Media industry changes place new demands on journalism training

Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna speaks to journalists at Nairobi’s Precious Talents School where two classrooms collapsed last month, killing eight pupils. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL
  By KENNEDY MWENDA

Kenya’s media industry has long enjoyed a stellar reputation for independence, professionalism and integrity. No one can question the central role the industry has played in shaping the political, socio-
economic landscape of the country.

But we owe it to ourselves as professionals in the industry, whether plying our trade in the private sector, the NGOs or in government, to critically introspect and evaluate the quality of people that are joining this profession.

We cannot simply sit back and fail to question the philosophy underpinning current training offered in our institutions of learning. We cannot fail to critique or offer valid ideas on how to improve this noble profession that is currently under threat from technology and changing patterns of media consumption among consumers in a robust apolitical way.

The media industry model has changed and evolved in many different ways. The evolving business models have changed how we define journalism or communication. The implications from this go far and wide as journalists and communication practitioners are now required to be competent on delivering news on digital, print and electronic media.

Take the rise of vernacular TV and radio stations, for example. The ability to articulate and write news in your native mother tongue is now a marketable skill in today’s newsrooms. But has this hasn’t been incorporated in the syllabus.

Every day, media houses executives ponder ways to launch new revenue generating business models to sustain the industry. They ask themselves just how their respective media houses can hold onto viewers, readers and listeners in the face of debilitating competition from content creators and social media.

Journalism and communication, in my opinion, long ceased to be a civic duty-driven profession. In the current business climate, one cannot afford to be singularly focused on a solitary craft.

Being competent across multimedia platforms places a media house and by extension journalists at an advantage. This is because advertisers, who generate the most revenue for media houses, are now exploring creative ways to get their messages to targeted demographics. Sponsorships, online advertising, product placements and online viral campaigns are increasingly important for media buys.

Sadly, this has ushered the death of specialisation within the profession as media houses and the companies now demand more from journalist and communication professionals. No longer are you entirely a print media journalist focused on business or political stories, the field now requires you to be equally competent in delivering news either through radio, TV or through social media channels.

We are in the age of content and information sharing. The audiences are now consuming information in so many different ways. You are more likely to come across breaking news first though the social media before it finds itself in the mainstream.

This means more and more people are turning to the Internet for news and entertainment. For media houses to compete, they must evolve with the trend by ensuring that they provide rich content and employ the use of multimedia adequately.

There is merit in involving media and communication executives from the industry in the training and teaching of students. I have absolute respect for the integrity and competence of my colleagues in the academia.

While I do not seek to denigrate them in any way, the lessons that emanate from work experience, especially the ‘industry streets’ remain a vital ingredient in shaping a student for the market place as compared to theoretical knowledge. The six or three months’ attachment in workplaces isn’t just enough for students to develop experience to meet the market expectation.

In my observation, there seems to be haphazard dichotomy between the academia and the media industry. The industry is a world on its own; while the education institutions remain entirely on their own. There needs to be a proper conversation to find a solution to this.

The industry should to consider postgraduate professional training much like what lawyers go through at the Kenya School of Law. It is time for a fundamental pivot.

Mwenda is a lawyer and a communication specialist.