The just ended East African journalists’ convention at the
Kenyatta International Conference Centre was an eye opener in more than one
way. It brought into the fore the hard realities of semantic differences in
interpreting vital terminologies in the profession between the traditional
adversaries in journalism. This time the tug of war rope was the term
journalism itself. Does it signify a profession, a trade or a craft?
On one end of the rope were qualified practitioners backed
by academics and some lawyers who believed journalism in Kenya ought to be, if
indeed it isn’t already, a profession. They strongly argued that if journalism
in the region wasn’t a profession then the process of professionalizing it
legally ought to have started ages ago. On the other end of the rope were
believers in keeping journalism as a craft for fear of introducing regulations
to professionalize it with the danger of controlling its practice.
The convention came to an end without the two seeing eye to
eye. To give the subject room for further debate I believe the first step to be
taken must be defining what a profession is. The best definition of a
profession as far as journalism is concerned is, in my opinion, from my good
friend Michael Kunczik , a Journalism Professor at the Johannes Good Mountain
University Mainz in Germany with whom I co-authored the book “Ethics in
Journalism: A reader on their perception in the Third World”. He says a
profession is a vocation or an occupation that requires special skills that are
based on theoretical foundations which are acquired through systematic training
and then tested in a special professional examination which regulates entry
into the profession whose members are bound by a Code of Ethics through a
legally constituted professional organisation.
I believe we can put journalism in Kenya under a microscope
of ten pertinent questions which should then reveal to us whether the fourth
estate in this country is manned by people we can correctly describe as
professionals. The first question is: Does journalism as a vocation require
special skills? The fact of the matter is that whether one is in the print or
electronic media he or she cannot survive in Kenya’s vibrant journalism without
mastering many special skills needed in
news gathering, writing, editing and
presenting through various media.
The second question is whether the skills used in journalism
are based on theoretical foundations. The truth is modern journalism is based on strict theoretical foundation based
on writing skills, interviewing techniques, ethical principles and a lot
of knowledge of media law. Do these
qualify to be described as theoretical foundations? In my view, yes. The third
question is whether these skills are acquired through special training.
Anyone who has gone through a reputable school of journalism
will tell you that training in journalism is becoming very special both in its
introductory level and in its various areas of specialisation in both the print
and electronic fields including online journalism. New innovations have made
the training both more technical and challenging. The fourth question is
whether journalism is tested through special professional examinations. The
answer to that is, without a doubt, yes.
Again anyone who has been to any journalism school worth its
salt will tell you for nothing that to get a degree in journalism one has to
pass professional examinations at university level which are set after thorough
moderations by professors who examine whether they are of the required degree
acceptable levels which may include research and projects as well as hands-on
assignments. The fifth question is whether journalism university exams regulate
the entry into the profession. The answer to that is unfortunately no.
The fact of the
matter is that in Kenya, like in all other East African countries represented
at the convention which included Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Southern
Sudan, it is only the proprietors who determine the entry into the profession
through unilateral methods of closed shop system in reverse. The tough question
is: Does this domination and control by proprietors need re-examination?
The sixth question is whether the manner in which
journalists enter the profession is regulated by law at least as far as Kenya
is concerned. Section Two of Kenya’s The Media Act of 2007 defines a journalist
as any person who holds a diploma or a
degree in mass communication from a recognized institution of higher learning
and is recognized as such by the Media Council, or any other person who was practicing as a
journalist immediately before the commencement of the Media Act, or who holds such other qualifications as are
recognized by the Council, and earns a living from the practice of journalism,
or any person who habitually engages in
the practice of journalism and is recognized as such by the Council.
It can be argued that that legal definition of a journalist
in Kenya does, for all practical purposes, professionalize journalism. The
seventh question is whether a professional organisation for journalists exits
in Kenya. It so happens that members of
the fourth estate in this country have belonged to many different, and sometime
adversarial, organisations which include the
Kenya Union of Journalists , Media Owners' Association, Editor’s
Guild, Kenya Correspondent Association,
Media NGOs, Media Training Institutions, Public Media and the Alternative Press, among others.
In 1993, when the then Attorney General Amos Wako threatened
to come up with a code of ethics for journalists, all these otherwise
confrontational organisations joined hands to form a Media Industry Steering
Committee which was instrumental in the formation of the first self-regulating
and independent Media Council which framed up the existing code of conduct. The
question is: Can the present shape and structure of the Media Council pass for
a professional organisation for journalists?
The eighth question is whether a functioning and acceptable
Code of Ethics exists for the journalism profession in Kenya? The Second
Schedule of the Media Act of 2007 talks of CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE PRACTICE OF
JOURNALISM. Was there a deliberate avoidance of the use of the term “ETHICS”?
There are known editors in this country who are opposed to professionalization
and are against the term “ethics”. They give it its philosophical, rather than
professional, meaning. Be that as it may the Code lists 25 principles as part
of the law. Is there room for the improvement of this code?
