The Influence of ‘We Media’ On the Kenyan News Process: An Assessment of Daily Nation and the Standard Newsrooms

Abstract

This study set out to establish the influence of blogs and other new media platforms on the news process in Kenya, specifically the Daily Nation and Standard newsrooms. The research employed a descriptive research design to study a relationship that already existed. The total population of the study was 94 for all journalists based at the Nairobi newsrooms. This included 42 journalists from Daily Nation newsroom and 52 journalists for The Standard Group. Further, this study took a sample size of 50 per cent which is a total of 21 newsroom staff from Daily Nation and 26 from the Standard newspaper. In this study, simple random sampling was used to select 50 per cent of the total population from each newsroom which in this case was 21 journalists from Daily Nation and 26 journalists from Standard. An additional three journalists who in this case were also online editors, were added to the sample size to bring to a total of 47 journalists. Questionnaires were administered to 48 journalists across the two newsrooms. This study also applied informal, conversational, face to face interview with three senior editors where no predetermined questions were asked, in order to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee’s nature and priorities. The researcher sought official permission to collect data from the relevant authorities at Nation Media Group and Standard Group prior to interviewing the journalists. The respondents were provided with necessary information and willingness to participate before administering the questionnaires. The study found that journalists often referred to what is happening on social media and that blogs and other new media platforms play a big role in setting the agenda for media in Kenya today. The study recommends that traditional media in Kenya could do more to harness the potential in bloggers, who are always quick with tips and have a wide range of sources.