Media election coverage has improved-MCK

NAIROBI, 24th June 2022– According to Media Council of Kenya report, Media coverage of Kenya’s 2022 General Election campaign has improved
compared to the coverage in the run up to the 2017 polls.

A media monitoring report by the Media Council of Kenya shows improved adherence to journalistic
ethics by Kenyan media houses despite the interference of media ownership on framing and coverage
of political stories.
The report covering April to early June 2022 shows drastic decrease in breaches to the Code of Conduct
for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya. On the flipside, however, the reporting by both the mainstream
and community radio stations on both national and county and regional politics was skewed in favour
of regional politics.

The MCK report focused on how the mainstream media reported on the 17 candidates, who had
expressed strong interest for the presidency, and showed up for clearance and registration by the
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Radio remains the biggest dispenser of political news with a 62% coverage. This is attributed to
existence of several national and community radio stations compared to TV and print.
Television comes second at 27%, a situation attributed to wide penetration and frequency distribution.
Print is rated third at 11%. The report also indicates that social media platforms are mostly used to
spread disinformation and misinformation.

Online platforms were mostly characterized by political headlines focusing on the presidential
candidates, their running mates and party primaries. Most importantly their stories resonated around
the two major political parties, Azimio La Umoja One-Kenya and Kenya Kwanza coalitions.
The report notes an increased coverage of the Kenya Kwanza coalition, following earlier concerns by
the side of unfair coverage, in some cases overtaking the Azimio La Umoja One-Kenya particularly on
the radio platform.

However, overall, the Azimio La Umoja One-Kenya candidate Raila Odinga leads in media space
consumption followed by Kenya Kwanza coalition flagbearer William Ruto.
“The run up to the 2022 polls is already radiating a lot of heat, particularly on the presidential seat.
With parties and coalitions having been cemented, the top seat remains the most hotly contested, with
the stiffest competitions ever witnessed in Kenya’s history”, says hotly contested, with
the stiffest competitions ever witnessed in Kenya’s history”, says Media Council of Kenya Chief
Executive Officer Mr David Omwoyo

He adds that the Council has noticed interest in issue-based reporting but calls for more efforts by the
media and political players.
“I also throw a challenge to the candidates to package their issues competitively as opposed to the
noise being experienced in rallies. It is critical that balance be achieved on all news content and
journalism must embrace fact-checking as a primary value”, says Mr Omwoyo.
He revealed that the Council will continue training journalists, media practitioners and creatives on
various aspects of elections reporting to boost professionalism, adding that the Council has so far
trained over 2,000 media workers across the country in preparation for the transitional polls.