Media houses ask State to clear huge debt, restore advertising
What you need to know:
- Through the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG), they asked the government to reduce use of the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) or do away with it entirely.
- KEG further asked the government to settle advertising bills amounting to billions of shillings as nonpayment for years has threatened the sustainability of media houses.
Senior editors want the government to revert to direct advertising through media houses in order to ensure their survival during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Through the Kenya Editors' Guild (KEG), they asked the government to reduce use of the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) or do away with it entirely.
State organisations use the GAA to advertise in newspapers and other media outlets.
KEG further asked the government to settle advertising bills amounting to billions of shillings as nonpayment for years has threatened the sustainability of media houses.
In a statement read Sunday by Standard Group Editor-in-Chief Ochieng Rapuro, during KEG’s third annual convention in Kisumu County, the editors also requested the government to set up a media sustainability fund to cushion media houses from economic challenges brought about by crises such as Covid-19.
KEG brings together senior print, broadcast and digital editors from organisations including Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group, Mediamax Network and Royal Media Services.
Its President Churchill Otieno (Nation Media Group) pledged to ensure media organisations’ survival during the pandemic and introduce the digital culture in newsrooms.
Transformational leadership
During the convention, journalists from several counties were trained on innovative and transformational leadership skills that will keep them competent in the digital era.
There were also discussions on their welfare, including mental health and newsroom safety, as well as government and media relations during and after the Covid-19 crisis.
“Management skills are key to dealing with the challenges that journalists are currently facing and what they anticipate in terms of innovative and transformational leadership,” Mr Rapuro told the convention.
Journalists from Western Kenya were trained on election reporting.
They were told to develop strategies that work for them and their media houses, including finding ways of appropriating technologies and making them work.
“Media houses should develop new business models and revenue streams, and produce interesting and appealing content which can be monetised to develop sustainable media keen on promoting public interest,” Mr Rapuro said.
Political challenges
Other speakers asked the government to protect media houses from various political and economic challenges.
The convention was told that some of the most serious challenges affecting the industry come from political leaders who do not appreciate the role of independent media, whose content might not always be palatable.
“To enhance the relationship between the government and media, journalists must continue cooperating. The media helps promote accountability, transparency, democracy, the rule of law and human rights,” Mr Rapuro said, noting the need for a safe space for operations.
