By: Brian Simiyu Nabungolo
Elections periods in Kenya usually gives journalists and media professions a litmus test on how they are supposed to collect information and how they will share the given information without compromising work ethics so as to maintain their professionalism and at the same time please their bosses.
Mass media being the central player ‘ mirror of the society ‘ and a very powerful source of information that the public relies on, unlucky some of media professions and main stream media houses have fall into disdain, tool of peddling tittle-tattle news for the sake of satisfying their bosses, political affiliation members without questioning the standards and ethics in media field hence duping the masses.
With emergency of digital platforms where everyone ‘can’ become a journalist and report information, an increase of main stream media houses should contemplate on those ‘social media’ reporters in order to verify their source of news before publishing the news in their most followed walls that the public relies on mostly.
Few hawk-eye citizens have the ability to certify the authenticity of the information especially those who uses Twitter app, are more to the truthfulness of the information published and are very fast to single out whether the information is true or false.
With the recent trip of deputy president to western county being on limelight between his supporters and the rivals, Kenyans were quick to pin point the fake images and information posted by his professional media handlers that he the deputy president had paid a courtesy visit to white house.
With social media handlers of high profile personality especially in this campaign period, being assigned to professional media handlers who very well know the standard quo of media fields, they should not reduce themselves to mere bloggers just to please their bosses and their followers.
Media houses, private social media handlers and journalists should observe work ethics in media field which is clearly stipulated by media council of Kenya. This will help to retain the outlook and expectations of the society which media serves as the mirror of the general public.
Being given a taint name of “githeri media” journalists should be unequivocally and set standards to distinguish journalists from bloggers. Journalism field has work ethics that should be adhered whether serving as a private journalist or serving a media outlet, code and conduct should be followed to solve the puzzling quagmire of fake and unauthentic information.
Moi university student
Pursuing Communication.
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