Independent Media plays a central role in development but may face many constraints ranging from restrictive legal environment to physical attack by journalists. But we should appreciate the fact that media plays a key role in improving governance and exposing corruption as revealed by a renown world bank economist.
Recently, the Day star University in conjunction with the Media Council of Kenya held a Media conference here in Nairobi Kenya whose aim was to encourage and urge journalists to focus more on developmental issues as opposed to the day to day politics that have made great headlines in the different publications from different countries in Africa.
Speaking at the 2 day conference the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication Dr. Bitange Ndemo noted with the concern the priority editorial gatekeepers in media houses give to the political stories while trampling upon matters of development that are key to the uplifting a nation together with its citizens. " The words of a politician can not "change" a society but media plays a key role in changing society, through the respective councils I am urging journalists to report more on developmental issues." he said.
Taking cognisance of the role media plays in informing, educating, entertaining society, shaping of opinions, agenda setting, preservation of culture amongst others one can not help but take note of a new trend in which the agenda the media propagates for or against is to a great deal determined by the readership and listener ship patterns that have been set by readers and listeners; who are generally known as consumers of the products produced by media.
To this extent we are seeing a new wave hitting and sweeping our newsrooms and the editors and those that determine the editorial content have been coerced into adopting a new style of reporting and coverage without which they will definitely have no "market" to sale their goods.
This practice has been countered by the mushrooming of community radio stations concentrating on the production of rich content rather than concentrate of a short lived pattern of consumerism. Some segmented sections of the market are now receiving rich content based content that is aimed at disseminating development based information which is tailored to bring about social change and development of home grown solutions that offer vaccines to asymptomatic conditions of poverty, laggness, backwardness, hunger, amongst others before the condition is full blown into an incurable disease.
There is therefore a dire need to formulate a marriage kind of approach to issues based on a solemn matrimonial partnership between consumerism and development solemnly subscribing to vows and codes that govern their existence. This agreement will solely be based on a development approach as a result of a long and cordial companionship between content and consumerism consequently giving birth to a new era of democracy with other off springs including transparency, equitable distribution of resources, equality in the both in the work place and other sectors, amongst other positive values and codes that the citizens of Kenya would like to subscribe to.
This marriage or cordial relationship is very important because a country with a balanced press is able to not only to build the knowledge based of its citizens in creating convergent strategies of achieving development but is also able to prevent corruption, view divergence as points of strength, and is able to open up citizens to a wide range of development and progressive opportunities that improve the lives of the citizens of a country.
There is need to support both our mainstream and community media to be able to air "edifying" content, well balanced with the right ratio of truth, objectivity and honesty well served right from the starter, main course right to the dessert and is able to have nutritional value to all the consumers of this content which will be seen growth and development in the social, political and economical aspects.
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