By Benedette Wanyaga
Nairobi, Kenya: Daystar University recently hosted the Philip Ochieng Memorial Lectures. The lecture was attended by various stakeholders from the media including journalists, editors, and academia among many others. A panel discussion with four panelists who represented various demographics in the media was held.
The dean of Mass Communication Daystar University, Levi Obonyo started off by giving a brief speech. He defined what kind of media we have under different leadership. He broke down the different leaders we have had over the years and how their leadership affected the media and its freedom reiterating Philip Ochieng’s claim that the media had been compromised. The question of how media is changing also arose as the current curriculum for Journalism Students. “Are we preparing the students for the newsroom of the future or the current newsroom?
Among the panelists were Tim Wanyonyi, DR Nyakundi, Christopher Oyier from TUKO News, and Noanne a student from Daystar University. Tim Wanyonyi started by comparing media then and now. He compared the typewriters of the past and how they were chained to computers for security and how now we are in the era of computers, smartphones, and the internet.
He also talked about the issues of sustainability and revenue from advertising. In recent times, stories are pulled to create space for adverts but Phillip Ochieng pulled adverts to make more room for a story. He also noted that Phillip was able to notice talent and mentor people from a young age adding that the latter was a hardworking, straightforward leader.
Dr. Nyakundi who has a background in law meshed the two in his discussion. He talked about how Media and the law intersected adding that as a journalist, one should know the law. He posed a question to the audience, “Can you tell a story within the law?”
He talked about accuracy in storytelling and the importance of upholding the code of conduct in Journalism.
Noanne from Daystar University represented the Gen Z demographic and talked about Online and Mobile Journalism. She talked about how Gen Zs are both consumers and content generators since we were born with phones in our hands. There’s a lack of credible content due to the wide dissemination of news. She said we are the digital distraction as Gen Z. She also talked about mentorship and how young journalists need it, appealing to the older generation to hold their hands. There is also a lack of practical skills among the young generation.
The Keynote Speaker, Charles Ngugi defined media freedom as the absence of interference or influence in Journalism. He said that media freedom represents the ideal, not the reality. The assumption that man is now freer than ever is a myth. Before colonialism, Africans were exposed to freedom that the white man could only dream of. The private sector might affect media independence through too much entertainment. Audience pandering and the mixing of news and commercial adverts affect media independence. In media, there is a freedom to shout but that rarely translates to tangible elimination of needs and wants.
He talked about Phillip Ochieng and how he was a realist with broad academic interests. Phillip had a love for knowledge and worked in all sectors of media. He highlighted how freedom comes with responsibility and how media freedom is critical in the support and opposition of the government. Linus Kaikai also gave a few critiques and talked about the different circumstances in Journalism and its never-ending change.
He highlighted Phillip Ochieng’s main issues with Journalism which included: Ownership of the media, state ownership versus private ownership, and ethics in journalism. He talked about the different experiences and interpretations of different journalists in the industry. He gave a vote of thanks to the keynote speaker for his insightful speech on Media freedom and Independence.
With the notable decline in public trust in media, the subject of the 2023 Philip Ochieng Memorial Lecture was to interrogate whom exactly the media serves. The theme: “Independence of the Media; Reality or Illusion?”
The Philip Ochieng Memorial Lectures was launched in 2021 and is an initiative of the Kenya Editors’ Guild which is meant to honor Philip Ochieng through an annual lecture. The lecture seeks to interrogate the place, roles, obligations, and duties of journalism, particularly whether the media lives up to society’s expectations.
