The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) CEO Ezekiel Mutua on Saturday, March 27, weighed in on a matter where Homeboyz radio presenters were suspended following insensitive sentiments they made against women in a morning show.
In a statement, Mutua condemned Shaffie Weru and his co-hosts Neville Musya and Dj Joe Mfalme and termed their actions as despicable and irresponsible.
"We hope that serious action will be taken against the culprits," reads an excerpt of Mutua's statement.
In addition, he faulted media houses for disregarding professional ethics by employing unqualified people to promote indecency and irresponsible behaviour.
"It's time for us to redefine who a journalist is and the qualifications for working on radio stations...
"The withdrawal of advertising by EABL and the suspension of the culprits for the unfortunate slur on women and promotion of Gender-Based Violence is a painful lesson for all, but befitting!" he added.
His statement attracted mixed reactions from a section of Kenyans, with some agreeing with him, while others felt that his sentiments did not hold any water.
"Problem is media over liberalization. Which has led to cutthroat competition. And no media house is ready to invest in in-house training of its personnel," Gibson Amenya stated.
City lawyer Donald Kipkorir also weighed in on the matter saying; "By the way, majority of not all those who work at CNN, BBC, The New York Times, The Economist et al didn’t go to any media school. They are lawyers, economists, doctors, and political scientists. None of the top anchors or writers studied journalism. It could be why they lead."
The subject of whether or not those hired in newsrooms should be journalists is one that has been around for a long period of time.
Most media houses have gone for comedians and DJs most of whom do not have training in journalism. Meanwhile, many media houses are continuously cutting down on stuff, something that has seen many trained journalists lose their jobs.
The few who still have their jobs are hardly paid enough to sustain themselves - and their families. This has seen many journalists resign from their jobs to establish their own content creation companies which is the current fad especially with the explosion of Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook content.
Most journalists especially in those who studied radio, feel that the stations have prioritized employing DJs and clowns - who are paid three times what professional jurnalists earn.
