Media Monitoring Report Launch: Advancing Gender Equality in Political News Coverage

Wamunyu, W. & Maleche, H. Gender and Media in Kenya speaks at the launch of the media monitoring event held at Jacaranda Hotel in Westland on April 28 2023.

A recent media monitoring report launched by Wambui Wamunyu reveals a significant gender gap in political news coverage, with women being underrepresented as political news sources, content producers, and analysts. The report highlights the need for more diverse and inclusive media coverage and provides recommendations for achieving gender equality in politics.

The media monitoring report launch event, which took place on April 28, was attended by esteemed guests, including media representatives, politicians, civil society activists, and gender equality advocates. The report, which analyzed media coverage of political news over the past Kenya general elections, revealed that women are vastly underrepresented in political news coverage.

According to the report, about 40% of political news sources were women, and female experts and analysts were also underrepresented. Additionally, the report found that women’s perspectives were often marginalized, with their voices and opinions not given equal weight as those of their male counterparts.

In light of these findings, the report provides recommendations for improving gender equality in political news coverage. The first recommendation is for editorial decision-making to include deliberate efforts to involve both genders as political news sources, content producers, and analysts. This can enhance coverage by recognizing diverse perspectives and spaces.

Another critical recommendation is a review of campaign finance structures and mechanisms to enable equal opportunity for both genders in funding their electoral campaigns. This includes policies related to the financial support political parties provide to candidates and expenditure limits on electoral races.

During the launch event, the speakers emphasized the need for collaboration between media organizations, civil society groups, and political stakeholders to implement these recommendations effectively. Achieving gender equality in political news coverage requires a collective effort from all players involved.

Read the full report below.

General in Elections 2022G1

Training and Dialogue wrap-up

We had successful regional dialogues – reporting on digital inclusion. 96 journalists from the 3 regions participated (Lira 40, Gulu 31, Arua 25). We believe there will be a digital revolution in news dissemination in these areas. Also note that they were from different districts as follows; Agago, Dokolo, Amolatar, Nwoya, Gulu, Lira, Arua, Nebbi, Paidha, and Moyo

Media Focus On Africa partnered with @CIPESAUG via #ADRF fund

 

The Fight against GBV in Uganda

We had a successful dialogue on GBV in Jinja city. Media Focus On Africa Uganda is using edutainment, media and dialogues to fight GBV against women and girls and to promote women’s rights at the grassroot levels of the most affected communities . With support from Urgent Action Fund, MFA has partnered with ADOVIC , a community based organization for facilitate the dialogues.

MS PRESIDENT: SEASON 2

After successfully producing and airing Ms President Season 1, Media Focus on Africa launched a bigger and better Season 2. The second season had 20 episodes series and was aired on both television and 5 local radio stations to ensure maximum reach and engagement with the community.

What is Ms. President?

Ms President is an entertaining, educating, and thought-provoking Reality TV show that seeks to portray to a national audience the capacity and ability of women to lead effectively. The objective of Ms President is to change Kenyans’ perception and attitude towards leadership by women in communities and in the country. Learn more about Season 1 here.

Why is Ms President important? 

Women are usually not found in leadership positions. In many of our communities in Kenya, they are not generally perceived to have the skills, knowledge, or social status needed to bring about meaningful change.

Kenya’s constitution provides for equality in representation between men and women. However, in political leadership, women are significantly underrepresented. Following the 2017 election, female MPs make up only 22% of the National Assembly, 31% of the Senate and only 6% of the Governors.

Ms President Season 2 has contributed to Enhancing Women’s Participation in Political Leadership and Decision Making in Kenya via a multi-media program complemented with community dialogue and capacity strengthening for key stakeholder groups. Coming in the backdrop of the 2022 election made Ms President Season 2 relevant and timely. Through the TV series, Ms President 1 introduced to the national audience young, fresh, intelligent and ‘presidential’ women from across the country many of these women have thrown their hats into the ring and are seeking various elective seats during the 2022 general election. Others have been appointed into senior public service positions e.g. CAS Nadia Abdalla of the Ministry of ICT and Youth.

Just like with Ms President Season 1, the centrepiece of Season 2 was the reality TV series. Ms President 2 that introduced to the national audience another crop of intelligent, articulate and ‘presidential’ women from diverse backgrounds with an eye on the 2027 general election and for appointment to senior public service positions.

The Impact of Season 1 and 2

Ms President Season 1 and 2 have had a significant impact on the political participation of women in Kenya. The show has encouraged young women to take an interest in politics and consider leadership positions as a viable career path. It has also promoted the importance of gender equality and women’s rights, challenging the traditional patriarchal system that dominates politics in Kenya.

