Browsing by Author "Obonyo, Levi"

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    African Media and Democratization: Public Opinion, Ownership and Rule of Law
    (Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, 2013-11-13) Obonyo, Levi
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    An Assessment of the Kenyan Journalism Training and Gaps Filled by Other Professionals: A Study of Selected Fm Radio Stations
    (International Journal of Communication, 2017) Okumbe, Margaret Ayuma; Peel, Clayton; Adagala, Nancy; Kowuor, Rosemary Nyaole; Obonyo, Levi
    Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine whether gaps exist in the Kenyan journalism training thatare now filled by other professionals. Materials and methods: The three study sites were local FM radio stations - Radio Citizen, Radio Jambo, and Radio Maisha. Using a 2014 Media Council of Kenya study of radio talk shows in Kenya as a background,the thesis placed more emphasis on the radio presenters and their content. The study applied Social Responsibility Theory which posits that media should be more responsible and accountable to the society. The study employed a descriptive survey using qualitative and quantitative approaches. In this study, four presenters, two key personnel from the Media Council of Kenya were interviewed. as well as a sample of their radio talk show content. Results: The media council of Kenya lacked the capacity to ensure that only trained radio broadcast journalists were hired by media houses. In addition, despite MCK having developed a curriculum for middle level journalism training institutions, its impact in standardising training had been negligible. Recommendations: The study recommended improvement of the journalism curriculum as well as embracing of the MCK curriculum by middle level colleges.
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    Developments of African Professional Communication within the Context of the Global Community
    (Africa Journal of Media and Communication, 2020-07) Obonyo, Levi
    The study of communication is new in Africa in many ways. The departments of communication in the universities are young and in some cases only forming; the libraries are sparsely stocked; the journals in the field in the continent are few and far apart; most of the faculty members are yet to season in the field but that problem is compounded in that most of the qualified individuals do not stay in the academy long enough to contribute to it. But these are not the only challenges that the field faces in the continent. The programs are poorly funded and the field is yet to be sufficiently anchored in a definitve philosophy or even tradition. These are challenges that the study of communication will need to overcome for the field in Africa to grow and contribute to the global area. As it sits now, there is no clear indication that the discipline of communication is maturing in the continent thus calling for collective attention from emerging scholars in order to make a difference. That is the difference that those in the field need to start making now
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    Effect of change management driver on performance of the tourism state owned corporations in Kenya
    (European Journal Of Business And Strategic Management, 2017) Obonyo, Levi; Muthoka, Miriam; Oloko, Margaret
    Purpose: This study sought to provide an opportunity to test effect of management change driver on performance of the Tourism state owned corporations in Kenya. Methodology: The study employed descriptive and cross-sectional research designs. The target population comprised all the Tourism state owned corporations in Kenya with the management of these firms being the respondents. A census study was carried out due to small nature of the target population. Data collection involved the use of questionnaires which attracted both quantitative and qualitative responses. The questionnaires were administered through drop and pick method. The respondents were all the Chairmen, CEO, managers and assistant managers of all Tourism state corporations in Kenya. The quantitative data was analyzed using regression analysis. ANOVA test was carried out to test the significance of the model. Results: The findings of the study indicated that change management driver affects performance of most tourism state corporations in Kenya. The study further found out that positive organization culture, change execution and consistency in change vision affected performance of the Tourism state corporations in Kenya to a great extent respectively. Having consistency in change vision, consensus in decision making and practicing positive organization culture were positively and significantly related to performance of the Tourism state corporations in Kenya. The findings of the study further indicated that change management driver was positively correlated to organization performance and it explains 17% of the changes in performance of the organizations. The regression model results indicated that the coefficient for change management capability was significant at 5% level of significance which indicated that change management capability has a significant effect on performance in the Tourism state corporations in Kenya. Policy recommendation: Tourism state corporations in Kenya should embrace and practice positive organization culture, change execution and consistency in change vision since they influences performance positively.
