the nature of digital and the way it grows.
Peter Ndiangui, CEO of GoBeBa said
during a recent webinar, ‘we overestimate
the short term and underestimate the
long term.’ I reached out to him to explain
what he meant. He said, ‘it usually takes
some time for products and services
based on technology, especially digital, to
grow. But when they do, it’s an explosive
exponential growth that almost always
catches the incumbents napping. He gave
the example of MPESA that took about
five years to permeate the market, and
now we cannot even remember how life
was before it.
We can observe what happened in
America where even television, which
was at the top of the food chain, has not
been spared by the Internet. Writing
for Nieman Reports, Doughlas Ahlers
& John Hessen, both consultants in
digital communication, noted that ‘as the
Internet has developed into a ubiquitous
source of news television network evening
news viewership fell by 37.8 percent. The
audience for local TV evening news has
also slipped from 76 percent in 1993 to
59 percent today’ (2009). Though Kenya
is a different kettle of fish, and a fall in
TV and radio audiences may take time,
advertisers are slowly gravitating towards
digital and not just those who cannot
afford to advertise on traditional media,
but the large spenders as well.
Navigating The Turbulent
Tides
Given the above how can traditional media
remain relevant and be able to maintain
audiences? Despite everything traditional
media, even newspapers, still have a lot
going for them and have advantages
they can leverage going forward. To still
command the highest share of audiences
and the largest share of the advertising
revenue, they still have the financial
muscle required. Some have invested in
real estate like buildings where they are
headquartered, spaces they rent bringing
in additional revenue. Coupled with this
they have invaluable human capital in all
the requisite departments: editorial, sales,
production, and marketing. Furthermore,
the experience and history of success they
have is a good foundation to build on. The
networks they have built over time enable
them to gather news from all corners of
the globe and package it professionally.
There are also radio and TV programs that
have high nostalgic value - Sundowner
on KBC English Service comes to mind.
When it comes to print media, there are
features and columns penned by seasoned
journalists who continue to attract
readers. The assets both tangible and
intangible can prove useful in making a
difference even in this rapidly changing
media and business scenario. They are
still strong brands and not starting from
scratch. They have strengths they can
build on. However some of their assets
like ‘modern’ state of art printing presses
or well-equipped studios, only to be told
that audiences are more attracted to Tik
Tok, may be holding back this acceptance.
It’s human and natural that when one
has put in so much, being told that the
asset is actually a liability may slow down
acceptance.
The change is hitting home for Wachira
had this to say, ‘we, traditional media,
are no longer the gatekeepers of news
and entertainment nor do we have the
monopoly of breaking news or the first
to go media’. He also noted that content
generation has changed, and audiences
today have diverse interests the days
when people were interested only in a
narrow range of topics such as politics,
the economy, and sports are long gone.
Covid-19 has shown that changes in
society are reflected in the content people
seek and what is relevant is not cast in
stone. For example, research is showing
that today, months after Covid appeared
people are still searching for news about
it and from diverse sources, not just
traditional media. Even information like
‘where and how to keep safe while jogging,
which may have seemed mundane earlier
becomes relevant now,’ he said.
A year ago, in training sponsored by
Facebook, the trainer told us that one of
the most googled questions was ‘how to
make good pancakes.’ These are important
insights for traditional media as it resets.
They must also admit that they have
kept the consumer at the peripheral of
their business, one reason the changes
are catching them flat footed. Going
forward they need to keep the pulse of the
consumer, competition and the advertiser
through reliable, timely information.
Decision must be data based and investing
in continuous research and data mining is
not an option.
Traditional media must not look at digital
as the enemy. It is just an enabler which
they can and need to exploit to remain
relevant. Wachira said that indeed digital
and traditional media are convergingeach
relying on the other. For example,
when conventional media broadcasts the
‘Covid updates live, social media will pick
it quickly, add a twist if need be, then send
it to their relevant audiences’. There are
also instances where social media breaks a
story then traditional media picks it. The
killing of George Floyd in May is a case in
point. In the end we all get the news from
the medium of our choice.
Njoki Chege urged the media to view
Covid as an opportunity to change.
‘There could never be a better time to rethink
the future of journalism for if this
pandemic has taught the media industry
anything, it is the fundamental need to
think innovation.’ She continued ‘quality
content, not quantity must be the way
forward.’ She urges telling of stories in a
captivating way, using more visuals. Given
the fragmentation of digital audiences who
have different tastes, ‘every story must be
told in the way the audience prefers.’ This
is a poignant point; the challenge facing
media is not just how they distribute the
content, but the content itself and how
the stories are told. Thus who tells the
story is important and stressed the need
for diversity and inclusion. This means
bringing the youth to the decision-making
table, ensuring relevance.
Furthermore she sees the urgent need for
journalists to move from being generalists
to specialists to help enrich the content.
This need for expertise was also brought up
by Macharia who said that Covid exposed
traditional media in this respect. They
have few journalists who can cover the
pandemic in-depth, given the complexity
of the disease and how it is morphing
rapidly. He also noted that content
generated today must be suitable for print,
radio, social media, digital, and TV. The
reporter in the field must be able to write
the story, record for radio, and take a video
using one gadget, preferably the phone.
This calls for what he called ‘retooling’ as
the days of sending a reporter, a camera
person, and another to take a video are
behind us. One needs to be multi skilled to
remain relevant and employable.
Indeed some traditional media in Kenya is
rising to the occasion and changing their
ways as Carole Mandi said of True Love:
‘the effects of Covid on distributing our
magazine have necessitated us to launch
our digital distribution network which
has broadened our footprint both locally
and abroad. This is a key area of growth
for us.’ She goes on to say, ‘advertising
budget cuts have caused us to explore other
creative ways of tapping into advertising
budgets around Covid messaging
that is empowering, entertaining, and
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