The ninth question is whether the Media Council adequately
fulfils its mandate as a professional body? The answer to that is to be found
in the Act which says its functions are to mediate or arbitrate in disputes between
the government and the media, between the public and the media and intramedia;
and to promote and protect freedom and independence of the media. It also says
that among its important duties is to promote high professional standards
amongst journalists; and enhance professional collaboration among media
practitioners.
Essentially these are duties of a professional organisation
and the law also says that the Council’s functions will include promoting
ethical standards among journalists and in the media; and ensuring the
protection of the rights and privileges of journalists in the performance of
their duties. It also says that the Council will be expected to advise the
government or the relevant regulatory authority on matters pertaining to
professional, education and the training of journalists and other media
practitioners. These are normally the functions of a proper professional
institution.
While examining this specific question journalism scholars
always ask whether the law on recommendations on employment criteria is strong
enough or whether it needs reinforcement so as to professionalize journalism
properly in Kenya. Whatever the case may be the law says the Council’s duty is
to make recommendations on the employment criteria for journalists. The law
also says the Council shall uphold and maintain the ethics and discipline of
journalists as set out in the Act and any other relevant law.
It also says the Council shall do all matters that appertain
to the effective implementation of the Act by compiling and maintaining a
register of journalists, media enterprises and such other related registers as
it may deem fit. It also gives the Council powers to conduct an annual review
of the performance and the general public opinion of the media, and publish the
results in at least two local newspapers. With this kind of law in existence in
Kenya it is hard not to accept the fact that journalism has been
professionalized in this country.
The tenth and last question to ask is: What does the
Constitution say about journalism in Kenya? The simple answer to that question
is that apart from Article 33 which deals with Freedom of Expression, Article
34 of the Constitution protects freedom of the Media and Article 35 guarantees
Access to information. But it is Article 34 of the Constitution which can be
said to be referring to professionalization by stating that Parliament shall
enact legislation that provides for the establishment of a body, which shall be
independent of control by government, political interests or commercial
interests; and which shall reflect the interests of all sections of the
society; and set media standards and regulate and monitor compliance with those
standards.
When all is said and done this part of the Constitution is
indeed talking about the Media Council. But despite the recommendation by the
Constitution there are still some very strong forces opposed to the
professionalization of journalism in Kenya which leads me to pose yet another
question: What interest groups normally oppose the professionalization of
journalism? In general there are three groups which can be categorized as
powerful proprietors, despotic Governments and untrained practitioners
derogatorily called “quacks” in the journalistic fraternity.
The most provocative, may be even controversial, question to
ask is whether in Kenya we have proprietors who unilaterally determine entry
into journalism because of their sole powers to hire and fire. Arguably some of
them go as far as interfering with the ethical principle of INDEPENDENCE in
editorial decision making process. Naturally professionalization would change
all that. In the UK the most notorious proprietor is Rupert Murdoch whose “News of The World” closed down in
July last year for lack of professionalism in adhering to ethical standards.
If journalistic professionalism can be measured at all then
three yardsticks seem to be most appropriate. The most obvious of these are the
nuts and bolts of news gathering, editing and dissemination without which
journalism would exist. Secondly professionalism can be measured by
practitioners’ ethical standards. Unethical journalists, like those who worked
for Murdoch’s “News of the World”
cannot be considered to be professionally upright. Thirdly professionalism can
be measured through training with those without any considered to be less
professional.
After publishing for 168 years the “News of The World” was exposed by The Guardian as telephone hackers – an extremely unprofessional
thing to be. Its victims included the Royal Family, celebrities, family members
of crime victims and families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This
is despite the fact that Britain has a fairly reputable Press Complaints
Commission, which in this case had failed to guide journalists at NoW. Could the mess at the
British paper have been avoided if journalism had been professionalized in that
country?
The second group opposed to professionalization of
journalism in Kenya is made up of untrained journalists who see the process
either as making them lose their jobs or taking them back to school to acquire
the minimum required qualifications. Needless to say even with
professionalization citizen journalists will still have a role to play in
social media through the blogosphere, podcasts and twitters.
The third group opposed to professionalization of journalism
includes despotic governments eager to muzzle the media without real
professionals independently establishing a proper fourth estate. In Kenya when
the Media Act was first drafted in 2007 by the Government an attempt was made
to introduce a section that would compel journalists to disclose sources of
their information. This led to hundreds of journalists marching silently through
Nairobi streets to condemn the proposed section of the law. The international
community including Article 19 condemned the authorities in Kenya for trying to
take the country back to the Moi dictatorship.
The journalists, drawn from all media houses in the country,
also presented a petition to the then Head of Public Service and Secretary to
the Cabinet, Mr Francis Muthaura. They were petitioning President Kibaki not to
assent to the Media Bill. The Bill had to be changed quite drastically before
it was published into the current law which establishes journalism as a
profession in this country.
*A shorter version of this article was first published by
The Star newspaper of 14th May 2012
