KENYA BROADCASTING CORPORATION IN A LIBERALIZED MARKET ECONOMY: THE NEED FOR A NEW MODEL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN COMMUNICATION STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI EAST AFRICANA COLLECTION BY ' NYONGESA D. WAFULA UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM N AIRO BI, KENYA October 2005 University of NAIROBI Library 0442499 0 declaration I declare that this research project entitled KENYA BROADCASTING CORPORATION IN A LIBERALIZED MARKET ECONOMY: T H E N E E D F O R A NEW MODEL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING is my original work which has never been submitted either wholly or in part to any other university for the award of degree or diploma. S c h o o l o f Jo u rn a lis m university of Nairobi. N airo b i, Kenya. Dated Nyongesa D. Wafula / CERTIFICATE This is to certify that this research project, KENYA BROADCASTING CORPORATION IN A LIBERALIZED MARKET ECONOMY: T H E N E E D F O R A NEW MODEL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING\ is a bonafide project work carried out independently by Nyongesa D. Wafula with my guidance as the university supervisor. Mr. Peter Oriare Lecturer, School o f Journalism university of Nairobi. ii DEDICATION I dedicate this research work to my father (late) Nyongesa Machio Nasiebonia, a stickler par excellence, who set stringent academic standards for all his children. In spite of having joined the celestial stars, his dreams are now more alive dead than living! I equally dedicate this study to his grandchildren, Nafula, Nabwami, Minayo, Machio and Nasimiyu, who are an embodiment of the true self. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to my family members who sacrificed their meager resources to see me through this study. Thank you, my mother N atu lo. I am equally grateful to all my teachers, who at different levels, exhorted me in this academic endeavour, never to shed the character of a student. I keep on drinking at the fountain of knowledge without being able to quench the thirst. The encouragement of Ms. Wambui Kiai, acting Director, School of Journalism, Dr. Joseph Mbindyo and Mr. Moses Araya formed the basis of this research. My wife Andeso occupies a special place in my soul for this work. On several occasions she wore off her fingers on, at times, an uncompromising computer that often warned of having performed an illegal operation and w ill be shut dow n. Of course, with a few files often getting lost! Kudos to Mr. Henry Makokha of KBC (ENG), Messrs. Aspenas and Opisa of KBC marketing and Ms. Rachel Nyambura, SOJ library. You gave me the much sought-after resource material for the coveted prize. You painted the ra in b o w ! Thanks Mr. S. Oyando, principal, Andrew Crawford M.T.S. However, special gratitude goes to my project supervisor, Mr. Peter Oriare, who fine-tuned my amorphous idea into an amenable and conceptually operational social inquiry. I wish you all God's blessings, which you undoubtedly merit. IV ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS BAT British American Tobacco. BBC British Broadcasting Corporation. CHANNEL 1 The new face of KBC television. CKRC Constitution of Kenya Review Commission. CTN Cable Television Network. A privately-owned station operating one channel within Nairobi and surrounding areas. Dstv Direct Broadcasting Satellite technology that uses a small disc about the size of a large dinner plate, to receive transmissions directly from networks via a satellite transmission, rather like from local stations. EATV East Africa Television. ENG English Service. FM Frequency Modulation. Radio broadcasting system that provides very clear words and music for the listener. GOVT Government. IT Information Technology. KANU Kenya African National Union KBC Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. KBL Kenya Breweries Limited. KIMC Kenya Institute of Mass Communication. v KNA Kenya News Agency. KTN Kenya Television Network. M.T.S. Media Training School (Andrew Crawford) MW Medium Wave. OB Outside Broadcast. PAYE Pay As You Earn. PSB Public Service Broadcasting. State-owned broadcasting stations. REG Regional service(s). SABA South African Broadcasting Association. SABC South African Broadcasting Corporation. SACCOS Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies. SOJ School of Journalism. STV Stella Vision Television. UHF Ultra High Frequency. URTNA Union of Radio and Television Network of Africa. VAT Value Added Tax. VHF Very High Frequency. VOA Voice of America. VOK Voice of Kenya. ZBC Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. V i TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration Certificate Dedication Acknowledgements Abbreviations and Acronyms Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Statement of the Problem 8 1.2 Objective of the Study 10 1.2.1 Specific objectives of the Study 10 1.2.2 Research Assumptions 11 1.3 Hypothesis of the Study 11 1.4 Justification and Significance of the Study 11 1.5 Scope of the study 13 1.6 Limitations of the study 14 1.7 Conceptual Framework 15 vii 1.8 Systems Theory 19 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction 23 2.1 The Concept and Definition of PSB 