This archive report was first published on 21 August 2021.
On a mission to bridge the gap between the media and the public, the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) met with community members in Nairobi's Eastleigh area on August 21, 2021. The meeting aimed to improve relations between the media and the public, addressing concerns of marginalization and biased reporting.
According to Hassan Kulundu, a member of KEG, the meetings with communities will help bridge the gaps in news coverage and build trust between both parties. "We are the decision-makers in terms of the news content people consume and sometimes the decision making disenfranchises the people. We resolved to come down from our ivory tower as editors to the people. These engagement forums will improve court capacity of gatekeeping," said Kulundu.
During the meeting, Kulundu noted that previous engagements with community members revealed cases of marginalization of certain sectors in society. He added that the media has missed to cover important stories and has been influenced by predetermined biases. For instance, in the Majengo area, Kulundu said there has been 'biased' coverage of crime, whereas there are praiseworthy community-initiated programmes in the same location.
Matheaus Chege, a program youth officer at St John Community centre, reiterated the observation by KEG, noting that they have youth programmes on community human rights that have not been highlighted in the media. KEG has been carrying out similar community engagement sessions under the theme "Take Media to the people" with previous meetings held in Kisumu, Isiolo, Eldoret, and Nairobi.
