Kenya marks World Radio Day with calls to uphold professionalism

The media in Kenya joins the world in celebrating World Radio Day 2024, which marks 100 years since Radios took over Africa’s airwaves.

To celebrate the day, media stakeholders, professionals, and other relevant bodies converged in Kisii, where a regional media hub.

Led by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), industry players celebrated a century of informing, entertaining, and educating the public through radio.

At the event, MCK CEO David Omwoyo urged journalists to retain the sanctity of the radio space as it is relied on by many Kenyans to provide accurate information.

“While you take anything from the internet or anywhere else if you go to a reputable radio station or radio channel with professional journalistic work, you can get accurate and verified information,” he said.

Omwoyo acknowledged the change in Kenya’s media space through technology, and the fact that more universities are now offering training for media courses.

"As we sit here to celebrate, we reflect about how the airwaves have been opened, how we have access to information, and how we have more and more universities offering training," he said.

"As we celebrate the quantity, what have we done to the quality? The more radios we have, the more listeners we have; we should also get finer radio personalities.”

The MCK boss also highlighted the council’s strides in providing an environment for journalists to perform their tasks in rural areas.

Speaking at the event, veteran media personality Fred Machoka allayed fears that the radio space in Kenya has been overtaken by celebrities, while leaving behind professionals.

“I hear people saying that comedians are coming to radio and usurping the role of broadcasters. I found comedians on the radio and have been on the radio for the last 47 years,” said Machoka.

He mentioned veteran media personalities who ruled the airwaves, like Mzee Pembe and Mzee Ojwang, and as it evolved, personalities like Mwala, Ridiculous, Churchill, and Eric Omondi came along.

“This is not something that dropped; it has always been there. They have augmented this space to entertain,” he stated.

At Royal Media Services, the annual event was marked with celebrations and cake cutting.