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    Influence of PR Strategies on the success of CEO’s image in selected organizations in Kenya
    (International Journal of Communications and Public Relations, 2017) Njoroge, Caroline; Obonyo, Levi
    Purpose: The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of PR strategies on the success of CEO‟s image in selected organizationsin Kenya Methodology: The current research adopted both quantitative and qualitative approach (mixed method) using the survey research design. The researcher used questionnaires and interviews. The entire population in this research was all corporate companies that have participated in the COYA awards in the last five years. However, the sample population in this study was selected Public Relations departments and selected CEOs whose organizations had successfully been recognized as either top- ranking or bottom ranking the COYA annual awards in the last five years. The sampling approach that was used in this study is non-probability sampling, and the researcher used purposive sampling.The process of data analysis included organizing, analyzing and summarizing all the findings. Quantitative data was analyzed by the use descriptive statistics and presented in form of frequency tables, charts, and graph. Results: Results indicate that the majority of respondents strongly agreed with the statement that the PR department is involved in training the CEO in public speaking skills to mould his image(46% ), that the PR deprtment is involved in training the CEO in non verbal skills to mold his image to the public(43%), that CEO is consitently trained on interpersonal interaction( 44%), that the CEO is coached on the communication words to boost his image to the public(44%). Results further indicate that a majority of respondents strongly agreed with the statament that the PR department helps the CEO to select venues and props before addressing the public(58%), that the PR department shapes the CEO media and public appearances (63%) and that the PR department trains the CEO in corporate dressing and image marketing. Recommendations: The study recommends that since there seems to be a positive relationship between organization performance and the CEOs positive image, then PR departments and CEOs should seriously emphasize on the important role of PR department in shaping the CEOs image.
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    Journalists and the rule of law
    (  International Commission of Jurists, 2011) Obonyo, Levi; Nyamboga, Erneo Nyakundi
    Journalism in Kenya is probably as old as the history of the nation itself and precedes many of the professions in the country. Indeed, there is a rich history of the media in the country. What has not kept pace with the development of the field is the equivalent development of resources to enable the field to be more effective. For instance, it was not until after independence, with the establishment of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication that training of journalists started in Kenya in earnest. Even then, that training was terminated at the diploma level meaning that thought was still focused on producing mid-level industry personnel. It was a decade later when further training beyond the diploma qualification was offered in Kenya. But even more challenging for the field is that while the training was being offered there was never a concurrent development of resources to facilitate the training and adapt it to the Kenyan context. Technical training was a turn key technology with buttons being pointed to trainees who often only knew how to switch on and off the equipment they operated. But even more serious was the lack of efforts by those in the field to contextualize training by producing training material relevant to the nation’s needs. Textbooks were still imported with examples used in class remaining largely incidents that took place in far flu
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    Journalists in Kenya
    (Worlds of Journalism Study, 2017) Obonyo, Levi; Owilla, Hesbon Hansen
    Kenya boasts one of the vibrant media markets by the standards of East Africa. According to the Media Council of Kenya, there are about 3000 journalists operating in the country and who are registered with the statutory media regulating body. The number of journalists listed by the Media Council includes those who work for the media houses on a full time basis, correspondents, stringers or freelancers, and also students at the nation’s media schools. In order to appreciate the kind of journalist working in the Kenyan media it is helpful to first consider the Kenyan media landscape. There is almost an even spread of radio in the urban and in the rural, even if the urban may appear to have more stations. The majority of the media established in the city are the traditional ones: print, television, and radio. Most of these urban-based legacy media target the entire country and largely operate in either of the national languages of Kiswahili and English. The country has four national newspapers: Nation, Standard, Star and People, all published in English. The last regular daily publication is the Kiswahili language newspaper, Taifa Leo, a sister publication to the largest circulating newspaper
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    Organizational Leadership Driver Affect Performance of the Tourism State Owned Corporations in Kenya
    (European Journal Of Business And Strategic Management, 2017) Muthoka, Miriam; Oloko, Margaret; Obonyo, Levi
