Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunication, Mr Sammy Itemere has said there is need to build capacity for mass media professionals to prepare them for quality reporting and program production.
Addressing a cocktail party at the Christ is the Answer Ministries headquarters in Nairobi yesterday, Mr Itemere noted that the training of the media professionals will help to instill a sense of ethical and legal standards among the practitioners.
Mr Itemere pointed out that the digital dispensation has unsettled the media industry that has compelled the media owners to adopt new processes for story-telling and to rethink business models to remain relevant and competitive.
The Principal Secretary cited the advent of digital and social media in particular saying it has presented a wide range of opportunities to the public that allows them to add value in the information chain and participate in the national conversation.
He explained that the trend poses a threat to the survival of traditional media that calls for their need to adopt innovative ways to deliver content and enable them remain relevant. He noted that with the emergence of the new citizen journalism, the public who for long were consumers of mass communication are now content producers and transmitters.
He noted that, the use of mobile phone, a versatile multi-media tool that integrates audio visual recorder, radio receiver among many other utilities has offered boundless opportunity for ordinary people to record voices and images and transmit to news organizations for press, and broadcast sometimes instantaneously.
He said the Ministry has put in place supportive government policies and legislations that have reduced cost of broad cast licensing that has made it cheaper to invest and operate in the broadcasting industry.
The Principal Secretary urged entrepreneurs to invest in the media sector to generate employment for youth and to facilitate sharing and dissemination of information for socio-economic development.
By Cheruiyot Korir March 30, 2017