Journalists operating in Kenya have come to the end of a free-for-all era where quacks have had a field day injuring reputations or extorting people and organisations.
According to the Media Council of Kenya, the independent regulator that accredits local and foreign media houses and scribes in Kenya, after March, accessing key installations will require a biometric card that is swiped to reveal identity and accreditation status.
Beginning this year, the Press cards have chips that enhance security features and will be swiped at entry points to ascertain authenticity. In the ongoing accreditation run that ends in March, journalists’ biometric data are captured for enhanced security and certainty.
“We will have verification machines installed at key points that will require the journalists carrying the Media Council Press card to swipe to again access,” a Media Council official said. While the MCK accredits journalists annually, the Press Card has been a basic tool that can be reproduced and misused by quacks operating without regard for the code of conduct for the practice of journalism in Kenya.
Some of the places that will initially have the verification machines are government offices, Parliament, regional lawmaking assemblies and the courts.
Organisations have been fighting for ways of knowing the professional journalist from a quack in the era of social media where the so-called “keybord warriors” leave a trail of destruction in their wake when they misrepresent facts or extort their sources without a trace.
Kenya’s media landscape, like is the case across the world, is increasingly facing challenges where all and sundry angle for a piece of the media earnings, fame, and influence. Many people are increasingly joining blogging or using their social media accounts to peddle real or imagined influence, having realised that starting credible media houses goes with strict verification by regulators like the MCK and the Communications Authority of Kenya.
The Media Council accredits journalists who have media training or are introduced by their employers and students with a strong push to have all practitioners trained in media law and ethics for professionalism, credibility, and decorum in the Fourth Estate.
Although individuals and organisations are increasingly insisting on sharing their stories with credible news outlets, the use of biometric data will only help to a certain extent since most interviews start and end on phone, WhatsApp, Facebook, or email.
Going forward, the Media Council may have to issue unique numbers that can be fed into machines to reveal identity of a journalist at the door, at the gate, or on phone.
