Role of Journalists in Development: An Exploration of the Professional Autonomy of Kenyan Journalists

Abstract

The Kenyan media is marked by an unpredictable and changing political, social,cultural,economic and technological environment that has heavily influenced the professionalism of journalists. The journalistic work is being threatened by the political influences, the emergence of online journalism and citizen journalism which the journalists have no control over. This changing environment has brought a new threat to professionalism. In Africa, the journalist’s traditional tenets – of objectivity and neutrality – are challenged and confronted by the journalist’s patriotic sentiment and their ethnic and cultural belonging. The big dilemma is the seemingly declining professionalism of journalism. Given these contextual trends coupled with the structural changes in journalism as a practice, this paper explores the professional autonomy of Kenyan journalists based on a study carried out in Nairobi County which targeted 314 journalists in selected media houses in Kenya. The study used mixed method approach. Survey technique was employed to generate both quantitative and qualitative data. The data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. It was established that journalist’s ethics and professional code has been fragmenting over the years and journalists no longer enjoy their professional autonomy. The aspects of being neutral, objective and acting like a mirror to the public are very weak today. These changes indicate a declining trend in journalism profession. The study established that weakening trend in journalism profession has been brought about by the occupational set up such as: long working hours, political influences, training of journalists, emergence of online and citizen journalisms and new social networks. This weakening trend in journalism profession warrants an urgent intervention on journalists’ conduct, review of the training content and existing regulatory policies by the Media council of Kenya.