry faces.

The Annual Summit provides journalists, the government, media agencies and allies with an opportunity to reflect on the state of the media. This year, it is interesting to note that social media (24 per cent) is catching up with television (26 per cent) and radio (23 per cent) as the most consumed news medium. One in three Kenyans watch television for between 1-2 hours a day mostly in the evenings while radio dominates the mornings.

Royal Media’s TV and radio stations topped the news waves but the Daily Nation and then the Standard remain the top newspapers in the country. Tuko.co.ke was by far the most preferred news website in 2024. WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram remain the top five social preferred media platforms.

While these statistics give a broad overview of news sources, improving news quality is critical. Public trust levels continue to be uncomfortably low. Kenyans remain very worried about media misinformation. They also worry that the media is not covering important issues or censor based on their own bias.

These concerns come from years of prioritising attention over accuracy and traffic over truth as the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner noted. The post truth environment and plummeting public trust levels have become fertile ground for cancel culture, conspiracies and cults. Notwithstanding, last year tested the Kenyan media very directly.

I discovered several insights comparing the Kenyan media’s handling of the 25 June occupation of Parliament and US media during the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2025. Gen Z and the incoming Blinken administration largely won the media war of public narratives. Journalists grappled with ethical dilemmas of how much information should be reported and editorialised or how to avoid fuelling the public anger. If self-censorship and silence in a time of crisis is never an act of neutrality, than public interest framing and reporting news remains crucial.

I believe most media houses remained mostly professional and probably saved several lives during the June protests. Without constant media coverage, how would we have known that the protesters were primarily peaceful and what their demands were? How would we have restrained violent, trigger-happy officers emboldened by commanding officers criminally shouting “Ua, Ua”? It is notable that the first police death, protester Rex Masai, happened after most of the media had left to file their stories.

Media coverage triggers de-escalation strategies by state officers, rights organisations and citizens. Ultimately, it saves lives and provides the conditions for accountability. This is why internet and media shutdowns are so dangerous. Facts become gossip and incidents become controversies. Predictably, we all become overwhelmed with misinformation and deliberate disinformation.

Post crisis, the media has continued to play an important role in memorialising rights violations, calling for arrests and compensation for survivors and victims’ families. Hosting diverse actors on talk shows has helped them deepen their understanding and discover new arguments that address the root causes of their concerns.

In this context, Information Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo’s gazettement of the Code of Conduct for Media Practice (2025) this week is timely. The Code seeks to elevate ethical, accurate and accountable journalism and protect a public interest based free, responsible and independent media. There are new or strengthened guidelines on anti-bribery, betting advertisement restrictions, children’s and victim’s rights, hate speech, use of artificial intelligence disclosure and copyright infringement among other provisions.

Adopting and enforcing the new Code will require several practitioner and public awareness campaigns as well as incentives and consequences for breaking it. While the challenges that face the industry are largely structural and financial, upholding the Code and newsroom ethics remain a precondition for a democratic and open society.

This opinion was also published in the Saturday Standard, 17 May 2025.