Supporting the media is an act of patriotism

When it comes to the most trusted institutions the media often floats to the top or sinks to the bottom, depending on where you are.

If local polls are to be trusted, Kenyan media comes second — at 60 per cent — among the most trusted institutions, according to a January 2021 poll by Infotrak, a research and consulting firm.  At the number one spot are health workers, at 70 per cent, which is easy to understand given the current global pandemic.

It does not matter whether you like the media or not. We all have opinions on the Kenyan media, the headlines that sometimes don’t make sense, the stories they give prominence and the stories we think they missed. We even have opinions on individual journalists, editors, news anchors and, well, columnists. 

What we must agree on, however, is that a free and sustainable Kenyan media industry is very important. It plays to your advantage if a media organisation like Nation Media Group is able to pay its employees and keep the lights on.

Saving Kenyan journalism

I am not just talking about the impact of a sustainable press to democracy, because sometimes the idea of democracy can be a bit abstract for some. I mean that a media’s capacity to remain sustainable might mean the difference between life and death — for you and your family.

You need the media to break stories on corrupt government officials. You need the media to tell you about unscrupulous businessmen who put poison in your food in the name of manufacturing. You need the media to highlight the growing insecurity in your estate or village. You need the media to tell you about the state of the schools your children attend.

In the past 10 years, the Kenyan media has been in a dark place. It has got worse in the past five years and more painful with Covid-19. This decline has been facilitated and speeded up by the fact most of you now get your news on your phones and from social networks owned by billionaires who profit from your attention but give nothing to the hardworking journalists seated in Kenyan newsrooms doing all the hard work.

This is why today’s piece is rare but important. As from last week, the Nation.Africa is asking you to pay something small to access stories that are older than a week. It is not much. Its Sh750 a year,  Sh150 a month and Sh50 a week. Much cheaper than buying a newspaper at Sh60 daily.

This is an appeal to Kenyans of both modest and grand means. Kenyan media has supported you, kept you and your families safe and sane for decades and counting. Now, they are seeking a little help from you. They want you to assist them in saving Kenyan journalism and, if I am being honest, in saving our country. To put it bluntly, supporting Kenyan media is an act of patriotism. 

Dr Chege is the director of the Innovation Centre at the Aga Khan University; [email protected]