Through the show, women from all walks of life have been given a platform to express their opinions, share their stories and showcase their leadership skills. This has not only helped to increase the visibility of women in politics but has also challenged the stereotypes and biases that have limited women’s participation in politics.

55% of the contestants reporting that the show has provided them with leadership opportunities that were previously unavailable to them. Nadia Abdalla, Mombasa County contestant, was appointed as Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of ICT and Youth, while Betty Adera, Nairobi County contestant, is now President of KANU Political Party Women Congress, a member of the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) technical team, and Patron of the Young Women’s Forum in Africa by the Africa Youth Trust. Linet Mavu, Taita Taveta contestant, was appointed by the President to the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee. Additionally, many Season 1 contestants are currently running for various MP and MCA positions.

The program received endorsements from various top government officials and international dignitaries, including the President of Kenya H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta. The show was even nominated for the best TV documentary/TV show/TV reality category of the 9th Edition of the Kalasha International Film and TV awards in 2019. The program was also awarded the Best Women Empowerment Initiative at the DIAR Awards 2023.

MS. PRESIDENT SEASON 2 LAUNCHED

Media Focus on Africa has in a colourful event launched the second season of Ms. President Reality TV show, opening applications for all women who are community leaders across Kenya.

 

Ms President is an entertaining, educative, and thought-provoking Reality TV show that seeks to portray to a national audience the capacity and ability of women to lead effectively. The objective of Ms. President is to change Kenyans’ perception and attitude towards leadership by women in communities and in the country.

Speaking at the event, the chief guest Hon. Racheal Shebesh, Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Public Service & Gender said that having training is a gateway to a great opportunity. She called on political parties to support women and give them opportunities and platforms that are meant to push them to great leadership roles.

‘I was once one of the chosen few to be sponsored to attend a political training for young leaders. It propelled me to who I am today.’ She said.

Ms President 2 will introduce to the national audience another group of women of different backgrounds, who are intelligent, articulate, and ‘presidential’, with an eye on the 2027 general election and for appointment to senior public service positions.

Among the invited guests were Season 1 contestants who are already great change-makers in our society. One notable example is that of Hon. Nadia Abdalla, who through Ms President show was appointed Chief Administrative Secretary in the ministry of ICT and Youth by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Speaking at the launch, Acting High Commissioner for Canada, David Da Silva called on aspiring women leaders to have courage and step out.

‘’To all aspiring female leaders, I urge you to put yourselves out there. It is not easy given the challenges you will face along your journey but it is worth it.’’ He said.

H.E Henriette Geiger, the European Head of Delegation to Kenya joined the meeting virtually. She thanked all the supporters of Ms President and stressed the need to push for women’s representation in various leadership roles.

Echoing Her Excellency’s remarks, Rukaya Mohammed, UN Women Country Director said that women were underrepresented in the political landscape and that there was a need to continue pushing for the implementation of the two thirds gender rule.

Politics in Kenya is characterized by low representation of women in decision-making despite women constituting 50.5% of the Kenyan population.

Women’s political representation is still below the constitutional threshold of 33% and further below the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 50%.

Do you believe you have what it takes to be the next Ms President? Who are we looking for?

Are you a Kenyan woman? Aged between 20-60 years & living in Kenya? With a diploma

or higher qualifications? An excellent communicator? Agile & creative? Are you a leader

actively involved in your community? Do you have the vision to transform your community?

Do you believe in women leadership?

If you you have all these qualities, please click on the link below to download the application form. Here you will also find details on how to submit the form once you have filled it.

www.shorturl.at/jovDL    or www.rb.gy/0afkus

WHY VIRAL SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT IS BAD FOR JOURNALISM

Opinion: Who these days doesn’t have guilty pleasures such as watching endless videos online when you are supposed to be sleeping or working?

My favourite are cat videos, babies, pets, and animals.  The creators of these videos have become the new e-entrepreneurs and social influencers.

To journalists, viral social media content continues to reshape the ways news is to be packaged.   The redefinition of what makes content engaging has put stress on news media to repackage items to fit a new type of consumption.

Journalism vs entertainment

The media has evolved at a speed that journalism is still working at catching up with. One of the conspicuous changes has been the exponential expansion for the production of online content. This has opened the playfield to an uncontrollable number of players. This content is directly competing with journalism.

While the expansion of platforms has created space for diversity, the playfield has been made grossly unlevelled. Journalism in some regions of the world has suffered a colossal slump as a result.

The cost of producing quality journalism remains considerable. Conversely, producing social media content is relatively cheaper and without the need for time-consuming gatekeeping or editorial quality checks.

Changing tastes for audiences

Social media transformed the way audiences consume content.   Online audiences developed traits such as impatience, constant use, consumption on the move, and the luxury of infinite choices.

