Tell more compelling stories on climate change, journalists urged

Journalists have been urged to tell more informative stories on the adverse impacts of climate change-related matters on various sectors in the country.

Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) Chief Executive Officer Rosalia Omungo said journalists should take advantage of the existing gaps and report conclusively on the effects of climate change.

She said that impacts of climate change on agriculture, energy, health, economy and water sectors are massive and journalists should tell such stories and sensitise Kenyans on possible solutions.

Omungo was speaking during the validation of the climate change training manual for editors and reporters in Nairobi.

The CEO emphasised the need for journalists to specialise in reporting on informed climate stories. 

“You should be part of the solutions of climate change in the country through telling comprehensive and action-oriented stories. You should not shy from doing climate change stories and instead grab the available opportunities,” Omungo said.

In Kisumu, more than 45 journalists and climate change advocates were trained on climate change. 

A similar training will be done for journalists in Mombasa next week.

The manual developed by KEG in partnership with German Development Organisation (GIZ) targets to equip journalists with the required knowledge and skills to report adequately and comprehensively on climate change, which ordinary Kenyans would easily understand.

According to Omungo, the capacity building of journalists on climate change will enable them to report on the adverse effects of climate change from the point of knowledge.

She noted the importance of the training saying journalists have been struggling to understand the basic climate change terminology.

Zubeida Kananu, President of KEG, called on journalists to be agents of climate change by telling action-oriented stories on the impacts of climate on people and various sectors.

"As journalists, we should go beyond the reporting and be part of climate change solutions through in-depth comprehensive coverage which calls for a concerted action by Kenyans, scientists, government and other stakeholders," Kananu said.

KEG programmes officer Ken Bosire emphasised the importance of capacity building journalists to increase reporting and coverage on climate change effectively for action.

He lauded the developed climate change manual which will be a game changer in the newsrooms and learning higher institutions that targets to equip the editors and journalists with required skills and knowledge on matters of climate.

“We are optimistic that the climate change training manual will be of great help to transform the manner in which the editors and journalists report and cover climate stories in respective counties,” Bosire said.

Kennedy Ouma, Advisor on Climate Communication at GIZ Kenya, said the climate manual will improve climate reporting and coverage, especially in sectors massively affected by climate change.

“As GIZ, we saw it wise in partnership with KEG to develop a program aimed at supporting journalists in understanding the terminology of climate change and inform them while reporting and covering relevant stories,” he said.

Ouma said before developing the manual, they began by identifying the gaps in reporting climate change for editors and reporters across the country, which informed the development of the curriculum.

“We engaged journalists from print, digital, TV, local radio stations and other stakeholders which include county and national governments, researchers and climate change actors,” he said.

Ouma noted the increased reporting and coverage of climate change stories because of the capacity building.

"A few years ago issues of climate change were reserved for scientists. Currently, all sectors have gotten deep into it. This is because of the significant increase of coverage of climate change," he said.

The media and journalists, Ouma added,  still need to go deep and beyond what they have so far done.

Research scientist on climate change and lead manual developer John Recha emphasised on the adverse effects of climate change in sectors such as agriculture, water, energy and health among others.

“The impacts of climate change are becoming more adverse which affects the society and various sectors which the journalists need to report comprehensively through solution based and constructive journalisms,” Recha said.

The scientist noted with concern the inadequate reporting and coverage on climate change effects, which have affected all the sectors in the country,” he said.

He urged journalists to focus on reporting on the climate change aspects of the situation and share sufficient information which should target early prevention of disasters instead of waiting to report on occurred calamities.

The reporting on climate change, he said, should not focus on symptoms but journalists should bring out in their reporting the root cause and show urgency.

"Journalists need to expose these causes, backed by the facts from scientists," Recha added.

KEG chair innovation committee and Digital Editor at Radio Africa Group Francis Mureithi advised journalists to tell climate change stories from the human aspects.

"You need to break down the impact of climate change. This makes the response to be more specific," Mureithi said.