County media revolution: All news will be local
Peter Mwaura
The County Governments Act of 2012 requires the county government to fulfil some responsibilities through the media. Peter Mwaura explores how devolution has provided a perfect opportunity for media explosion.
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oon, county media will represent the best form of “community journalism”, perhaps embodying the saying that “all news is local”. Community journalism is often defined as locally oriented, professional news coverage focusing on communities rather than national or world news. In county media, communities will be defined as territorial as well as cultural entities as contained within the county boundaries. County media will, or should, concentrate on topics affecting local communities. They will cover news and subjects the national media do not have enough time or space to cover. They will cover stories on county government, local politics, crime, business, markets and other developments as well as details of 12
community life. They will cover stories the national media may consider “chicken-feed” but play an important role in shaping the lives and opinions of the locals. In coming months and years majority of the media will be county based, meaning newspapers, radio and television stations from the counties. The County Government Act 2012 makes such developments possible. The Act makes provisions for the growth of county media. And loyalty to counties, as well as a possible cultural renaissance, will encourage growth of the media in all the 47 counties. Soon, the county media will most likely shape community values, standards and self-interest. The media will therefore play an important role in the counties.
The community media will almost without doubt play a critical role in surveillance of county affairs. They will in all likelihood impact on communities’ power structure and politics. One way to measure such possible impact will be how the traditional watch-dog role of the media positively influences, or will have the potential to influence, governance in the counties and provide a voice not only for the leaders but also for the led. Such eventualities will not be difficult to measure. The County Government Act provides benchmarks and standards to be achieved. It lays down what media outlets, facilities and enabling environment should be in place. It provides the political and philosophical justification for the media operations. The Act is