These traits turned the audience into an insatiable beast that constantly nibbles bits of information.  In return content creators produce shorter and entertaining content.

The word ‘Viral’ was reborn.

It must be viral to show impact?

Numbers are the new definition of impact.  The drivers of impact have become quite obscure if journalism is to retain its depth and analytical values.  Viral content has proved to be driven by entertainment value, bizarre elements, scandalous nature, or emotional appeal.

It’s all about click baits.

Daily journalism may not match these standards.  It is not every good piece of journalism that will contain one or all of the qualities of viral content.

This makes the average reporter’s work remain flat amid bubbling social media viral posts that are dumbed down to attract numbers.   The ability of news and feature stories to engage is now being judged against entertainment on social media.

 

Additional costs for journalism

Facebook’s addition of sponsored content has made it further challenging for unpaid for news content to compete.

Legacy media may still boast of a large following on social media. This is largely inherited from their dominance in the pre-digital era.  Upcoming and alternative media still find it difficult to amass a following online without considerable budgets on social media advertising and branding.

Even for legacy media, social media has been an additional cost. There needs to be trained personnel, repackaging of long-form journalism to short form as well as necessary apps and software.

The cost of retraining journalists to write and produce for social media is considerable.  There has also been a shift in work culture, such as the need to use mobile phones for journalism.  All come at a cost.

Preserving long-form journalism in the digital space

The sacred space of journalism has always been under threat.  Media freedoms must be continually fought for.

While the digital space was hailed to provide a leeway for alternative voices which would have been an addition to press freedom and freedom of information and expression, the trend is changing fast.

Digital may soon be just like mainstream. Many good pieces of journalism get drowned in the sea of ‘viral’.   The ‘viral’ virus has infected journalism and a cure is needed.

All the funny videos online are good for audiences, people need comic relief. However, the truths and perspectives that journalism offers are the lifeblood of our democracy and freedoms.

 A new social influence audit

 Journalism has to redefine its social media influence.

An audit of followers, comments, and real-life impact may give fair indicators of how a story is performing.  The metrics for other social media content should not be used to judge journalistic engagement.

UGANDA MEDIA WEEK 2020

The 2020 Media Dialogues lasted a period of 7 days and included open discussions on ‘Scientific General Elections – Key issues for journalists’ followed with training sessions on: ‘Fake news and disinformation in times of elections – Fact Checking and verification’ and ‘Upholding independent journalism in scientific elections – principles of effective elections reporting’ held on Monday 7th September, 2020, in Gulu district. Over 30 participants attended.

 

CONVALESCING NEWS MEDIA CREDIBILITY DURING COVID 19 TIMES

Analysis: “Coronavirus” and “COVID19” pandemic are now key words in most of our conversations. It is almost impossible to write a news story without finding how it links to the pandemic. Business news, politics, and sports all have to be hinged on the global health crisis.

Reporter’s scripts across the globe have been synchronised into numbers of infections, deaths, and recoveries. Governments have become a key source of news and in many instances the only source. Journalists have to rely on frequent press briefing from the political leadership and their appointed bureaucrats. In Kenya as many parts of the world, the frequency of news bulletins increased as per the need of governments to release new information to the public. Social media became awash with misleading information and soon lost its glimmer as the alternative or the channel of dissent.

The complexity and uniqueness of the pandemic did not only present global health systems with shock but journalism alike was thrust into an unorthodox space for storytelling. The strict rules of lockdowns, curfews, social distancing, and disruption of public transportation isolated news sources from the reach of journalists. Frontline medical workers, convalescents, and quarantined people could have been alternative and additional sources. However, the public health guidelines in place delayed a reach to these sources and some instances cut them out completely from being part of the story.

At the same time, many newsrooms adopted working from home while only skeleton staff went to work physically. The demand for information on COVID- 19 meant little time to do in-depth journalism. Scientific knowledge of the virus has not been within quick access due to the novel nature of the disease. This further thinned out sources of information for journalists.

Government departments seemed to the last source standing. While this gave a sense of authority to the information released to the media, dissenting voices became a target. Individuals who raised contradicting views were easily branded as fake news mongers and at times met with a harsh response.

The most recent survey from Infotrack, a Kenyan research firm, revealed that news media trust came second to the government while social media dropped to the bottom with only 35% of respondents crediting the platforms’ trustworthiness.

Journalism has endured a tough terrain with eroding trust and blame for overfeeding audiences with bad news. Many may argue on the point of what makes news. Universally, bad news is news. A section of audiences got fatigued with the bleak news of the virus. News media became a victim of backlash for a population suffering from fear and anxiety over the unbearable impact the pandemic has on their lives. It is fair that at a time like this, the masses need relief from bad news, but journalism doesn’t have to be tasked with the search for solace. At the core of the craft is to hold power to account to alert audiences of any deviations from the course of the public good. Naturally, this is packaged as bad news.

