Nothing To Celebrate About- MCK Report Shows Media Losing Appeal Among Kenyans
The report revealed that 21 per cent of Kenyans in the survey felt they had nothing to celebrate about the media, a significant increase from only 2 per cent in 2022.
Marvin Chege 
The latest State of the Media report by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) released on Thursday, May 2 showed how more Kenyans in one year are shunning the media in the wake of among other things digital disruption and the era of social media.
The report revealed that 21 per cent of Kenyans in the survey felt they had nothing to celebrate about the media, a significant increase from only 2 per cent in 2022.
Given that 2022 was an election year, a lot of Kenyans appreciated the media for its freedom in the midst of a heated political atmosphere as well as opposition by the current government
Also appreciated was the quick dissemination of information, the high level of technology used and the diversification of platforms for accessing information, which includes social media as well as the level of professionalism in the media.
Bar graphs showing what Kenyans celebrate most about the media. /MEDIA COUNCIL OF KENYA
However, in 2023, other than diversification of platforms, the reasons for Kenyans celebrating the media dropped, with diversification increasing to 15 per cent in 2023 compared to 14 per cent in 2022.
"Freedom of the media and the rapid dissemination of news were identified as the top attributes celebrated about the media, each at 20%. This marks a slight decrease from 31% and 26% respectively in 2022.
"About 21% of the surveyed respondents indicated that they had nothing to celebrate about the Kenyan media, signifying a significant increase from only 2% in 2022," read the report in part.
The spread of misinformation and disinformation emerged as the primary concern about the media in
both 2022 and 2023, with 14 per cent of the surveyed respondents expressing their worry about this issue in 2023, a decrease from 24 per cent in 2022.
Conversely, a substantial proportion (35 per cent) indicated that they have no concern about the media. This marks a considerable improvement compared to 2022, where 13 per cent had indicated having no concerns about the media.
In terms of the level of trust in the media, 38 per cent expressed some degree of trust in the media, compared to 42 per cent in 2022, while 30 per cent reported an average level of trust, up from 22 per cent recorded in 2022.
"However, 9 per cent stated a complete lack of trust in the media, contrasting with a notable 22 per cent who indicated a high level of trust in the media. In the 2022 survey, 10% had reported no trust in media, while 27% had expressed a high level of trust," added the report.
Examining trust across various media platforms, radio recorded the highest level of trust (at 32.6 per cent), closely followed by television at 28.5 per cent.
