![After losing the fight for remote control to his sibling, the boy is said to have reached for his mother’s leso and went to his room. [PHOTO | FILE]](https://k24.digital/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/tv-remote.jpg)
Confidence in the Kenyan media remains high with television and radio being the most trusted source of news, according to a report by the Media Council of Kenya.
The Status of the Media Report 2020 released on Friday, December 18, revealed that television and radio are the most consumed media platforms in Kenya, standing at 74 percent in terms of popularity.
Majority of those surveyed, 55 percent, revealed that their media use increased during the Covid-19 pandemic period, with television the biggest beneficiary of the strict rules imposed to lock down the country.
This could be attributed to the fact that most people were working from home and the lockdown period “55 percent of Kenyans had more time to read and listen to news and content due to Covid-19 restrictions,” said Media Council of Kenya Chief Executive officer, David Omwoyo.
Another reason is also as a result of the interest around information about the pandemic: “The statistics focused on the usage of media between March and June 2020, if we did the same survey now, we may find that the trends have changed, probably due to the fatigue around the subject,” said Walter Nyabundi from InfoTrack.
This was a slight increase for TV which ranked at 73 percent in 2019 and a drop for radio which was ranked at 84 percent last year.
“The media played a critical role in disseminating information during the COVID-19 pandemic.’ Said Mr Omwoyo
Social media was the third most used platform, with WhatsApp and Facebook being the most popular and they are mostly used for networking purposes followed by breaking news and entertainment.
MCK Chairman, Maina Muiruri, noted that the Kenyan media industry is currently in the middle of the adoption stages of online media, something which should be celebrated.
“Digital disruption is the change that occurs when new digital technologies and business models affect the value proposition of existing goods and services. A truly free and independent media can play a critical role in disseminating the information needed by the public to make informed decisions regarding their lives,” he said.
For television platforms, the survey found that Citizen TV was the most popular followed by NTV, KTN Home, KTN News, Inooro TV, and K24 TV respectively.
In the radio category, Citizen Radio was the most popular followed by Radio Jamboand Radio Maisha
Although newspaper readership stands at 25 percent of those sampled, the rating was an increase of a marginal increase of 2 percent from 2019.
Daily Nation is the most read followed by The Standard, Taifa Leo, The Star and People Daily.