Timely and truthful information from the news media is vital for triggering change. In countries where the media operates freely, journalism is often hailed for provoking change in public matters of governance and accountability. The Coronavirus continues to present our world with unrivalled obstacles. The social and economic lives of entire countries and individual citizens have been thrust into deep uncertainty. The media and journalism industry will not grope its way of out the challenge but has to take off the blindfold and fearlessly reclaim its trust and duty to the audiences.

By Frenny Jowi, Project Officer at Media Focus on Africa

KENYA MEDIA WEEK 2019

The 2019 Kenya Media Week was a follow up to the very successful 2018 Kenya Media Week. It was launched at a one-day conference in August 2019 and was subsequently held over three days in November 2019. MFA organized the conference to explore key issues facing journalism in the digital space in  Kenya today. Just like in 2018, the conference harnessed insights from academic research, the experience of journalists as well as the bold voices of audiences and citizen journalists who use digital platforms to shape Kenya’s journalism. It was designed to enable reflection and discussion around contemporary journalism. Through master classes, panel discussions, and presentations, the participants talked to one another, tried various technologies, tested new skills, and tabled ideas.

The financial survival of the journalism profession – disrupted in large part by digital technologies’ influence on practices and audience behavior – remained an important topic during the conference with the first presentation focused on non-profit journalism alternatives in the digital age. This launched a panel discussion that led to a heated debate about who should be considered a journalist.

The heat generated between self-taught and university-trained practitioners illuminated how journalism stands at the intersection of change and further, what times of transition do: they destabilise established names, definitions, skills, and practices, and present new opportunities and ethical challenges.

A detailed publication of the event and all that was discussed can be found on this website at the Resources section. Read and download here. 

MS PRESIDENT FINALISTS IN BRUSSELS

On 18-21 November 2019, Media Focus on Africa (MFA) and the five finalists of Ms President are invited to Brussels to attend a series of meetings with high representatives of the European Union. Ms President is a 26-episode TV reality show that aims to raise awareness on the role of women leadership in effective peace building and in countering violent extremism. The show featured a diverse group of 71 women who competed to become the first female President of Kenya.

Five finalists were selected for the final episodes which included a field campaign, a private meeting with the President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, a presidential live debate and a grand finale where the winner was announced. Kenyans were invited to vote for their preferred candidate through a free SMS platform. The 26 episodes aired on KTN and attracted more than 3.5 million viewers every week. Nereah Amondi Oketch was crowned first ‘’Ms President of Kenya’’. The impact of the project is already observed. Contestants have expressed an increase in their self-confidence, their power of influence at home, in their communities and on political level. It has given them a tremendous opportunity to network and promote the interest of women and girls in Kenya. Many of them have already expressed their intention to vie at the 2022 election.

The project also included capacity-building for women contestants, media practitioners and local civil-society organisations. Finally MFA and its project partner, Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), are currently organising 55 community dialogues in three violence-prone counties: Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale. These dialogues will be attended by community, religious, youth and women leaders. The aim is to specifically counter violent extremism through the promotion of women leadership.

Thanks to the European Delegation to Kenya and the EU representatives in Brussels, a 4-day meeting was organised between MFA, the five finalists and EU representatives. During that week, MFA and the finalists will be engaging with Ms Hautala, Ms McGuinness, M. Fabio Massimo Castaldo – Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, Ms. Sonya Reines-Djivanides – Executive Director of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office, Sandra Kramer – Director DEVCO, EU relations, West and East Africa, members of the European Peace Building Office.

Finally MFA and the finalists will be meeting the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, Ms Federica Mogherini. Through these meaningful meetings, MFA hopes to strengthen its current relationship with the European Union and to raise the voice of Kenyan women internationally.

EU head of Delegation in Kenya sent off the team to Brussels after a lengthy discussion on a way forward for increasing Women’s participation in high level decision making in government and corporations.

MFA wishes to thank its funding partners: the European Delegation to Kenya, Global Affairs Canada and Hivos.

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Change begins at the grassroots level. Ahead of the #MsPresident community dialogues, we're training facilitators to lead meaningful discussions that encourage women's leadership participation. Let's empower women at the community level.@CanHCKenya @unwomenkenya @euinkenya ... See MoreSee Less
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At MFA, we're committed to promoting gender equality in leadership. It is why we're going to engage communities on topics covered in the Ms President show. Join us in enhancing women's participation in politics and decision making.#empoweringwomen #mspresidentcommunitydialogues ... See MoreSee Less
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