Exploring Ethical Frameworks of Practice in Kenya’s Alternative Online Media Platforms: A Case of Kenyan News Bloggers who are not Mainstream Journalists

Abstract

The growth of social media in Kenya has given rise to the phenomenon of blogging, an avenue of information dissemination from a personal perspective. Its spread has focused attention on various ethical issues that arise in relation to bloggers. These include the trustworthiness of blogs, the accuracy and fairness of their reports, and the appropriateness of allowing mainstream journalists to write personal opinions on their blogs. This study investigated blogging in Kenya with the hindsight of concerns that have been expressed in the media industry regarding the status of blogging and its ethical practice. The focus of the study was on bloggers who posted news on their blogs but not as part of mainstream media. The study explored the ethical frameworks used by Kenyan news bloggers who were not mainstream journalists, the ethical values that guided their work, their motivation for blogging, and whether they perceived their practice as unethical. The study used the exploratory research design because blogging is a fairly new phenomenon. Using a qualitative research approach to interrogate a purposively constructed sample, data was collected through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion. Data analysis was done through thematic analysis of transcribed data. The key findings indicated that a likely normative ethical framework for news bloggers would intersperse libertarianism, social responsibility and democratic-participation. Findings further suggested that the Kenyan bloggers studied were not opposed to ethical standards for their practice, but that they would like to lead debate on the same. Bloggers who participated in the research also felt that claims that they were unethical were unfounded, suggesting that the accusations were an attempt to introduce censorship into the practice. A key recommendation that emerged from the study is the need for a multi-stakeholder forum comprising bloggers, the bloggers’ association, representatives from communication regulatory bodies, representatives from the media industry, experts from the communication sector, and communication scholars, to further debate the issue of standards for the blogging practice.