TV and radio still main source of news for Kenyans - poll

A new poll shows that television and radio are still the main source of news for the majority of Kenyans.

The poll conducted by Radio Africa’s research department shows that TV and radio are the most trusted for news and information but noted that social media was fast catching up.

“TV is the most trusted for news and information across all demographics followed by radio,” the survey shows.

It noted that social media is trusted for news, especially for younger demographics outcompeting radio for ages 18-24, 25-29 and 30-34.

Asked which media they relied on for general information, 74 per cent said TV, radio followed at 58 per cent closely followed by social media at 47 per cent.

“News websites and newspapers follow at 12 per cent and eight per cent respectively,” the survey shows.

Others are podcasts (two per cent), magazines (one per cent) and personal blogs (one per cent).

The omnibus survey was conducted between June 29 to July 11, 2023, on a sample size of 3, 000.

The method was random, multi-stage stratified using PPS (proportionate to population size) spread across all 47 counties.

Data was collected through Computer Aided Telephone Interview (CATI) and the questions were asked in English and Kiswahili.

The margin of error was +/- 1.8 per cent with a 95 per cent confidence level.

Further, the survey indicated that Kenyans spend more time on social media.

It indicated that Kenyans spend 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media.

According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya, the total Internet subscriptions in Kenya stood at 45.7 million in 2019.

The vast majority of them accessed the Internet via mobile phones.

The mobile phone is the most used device to access all social media platforms.