Old Habits, New Realities: Digital Newsrooms in Kenyan Commercial Media Houses

ABSTRACT

This article addresses digital cultures within the context of the fluid association between the media and the state in the African post-colony. Based on the premise that news organisations construct and disseminate knowledge, the article applies field theory in analysing observed and inferred practices at a radio station and journalism school in Kenya. The article finds that journalism curricula rely on predefined, non-contextualised norms and are yet to fully incorporate digital technologies. Additionally, there is a hybridisation of traditional and newer approaches in training, organisational structures and narrative forms in the Kenyan media landscape. But traditional sourcing cultures are retained, as is the engagement with audiences as consumers, rather than co-producers, of news.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital cultures
• field theory
• media field
• newsrooms
• journalism training
• African post-colony

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Weber (1958) highlighted the notion of “rules of the game” in his idea of “spheres of value” in which he emphasises the fundamental laws within his six spheres.

2 In Kenya, see the Preservation of Public Security Act, Cap 57, the Official Secrets Act of 1968 and the Books and Newspapers Act of 1960 (formerly the Book and Newspapers Ordinance of 1906), which continue to be enforced by the state whenever it suits them.

3 As with the colonial administration, the control was more rigid on broadcast than it was on print media.