An Exploration of the Practice of Journalism Ethics in the Catholic Media Houses in Kenya: A Study of Radio Waumini and National Mirror.

Abstract

The issue of journalism ethics constitutes a fundamental aspect of the practice of journalism. Some of the basic principles that govern the conduct of journalism and thus promote ethical journalism ethics are accuracy, balance and verification among others. This study sought to explore the practice of these principles in the Catholic media houses in Kenya with specific reference to Radio Waumini and National Mirror. In particular, some of the key issues of interest were to establish the level of knowledge of journalism ethics among the Catholic media professionals and to establish factors that influenced newsroom decision in Catholic media. Further the study sought to identify the ethical challenges that the Catholic media professionals encountered in their profession. To do this the researcher used both quantitative and qualitative survey to collect data, that is, both questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. This was done among twenty journalists working in the Catholic media and four heads of departments in the same media house. The study was anchored on mixed-rule-deontology that is derived from both deontological and teleological ethical reasoning. The findings were analyzed using different descriptive methods and presented using appropriate descriptive methods. The study finally made some recommendations in view of improving the practice of journalism ethics in the Catholic media.