Media practitioners mark world press freedom day on Friday 3rd May 2019.
A date set aside globally to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom and advocate for the safety of journalists all over the world.
In Kenya, scribes are today faced with key challenges ranging from content sustainability, harassment on duty and weaknesses in ethical practice.
The Kenya Editors Guild also reports that a section of women in the industry faces sexual abuse from online trolls with the journalists at large bearing the brunt on intimidation and physical attacks in their efforts to informing and educating the public.
And as journalists worldwide mark the 26th world press freedom day, calls abound for upholding of media democracy.
Even as scribes celebrate it is not lost on them that thousands of their peers around the world face a myriad of challenges in executing their mandate.
According to the International Federation of Journalists, at least 95 journalists were killed in 2018 during the course of their work.
The recorded number is higher than in 2017 but not as high as recorded in previous years when conflicts in Iraq and Syria were raging.
The highest number of media deaths recorded in history was 155 in 2006.
The Kenya editor’s guild says newsroom safety is non-negotiable and media unions have joined forces in pushing for professional standards as enshrined in the guild’s code of conduct to accuracy and verification.
Challenges notwithstanding, members of the fourth estate from several counties in Kenya took to the streets to celebrate the world press freedom day.
In Embu, journalists planted trees at the Embu County Information Office to commemorate the day.
Global celebrations to mark the day are underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.