This archive report was first published on 5 June 2020.
As the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, it's becoming increasingly clear that the media landscape will never be the same. The pandemic has brought the media industry to its knees, with many outlets struggling to stay afloat.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's economic stimulus plan is a strong hint that the government will soon open up the country, making it impossible to revamp tourism without movement of people.
Media scholar Admire Mare predicts that the post-pandemic period will be characterised by financially weak media, making it difficult for the media to undertake investigative reporting and continue with its watchdog role.
Print media, already in great financial distress everywhere due to digital disruption before the outbreak, faces an uncertain future. Publications have folded in many parts of the world, unable to compete with big tech firms that now receive the bulk of advertising due to their wide reach at low cost.
“There is a greater likelihood that most print organisations are going to be forced to go online without sufficient time and resources to take on the global tech giants. Unfortunately, some media companies are most likely to file for bankruptcy,” Mare writes.
Veteran Nation business editor and columnist Jaindi Kisero warned that financially weak media would be bad for democracy and called for “appropriate policy responses” to create strong, vibrant media.
Media houses are businesses, and it's not the government's job to create strong, vibrant private media. However, the current business model of media reliance on advertising is collapsing due to advances in ICT, and advertising compromises media freedom and erodes credibility in the eyes of the public.
So, what to do? It appears COVID-19 will hasten the dawn of a new media era, where the media of the future will be small, non-commercial, and supported by communities much like religious organisations, civil society, and charities.
Communication scholar Victor Pickard proposes that journalism should be delinked from business, with media houses evolving into non-profit institutions financed by private individuals and organisations that support press freedom.
Another model is the strengthening of public-funded media that do not rely on profit, such as KBC and KNA, which need more funding and better management to become strong media institutions at the service of Kenyans.
Covid-19 is a mortal threat to media enterprises, but journalism will not die. It will be practised under new models.
