Nairobi, 12 July, 2023 / 9:39 pm (ACI Africa).
The mainstream and social media coverage of the death of Fr. Joseph Kariuki, the 43-year-old member of the Clergy of the Nairobi Archdiocese, was “unprofessional and unnecessarily intrusive”, the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has said.
In a Tuesday, July 11 statement, the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary to MCK, David Omwoyo, says that media reports following the death that was confirmed on July 8 morning violated the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya.
“An analysis conducted by the Council subjected to the test of empathy, intrusion into grief and shock and the ‘Do no harm’ principle has shown that most of the coverage in both mainstream and social media was unprofessional, unnecessarily intrusive, and lacks common decency as provided for in The Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya,” Mr. Omwoyo says.
The CEO of MCK goes on to fault Kenya’s mainstream and social media for fostering sensationalism in reporting the demise of the Priest, who was at the helm St. Peter’s Ruai Catholic Church.
“A review of the media coverage shows inconsistencies in reporting facts of the story, sensational headlines, and breaches of the code of conduct on accuracy & fairness, integrity, accountability, obscenity, taste, and tone,” he says.