    Purpose: This study sought to provide an opportunity to test organizational leadership driver on performance of the tourism state owned corporations in Kenya. Methodology: The study employed descriptive and cross-sectional research designs. The target population comprised all the Tourism state owned corporations in Kenya with the management of these firms being the respondents. A census study was carried out due to small nature of the target population. Data collection involved the use of questionnaires which attracted both quantitative and qualitative responses. The questionnaires were administered through drop and pick method. The respondents were all the Chairmen, CEO, managers and assistant managers of all Tourism state corporations in Kenya. These data was analyzed using content analysis for qualitative data. The quantitative data was analyzed using regression analysis. ANOVA test was carried out to test the significance of the model. Results: The results showed that most organizations give room for contingent rewards to its employees. Further results indicated that indicated that Individual characteristics, Idealized influence, Inspirational motivation, Intellectual stimulation and command and Control affect performance of the organization to a great extent. The results also showed that individualized influence, intellectual stimulation and practicing command and control are positively and significantly related to performance of tourism organizations. The regression results indicated that organizational leadership driverwas positively correlated to organization performance and it explains 29.1% of the changes in performance of the organizations. Organizational leadership driver was established to have a positive and significant effect on performance in the Tourism state corporations in Kenya. Policy recommendation: The study recommended that Tourism state corporations in Kenya should have measures to adopt Individual characteristics, Idealized influence, Inspirational motivation, Intellectual stimulation among their leaders and command and Control.
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    Organizational Leadership Driver Affect Performance Of The Tourism State Owned Corporations In Kenya
    (European Journal Of Business And Strategic Management, 2017) Muthoka, Miriam; Oloko, Margaret; Obonyo, Levi
    Purpose: This study sought to provide an opportunity to test organizational leadership driver on performance of the tourism state owned corporations in Kenya. Methodology: The study employed descriptive and cross-sectional research designs. The target population comprised all the Tourism state owned corporations in Kenya with the management of these firms being the respondents. A census study was carried out due to small nature of the target population. Data collection involved the use of questionnaires which attracted both quantitative and qualitative responses. The questionnaires were administered through drop and pick method. The respondents were all the Chairmen, CEO, managers and assistant managers of all Tourism state corporations in Kenya. These data was analyzed using content analysis for qualitative data. The quantitative data was analyzed using regression analysis. ANOVA test was carried out to test the significance of the model. Results: The results showed that most organizations give room for contingent rewards to its employees. Further results indicated that indicated that Individual characteristics, Idealized influence, Inspirational motivation, Intellectual stimulation and command and Control affect performance of the organization to a great extent. The results also showed that individualized influence, intellectual stimulation and practicing command and control are positively and significantly related to performance of tourism organizations. The regression results indicated that organizational leadership driver was positively correlated to organization performance and it explains 29.1% of the changes in performance of the organizations. Organizational leadership driver was established to have a positive and significant effect on performance in the Tourism state corporations in Kenya. Policy recommendation: The study recommended that Tourism state corporations in Kenya should have measures to adopt Individual characteristics, Idealized influence, Inspirational motivation, Intellectual stimulation among their leaders and command and Control
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    Play Theory and Public Media: A Case Study in Kenya
    (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014-03-28) Obonyo, Levi; Fackler, P. Mark
    This chapter focuses on common play, the first public activity most humans learn and practice. The authors use play theory to explain the significance of editorial cartooning in Kenya. They suggest that, in developing democracies that cannot assume universal literacy, media users concerned about public life receive initial and meaningful information on politics through conventions associated with the editorial cartoon. They argue that cartoon viewers learn through this play mode rather than from public debate or through a rational articulation of issues. The five cartoonists interviewed here describe their work in ways uncommon for the press establishment, and they evince values like courage, criticism of entrenched power, and passion for justice – values that the press establishment reveres, yet practices much more conservatively.
