Findings



Accessing and using digital local news

  • Many community members do not have smart phones. For those that do, internet bundles are expensive.

  • Community members are accustomed to getting local news in-person, either formally through Barazas or informally through family, friends and neighbours.

  • English literacy levels are low, as are digital literacy levels.

  • The youth are more likely to have smartphones and digital skills. They consume some digital content, but this is primarily social media such as facebook and WhatsApp.

  • Information received through such digital platforms is often not trusted: there is lots of it, it is often conflicting and it is hard to not what is authentic.

  • If a piece of digital news is trusted, it is more likely to be shared and people are more willing to pay for it.

  • Community members trust digital information less if it comes from a chief or another community member, than if it comes from a citizen journalist.

Producing digital local news:

  • Citizen Journalists use social media as well as blogs and dedicated news sites to share local information.

  • They struggle to gain traction and wide readership for local news platforms. Such platforms also face challenges with sustainable funding.

  • They find that community members are not interested in reading long news articles.

  • Chiefs are often the distributers of formal local news, they do not currently use digital platforms, but expressed interest in doing so. They would however require training, funding and be restricted to approved government communication.

Improving engagement with digital local news

Facilitate Access

Produce digital content that is not dependent on smartphone and internet access.
Digital news should be:

  1. Compatible with feature phones

  2. Short and simple

  3. In swahili and audio format

  4. Accessible through free Wifi spots

Target Youth

Support youth and community organisations to work with citizen journalists and develop digital platforms that have a “ready-made” audience. Youth should be integral to any digital-information strategy. They are integral news distributors in the community and are best equipped to be able to use the information, as long as they can be effectively reached. This requires:

  1. Coupling digital platforms with existing youth and community organisations

  2. Creating content which is actionable for youth

  3. Embedding citizen journalists within such organisations

Prioritise Trust

Trust in digital news is crucial for ensuring accurate information, but also for catalyzing action, information sharing and providing a potential source for financial sustainability.

It can be built by:

  1. Ensuring news is coming from a source that is perceived to be impartial and well-informed.

  2. Providing indication on the platform or with the article of the research and verification that has taken place.