The Impact of Media Ownership, Commercializa

Kipkirui KKT et al.; Sch. J. Arts. Humanit. Soc. Sci., August 2015; 3(5A):1027-1033 Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN 2347-5374 (Online) Sch. J. Arts Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2015; 3(5A):1027-1033 ISSN 2347-9493 (Print) ©Scholars Academic and Scientific Publishers (SAS Publishers) (An International Publisher for Academic and Scientific Resources) The impact of Media Ownership, Commercialization and Commoditization on Editorial Independence Kipkirui Kemboi Kap Telwa1, Dr Barnabas Githiora2 1Assistant Lecturer, Multimedia University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya 2Senior lecturer, Kenya Methodist University, Nairobi Campus, Kenya *Corresponding Author: Kipkirui Kemboi Kap Telwa Abstract: Media ownership will continue to present numerous challenges to editorial independence. Commercialisation, deregulation, internationalisation, media concentration, convergence and other profit-oriented trends are likely to widen the gap between what can be called the political logic and the media logic. All these trends contribute to the strengthening of the power of big corporate media and enable them to distance themselves from democratic power structures. It is most likely that those trend‐setting mass media become less interested in comprehensive information on policy processes and democracy. By this development, private commercial and international mass media organisations erode their relevance to the society that they are expected to serve. Thereby, a window of opportunity opens for public service media that are less exposed to these trends than private commercial mass media. Consequently, the relevance of public service media for the democratic process and the policy discourse increases. The society‟s elite end up being media owners and consequently manipulate or control what comes out of their media empires and the adage „he who pays the piper calls the tune‟ manifests itself in media ownership and editorial content. Consequently, media‟s role as society‟s watchdog is exchanged for that of a „wagging dog‟. This paper is an attempt to provide a roadmap to this challenge by reviewing what other scholars have done and connecting the same with theories that anchor the same arguments on the impact of media ownership, commercialization and commoditization on editorial independence. Keywords: media ownership, commercialization, commoditization, editorial independence INTRODUCTION strike hard at the media any time it attempts to serve Certain communication needs are supposed to public interest or bring the rulers to account for their be met for a society to exist. These needs have existed deeds [2]. since the emergence of printing press and mass media technology. According to Dominick [1], the primitive Consequently, censorship has been used to society‟s media performed the same function as the control the media content, or what gets to the masses. modern society thus: Long before emergence of mass Theories such as mass society give a primacy to the media technology, primitive societies had sentinels who media as a causal factor. It rests very much on the idea scanned the environment and reported the dangers. that the media offers a view of the world, a substitute or Council of elders interpreted facts and made decisions. pseudo-environment, which is a potent means of Tribal meetings were used to transmit these decisions to manipulation of people but also as an aid to the psychic the rest of the group. Storytellers and jesters entertained survival under difficult conditions [3]. the group. As society became larger and more complex, these jobs grew too big to be handled by single On the other hand, political economy theory individuals. interrogates macro-questions of media ownership and control, interlocking directorships and other factors that Media ownership has, since time immemorial, bring together media industries with other media and been a class-based issue. Because of this historical with other industries, and with political economic and foundation, the rulers have always strove to ensure that social elite [4]. Political economy examines processes they control the media content and the audience. Right of consolidation, diversification, commercialisation, from 1690 when American media mogul Benjamin internationalisation, the working of the profit motive in Harris published his Publick Occurrences newspaper, the hunt for audiences and for advertising, and its which alleged that the French king was having an affair consequences for media practices and media content. In with his son‟s wife; the state has never hesitated to an attempt to define commercialisation and Available Online: http://saspjournals.com/sjahss 1027 Kipkirui KKT et al.; Sch. J. Arts. Humanit. Soc. Sci., August 2015; 3(5A):1027-1033 commoditisation, UNESCO [5] has it that “…news has This means that most times journalists are often invited become commercial product... important developments by the high and mighty in the society to „their‟ (slated) in the countryside are pushed aside by unimportant, events. In many cases, the journalists are taken care of, even trivial news items, concerning urban events and and they go home with „news‟ often written by the the activities of personalities”. Ekwo [6] defines news people who invited them. Akinfeleye [10] did classify commercialisation as “a phenomenon whereby the journalism practice in Nigeria as „cocktail journalism‟, electronic media report as news or news analysis a „journalism of next-of-kin‟ and „journalism of the commercial message by an unidentified or general order‟. unidentifiable sponsor, giving the audience the impression that news is fair, objective and socially Functions and roles of the mass media responsible”. Omenugha alludes to news being no Mass media performs numerous functions longer about reporting timely occurrences or events, It including surveillance of the horizon for any lurking is now about packaged broadcast or reports sponsored danger, interpretation of emerging issues, linking or paid for by interested parties. By this practice, different elements of society that are not directly individuals, communities, private and public connected. Apart from entertaining, the media also organizations, local governments, state governments transmits values or provides avenue for socialisation. and ministries, gain access to the mass media during For the mass media to perform these functions, it has to news time for a prescribed fee. be free and independent from any stranglehold. Advertisers, suppliers, shareholders, trade unions, News commercialisation operates at two media owners, regulators, mass media practitioners and levels. First at the institutional level, where charges are politicians are some of the strangleholds that threaten „officially‟ placed for sponsored news programmes. media freedom [11]. This commercialisation at the institutional level thrives because editors, publishers and owners of the mass Scholars have identified three ideal roles of the media see the organisations, or their investment, as a media that can have tremendous impact on good profit-making venture that should yield the required governance and accountability, if effectively fulfilled. financial return. Increasingly, commercial-oriented As watchdog, the media protects the public interest by news stories are taking the place of hard news reports. monitoring society‟s powerful sector and uncovering Hanson [7] argues, reporters and editors are supposed corruption and misinformation; as agenda setters, media to be concerned not with profits but rather with raises awareness of social issues and specifically major reporting the news as best they can. Unfortunately, crises that call for action and finally as gatekeepers, editors and other journalists are increasingly looking at they provide perspectives and voices to debate issues of their newspaper as a product that should appeal to concern. advertisers as well as readers. Secondly, commercialisation does occur at the individual As interpreters of information, journalists seek journalist level. News commercialisation also operates out the important issues and points, putting them in a at the level of individual journalists. This occurs when a context that the average reader and listener can make journalist or group of journalists make monetary sense of them. The media provides the six basic areas of demands to cover an event or report the event. information, which include who, what, when, where, why and how. Only free and independent media keeps Some media organisations often make their the society focussed on the issues that matter in a reporters to act as marketing or business executive surveillance type-way. Media watchdog function is officers in addition to their editorial duties. “For essential in a democratic society where people must instance, those in charge of specialised pages or know what their governments are doing. Media can columns are forced to source for adverts or supplements curb corruption and improve accountability and to support „their‟ pages or the pages are dropped and transparency. These conditions enhance informed probably with the reporter. In broadcasting, producers participation in political process, facilitate, and are asked to scout for sponsors for „their‟ programmes reinforce more equitable and inclusive policies and with a promise of commissioning” [8]. actions. Another factor that allows news The media has the capacity to hold commercialization to thrive is the pattern of news government accountable, forcing them to explain their

Load more