This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
On December 13, 2019, a new initiative aimed at boosting the capacity and financial sustainability of journalism in Kenya was launched.
Baraza Media Lab, a collaborative workspace, brings together journalists, filmmakers, artists, activists, authors, bloggers, and technologists to redefine storytelling in print, radio, and television.
The lab is funded by Luminate, in partnership with Metta, a local platform that has been building professional communities through constructive discourse.
Speaking at the launch, Christine Mungai, curator of the lab, emphasized the importance of collaboration, innovation, and re-skilling in promoting the success of independent media.
"The lab will offer training sessions where members will work with content creators in journalism, theatre, visual arts, and photography, and connect them with financiers to test new media business models," she said.
According to Ory Okolloh, Luminate's Africa managing director, the platform seeks to devise new models that work for the benefit of media content consumers and media owners in a time of declining media revenues, divisive politics, and low public trust.
"We are witnessing social pressures from the political and business realms that come with divisive messaging, and these have harmed the creativity and freedom of thought needed in newsrooms," she said.
The lab will be the first of 18 countries under Luminate's objective of empowering societies for a fair and just life.
