Dubbed ‘The Fourth Estate’, media has been one of the awesome professions that many have aspired to be.
From radio to TV and print and online newspapers, media is loved and loathed in equal measure, given its potential powers to wound and heal with the same breath.
In some developed countries, media is viewed as an alternative government and media establishments can take a stand on key issues affecting the country, such as civil war, immigration political and social matters.
However, in Kenya and probably in other parts of the world, the coming of the internet has brought far-reaching challenges in all spheres of media, given the difficulties faced in controlling it.
It’s almost becoming fashionable for the elite and other interest groups to join social media platforms to advance certain agenda.
Malicious people
This is a noble idea but the fly in the ointment is when some malicious people form social media groups describing them as “media” and go fool throttle into “journalism”.
While professions like medicine, engineering, architecture and law can easily be safeguarded from manipulation by vested interests and their professional services paid for, not so with our media in Kenya.
Even though accredited regulatory institutions such as the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) have been working round the clock to ensure media professionalism is upheld, quacks and charlatans masquerading as bloggers keep sticking out like a sore thumb.
Infiltrate journalist groups
While blogging is a key cog of digital media, some of those claiming to be bloggers are not journalists but guns for hire, especially by the political class.
No wonder so many blogs are formed around election time and die shortly after the polls after their founders earn their pay.
These are the same culprits who will try to infiltrate journalist groups to claim authenticity just to make a quick buck.
The situation has been worsened by a trend over the years where journalists are paid “facilitation” by the news sources.
This abhorrent behaviour has fuelled these charlatans who move from one event to the other just to collect “facilitation” then vanish without trace or any evidence of journalistic output.
This has put Kenyan media at a crossroads and the more stringent regulations are put in place the better it will be for journalists and media outlets to bargain for professional services and enumeration.
This will only be possible if media houses and journalists become their brother’s keeper and ensure any suspicious characters in their midst are identified and called out.
