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Media and Communication In Kenya- An Overview

Among media and ICT platforms in Kenya, radio remains the most widely available, reaching directly into more than 85 percent of  adults’ homes in the country, according to the AudienceScapes survey. Mobile phones are increasingly widespread, but they have not yet reached the near-universal coverage of radio. Fewer than half of all adults can watch TV in their homes, and other ICTs such as computers and MP3 players are available at home to only a tiny minority of Kenyans.

Chart 1

Rural dwellers have significantly lower access to most media and ICT platforms (Chart 1). In addition, respondents in the Coast and North Eastern regions reported much lower levels of access than respondents in other regions.

Of course, many Kenyans are able to use media and ICTs even when these items are not available in their homes—for example, by using those of friends or family living elsewhere, or by going to a public internet cafe or other public facility.

Many regular viewers are evidently finding places to watch TV even though they do not have direct access in their homes (Chart 2). What’s more, even when respondents who watched outside the home are included, fewer than 60 percent of those surveyed had watched TV within the past week. Although Kenyans already find ways to circumvent some barriers, other barriers remain; the reasons that people do not use each source of information are discussed further in the television section.

Chart 2

Use of Media and ICTs for Gathering News and Information

Access to media and ICTs is only one side of the communication story; use patterns also require close study to understand how access translates into action. As Chart 3 shows, word-of-mouth sources (“friends and family” and “other people in the community”) are about as important to survey respondents as are radio and television for staying informed. And though mobile phones have become more accessible for general use, they are not widely used for formal news collection via SMS services. Institutional sources, such as government officials or literature produced by public agencies, are also lower on the news and information totem pole for Kenyans surveyed.

Chart 3