Journalists doing a good job, but there is room for improvement

Some of the journalists who won awards in the 2023 AJEA. [David Gichuru, Standard]

The principal goal of journalism awards is to encourage and promote excellence in journalism by setting standards for quality reporting, fostering creativity and innovation and recognising the critical role that journalists play in informing the public and holding those in power accountable.

In addition to recognising individual journalists and their work, the awards can also promote the sharing of knowledge and best practices within the industry, by providing opportunities for journalists to learn from each other, collaborate on projects and build networks.

The Media Council of Kenya's 2023 Annual Journalism Excellence Awards offered a platform that serves as a reminder of the importance of journalism. It also presented lessons that can enhance professionalism in the Kenyan media. I picked some learnings from the exercise as chairperson of the Nomination Panel of the awards.

Out of a record 1,256 entries received this year, 68 journalists were awarded for their unique storytelling capabilities; bravery in the pursuit of untold stories, seeking to change stereotypes or misleading narratives; holding the government to account; timeless effort in getting views from diverse, often difficult or far-flung sources, particularly lending a voice to the voiceless; excellent command of the language they chose to tell the story in; and the overall contribution to the profession.

Some stories evoked so much emotion that one had to take breaks and resume after a breather. This is what journalism is about: Telling stories that strongly impact the audience, stories that leave the audience either yearning for more or wanting to make a change to better themselves or society.

The diversity of media houses that won in the different categories also shows that journalism has evolved, with community radio stations giving a good show. Journalists from community radio stations are listening to the audience and serving them well.

On the flip side, a look at the other 1,188 entries, which did not make the cut, shows that there is a lot more work to be done; not just by journalists, but also by editors, media owners, trainers, regulators such as the MCK, media associations and other stakeholders.

Four aspects stood out for me from the exercise. First, glaring grammatical errors and poor use of language, as evidenced by long, dull headlines and inconsistency within some stories exposed what is likely to be a teetering reading culture. Indeed, it is worth acknowledging that journalists do not live in a vacuum and have several factors (such as the proliferation of the Internet and increased workload due to layoffs) competing for their attention. These notwithstanding, one can only write well if they read.

Journalists serve integral roles, including informing and educating the society as well as interpreting information and framing political, societal and economic issues. UNESCO says, "citizens cannot exercise and enjoy their citizenship in the absence of crucial information and knowledge, which is what well-trained journalists are best placed to provide". A well-trained journalist is one who continuously upgrades their writing and analytical skills and what better way to do this than to read.

Secondly, the AJEA judging process, which gives a bird's eye view of the journalism landscape, underscored the importance of continuous training on the tenets of the profession, including adherence to the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya.

Thirdly, there was an incomprehension of several categories of the AJEA, for example, the skewed notion that the term 'gender' only refers to women was perceptible. Additionally, most of the entries in this same category only focused on Female Genital Mutilation, yet there is a plethora of issues uniquely affecting the different genders. It was the same case with the health category where most of the entries solely centred on HIV and Aids. Furthermore, there was the presumption that a digital story is a print article that is accompanied with an image and published on a website. It is not.

Finally, journalists should shake off the aphorisms that it is only when 'man bites dog' that you have news or 'if it bleeds is when it leads'. If the world no longer had wars, deaths, natural disasters, political upheavals, et al, would it signal the end of journalism?

In his book 'I accuse the press', Philip Ochieng' posits that some journalists unwittingly own up to the charge of catastrophe-mongering: Making money from mental pollution. Yet thought leaders argue that one of the ways to win back audiences, who have become allergic to negativity bias in the news, is to embrace constructive journalism. What we know as news is "broken" and it must be repaired if there's any hope of regaining trust in the media.

Learning is a life-long process and to thrive in and outside a newsroom, one must upskill and develop a culture of reading. It is the only way to be an outstanding journalist. Journalists can take advantage of trainings being offered by local and international organisations, most of which are virtual.

The onus is now on journalists to introspect, identify where the gaps are and upskill. For newsroom managers and media owners, it is important to acknowledge the overall benefits of an upskilled employee, hence the need to support journalists in their pursuit of knowledge.