August 3^rd 2018                                 Cheruiyot Korir

The government has said, it acknowledges the role of the media as a partner in national development, pointing out that it is ready to share information with the media for national development.

Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunication Mrs. Fatuma Hirsi said, in recognition of importance of the media in development, the government has deployed public communication officers in Ministries and state agencies to facilitate flow of information to the media and the public.

Speaking at a media panel discussions held at a Nairobi hotel today, Mrs Hirsi said the traditional media enterprises in the country need to re-evaluate their business strategies and align themselves to compete in a market that has shifted towards digital media and citizens journalism.

Mrs. Fatuma Hirsi said, although the digital media presents a challenge to the traditional media, the new media offer opportunity for new business thinking in the media industry that will attract investments and generate revenue.The Principal Secretary noted that the traditional media need to re-invent itself to ensure their businesses remain sustainable and continue providing relevant content to the public.

The Principal Secretary called on the media owners and editors to make budgetary provisions to re-train their reporters on emerging technological innovations in the industry to make them competent and promote professionalism.

She regretted that some media houses have no structures and are not able to recruit and retain journalists because of poor pay. She observed that the situation create room for unethical practices that harm the growth and reputation of media houses.

She expalined the government has established the Kenya Film School to train and tap talents of youth from poor background who drop out of school.