High Levels of Corruption in Kenyan Journalism Practice

Abstract

Professionalism goes hand in hand with high ethical standards, an important pillar in journalism practice across nations. A national survey examined the prevalence of corruption among Kenyan journalists and its implications for the practice of journalism. Based on this survey, this chapter outlines five important aspects of corruption: (1) journalists’ perception of how common corruption is in local media, (2) major sources of the corruption environment, (3) major sources of bribes to journalists, (4) major forms of corruption, and (5) the extent to which corruption affects objective reporting. Findings show that a vast majority of journalists believe corruption is rife within the media, almost half learned the art of corruption through the source-journalist relationship, and one fifth learned it from previous generations of journalists.