This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
Published on June 29, 2020, the Kenya Editors' Guild (KEG) has sounded the alarm over the challenges facing the Kenyan media since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
KEG Executive Council members noted that journalists are facing a double threat: infection as frontline workers and economic hardship due to media house struggles.
“Media houses have been laying off journalists and support staff, and enforcing pay cuts since the pandemic hit Kenya,” said Churchill Otieno, KEG president. “More than 300 journalists have lost their jobs in the past nine months.”
While acknowledging the necessity of these measures during a period of drastic revenue decline, Otieno expressed concern that some media houses may be taking advantage of the pandemic to enforce layoffs and salary cuts.
“We are also distressed by the unprofessional methods employed by some, such as notifying employees by SMS that they have been retrenched,” Otieno said.
KEG called on all Kenyans to reflect on the state of the media, which it said is at a crossroads. The guild emphasized the importance of constitutional protection for the media and the need for a humane approach to layoffs and salary cuts.