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    Strategic Management Drivers And Performance Of The Kenya Owned Toursim State Corporations The Mediating Role Of Strategy Implementation
    (European Journal Of Business And Strategic Management, 2017) Muthoka, Miriam; Oloko, Margaret; Obonyo, Levi
    Purpose: This study sought to provide an opportunity to test the strategic management drivers of performance and the mediating role of strategy implementation by looking at information technology driver, strategic planning driver, change management driver, organizational leadership driver and the mediating role of strategy implementation. Methodology: The study employed descriptive and cross-sectional research designs. The target population comprised all the Tourism state owned corporations in Kenya with the management of these firms being the respondents. A census study was carried out due to small nature of the target population. Data collection involved the use of questionnaires which attracted both quantitative and qualitative responses. The respondents were all the Chairmen, CEO, managers and assistant managers of all Tourism state corporations in Kenya. These data was analyzed using content analysis for qualitative data. The quantitative data was analyzed using regression analysis. ANOVA test was carried out to test the significance of the model. Results: The findings of the study indicated that information technology drivers, strategic planning drivers, change management drivers and Organizational leadership drivers have a positive effect on performance in the Tourism state corporations in Kenya Policy recommendation:. The study also recommended that Tourism state corporations in Kenya should develop smart goals and objectives, have and enact sustainable action plans and formulate clear initiatives and consensus building because of their positive effect on performance. Further studies can be done to ascertain the effect of strategic management drivers and the mediating role of strategy implementation in other state corporations in Kenya other than the tourism sector
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    Thinking Scholarship: A reflection of faith and Intergration
    (Schoool of Communication, Daystar University, 2006) Obonyo, Levi
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    To Show or Not to Show? The Depiction of Terror and Death in Nairobi
    (Journal of Media Ethics, 2022-11-01) Okoye, John-Bell S.; Mule, Daniel; Obonyo, Levi; Kadenge, Amugo Eric; Anyasi, Laura; Mule, Josephine; Britto, Rajendran J.
    This study examines the metajournalistic discourse reflected in the use of corpse images from the DusitD2 terror attack in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2019. Drawing from concepts such as responsibility and resistance ethics, this study explores the viewpoints of Kenyan journalists and bloggers. Situated within qualitative research methodology, the findings suggest that the New York Times’ use of victims’ corpse images reflects a double standard and visual bias, and its defense of the news report can be considered an example of professional posturing. Conversely, sharing of perpetrators’ postmortem pictures produced mixed findings among audiences. While online circulation was blamed on bloggers’ inexperience, it was also seen as a sign of victory for the value of visual evidence. This study also contributes to the scholarship on use of graphic images by drawing on African ethical systems and just war theory
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    Toward an African Media Typology: Preliminary Reflections
    (Howard Journal of Communications, 2023-10) Obonyo, Levi
    Africans’ voices and contributions to communication scholarship are of interest to many Africanists. Some discourses have explored reasons for this interest. This article continues this conversation. It recognizes the challenges contributing to the limited influence of the African voice in global communication scholarship and contributes to the theorizing of the African media. There are a range of factors impeding robust African engagement in global communication scholarship. These factors are explored in this paper. However, African scholars should look beyond these factors. The first part of the article explores reasons for the lack of active African input in this discussion. The second part of the paper explores the peculiarities of Africa that should form building blocks for the emergence of African media typologies. The extant normative media theories fail to consider the realities of African governance structures and philosophies. These should lead to a media framework more reflective of the realities of Africa. Indeed, the article proposes a conversation of four media typologies that closely match the continental conditions: pragmatic authoritarianism, pragmatic progressive, pragmatic libertarianism, and civil society.
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    Towards a theory of communication for Africa: The challenges for emerging democracies
    (Communicatio: South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research, 2011-04-11) Obonyo, Levi
    While the scholarship on communication theory has evolved over many years in Africa it is still work in progress. This discourse has been anchored in society’s cultural milieu. The import of this is that the debate has evolved without incorporating the realities of Africa. Consequently, theories of communication and of the mass media are an ill fit on the continent. As communication scholarship in Africa matures, it requires examining how the realities of the continent can contribute to the development of a theory that best matches this environment. Some of these realities include the evolution of African governance, its culture, and the progression of communication as a discipline. While this article does not make the leap to propose what such a theory would look like, it seeks to raise some of these realities as a starting point for further discussion