CS Owalo promises to look into government ad spend
The newly appointed ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo has promised to look into the disbursement of advertising revenue through the Government Advertising Agency.
This is after the Kenya Editors Guild accused the agency of punishing media houses that are seen not to be publishing pro-government stories.
“(It is) something I have to look at closely and come up with the most feasible way moving forward,” promised Mr Owalo.
KEG President Churchill Otieno had made the observation on Wednesday at the New Stanley Hotel during an event to mark the international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists where new Mr Owalo was the chief guest.
The editors said media houses that do not do stories in favour of government get less opportunities from GAA.
Churchill said there was need to ensure that there is a way of paying for journalism for independent media to flourish.
"Today we have policies that at face value look like they are good but take away from ability of media to be sustainable," he said.
"Take advertising for example. Advertising had been growing in leaps and bounds,but turn over in news media has been dropping, so much so every December there are no Christmas celebration but tears because of retrenchment."