24 2.2 History of public service broadcasting 27 2.3 Liberalization effect on KBC 31 2.4 Audience and advertisement effect on KBC 36 2.5 Review of the KBC Act 41 2.5.1 Management of KBC 41 2.5.2 Financing of KBC 48 2.5.3 Programming model of KBC 52 2.6 Critical Review 56 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 3.0 Introduction 64 3.1 Research Design 64 3.2 Target Population 65 3.3 Sample Design and Size 66 3.4 Data collection and Instruments 67 3.5 Data Analysis 68 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS OF THE STUDY 4.0 Overview 70 4.1 Findings of the Study 70 4.2 Discussion of Findings 72 4.3 Conclusion 83 CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS 85 Appendix I: A research questionnaire for the Minister for Information and Communication 87 Appendix II: a research questionnaire for the KBC Managing Director 90 IX Appendix III: A questionnaire for the rest of respondents 91 Glossary 93 Bibliography 96 UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI CAST AFRICANA COLLECTION LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Average % advertising sports per radio station..................... 5 Table 2: Advertisement in Print and Electronic Media...........................6 Table 3: Commercial Radio Stations.................................................... 34 Table 4: Commercial Television Stations............................................. 34 Table 5: KBC versus the Competition.................................................. 35 Table 6: SWOT Analysis of KBC........................................................... 63 Table 7: KBC average monthly Revenue............................................... 81 Table 8: KBC average monthly Expenditure.......................................... 81 Table 9: Outstanding Creditors by October 2004.................................. 82 X i l is t o f f i g u r e s Figure 1: KBC Annual Revenue Collection in millions...............................7 Figure 2: KBC as a System...................................................................... 20 Figure 3: Volume of Advertisement over Radio Jan-Sept 2003-2004.... 40 Figure 4: Volume of Advertisement over TV., Jan-Sept 2003-2004........40 X ii CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND 1.0 Introduction The future of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation is bleak. The corporation can no longer meet its financial obligations, retain and sustain the size and respect of an overwhelming audience of yester years, attract advertisers and above all support the heavy burden of public service broadcasting. Gone are the days when KBC enjoyed the Government's goodwill through state­ funding and license fee. The corporation, has been left alone to battle it out with new private commercial stations which are edging it out of the cut-throat competitive broadcast sub-sector market. The genesis of the current situation could be traced back to the late 1980s and early 1990s when public service broadcasting, not only in Kenya but in the rest of the developing World, were forced to change the trend of operation. African democratization programmes executed by governments, especially at the behest of the West, was characterized by multi-partism, economic liberalization and deregulation of the electronic media, the formidable agent and vehicle for political change. Thus, the media themselves were a concomitant of the process of change. There was no alternative but to dance to the global tune. 1 The above trends led to a comprehensive privatization and investment in the broadcast sub-sector. This was accepted, not only as inevitable but also, as desirable. The process of liberalization and democratization of the airwaves in Kenya commenced with the enactment of the KBC A c t (cap 221) No.15 of 1989 which transformed the then Voice of Kenya (VoK) into a semi-autonomous legal entity that would operate on commercial principles and thereby sustain itself in the emerging broadcast play-field. This led to formation of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) as we know it today, which officially came into operation as such on 1st February, 1989. Consequently, the deregulation of the electronic media sub-sector saw the emergence of new profit-driven private FM radio and UHF television stations. KBC, which was still operating on traditional MW/SW and VHF radio and television frequencies respectively could not match the aggressive new comers. There are nine out of twelve licensed television and over thirty radio stations operating in the country today. The market has become very narrow in the face of this stiff competition (Makokha, 2003). Thus, the private commercial entrants have invaded the sphere that was exclusively a preserve of KBC and where the only alternative providers were BBC, VOA, Deutsche Welle, Radio France International and Satellite broadcasters like Cable News Network (Kupe, 2003). 2 Since 1927 when the British Colonial Government allowed the B ritis h Broadcasting Co. Ltd., to start electronic broadcasting in Kenya, KBC has been dominant, yet too complacent. The PSB, did not even in the 1990s reckon with the new comers as a precursor to its dormant state of today.