This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
Launched on December 13, 2019, Baraza Media Lab is a collaborative workspace that brings together journalists, filmmakers, artists, activists, authors, bloggers, and technologists to redefine storytelling in print, radio, and television.
Supported by Luminate, the initiative has partnered with Metta, a local platform that builds professional communities through constructive discourse.
"The lab will promote the success of independent media through collaboration, innovation, and re-skilling," said Ms Christine Mungai, the curator of the lab.
Ms Mungai added that 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.
Ms Ory Okolloh, Luminate's Africa managing director, noted that 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," Ms Okolloh said.
Mr Maurice Otieno, Metta's Nairobi general manager, emphasized the need for a sound community of curious, fearless, and credible players to stand up against media censorship and barriers of transparency.
"This will enable the media to tell diverse stories and expose economic, social, and political ills without fear or favour," Mr Otieno remarked.
