The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has called on media houses to help crack down on imposters in the journalism profession in a bid to restore the image of the media in the country.
The MCK CEO, David Omwoyo said that he was committed to protecting the rights of genuine journalists who may face attack over their truthful reporting.
He however warned journalists against making unwarranted reports over incidences that are not work related.
He called upon journalists to conduct themselves with respect and decorum to avoid finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.
He told media owners that they had a critical role to play in identifying the genuine journalists in a bid to weed out
imposters.
Omwoyo was speaking in Nakuru during a civil society and journalists workshop organized by the Kenya Editor’s Guild.
David Ohito of the Editor’s Guild challenged National dailies to give more attention to devolution by reporting positive stories that are turning around livelihoods.
He admitted that national newspapers were particularly caught up in a dicey situation in serving their commercial interests and the interests of their readers.
Ohito stressed the need for media owners to change their strategies in order to accommodate devolution in their publications.
He is currently the Chief of Staff at the Mandera County Government, commended upcoming community radio and TV stations, saying they were bridging the gap and therefore enabling communities get news about local events and milestones made by their counties since the advent of devolution.
Ohito stressed on the need to strengthen local media stations operating in counties in order to boost devolution and good governance.
Masese Kemunche from Nakuru-based Centre for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance-CEDGG while appreciating the role played by Media called for collaboration with other stakeholders.
He said that the media had a critical role to play in enhancing human and civic rights through unbiased reporting of issues.
The forum brought to the fore the love hate relationship between media and civil society who accused the media of downplaying issues affecting the common man. They accused the media of ignoring stories that have great impact in the grassroots while giving undue prominence to political stories.
“Gone are the days when we used to have real news that you could rush at home to listen or watch. The media is now focusing so much on political leaders and ignoring the citizens” said Denis Okomol- a member of Nakuru Analysts group in Nakuru.
The forum was also attended by the Deputy governor, Dr Eric Korir who praised the good working relations between the Nakuru County government and the local journalists.
By Jane Ngugi
