MCK adresses tense working relationship between media and government

Nairobi, 

Monday, 22 July, 2024 

McCreadie Andias 

In an open letter on Monday, 22 July, 2024, The Media council of Kenya has adressed the evident bad blood between media outlets and the government of Kenya.

According to MCK, the tension begun since the coverage of the August, 2022 elections which the Kenya Kwanza Administration considered biased and one-sided.

MCK says that since then the media has been considered an enemy of the government and targeted through various aspects including media censorship, Attack of journalists covering protests and provocation of media freedom.

According to MCK, it is better to have a bad government than no government while at the same time it is much better to have a bad media than no media at all should the government take it as that.

The council has called for a common ground between the government and the media where both entities will execute their duties and mandates without interfering with the integrity and freedom of each other.

MCK has acknowledged the fact that the government has for the first time hired an unprecedented number of media practitioners and journalists as communications managers at government outlets but their roles have since been undermined or hijacked by political big wings as the media describes them.

MCK has urged journalists to act with integrity in accordance to the Code of conduct on the practice of journalism especially when covering the ongoing anti - Government demos whilst also demanding for politicians to avoid targetting the media or rather seeing the media as opponents.