Researchers weigh opportunities, gaps in social and traditional media

The sixth annual international conference of the East African Communications Association (EACA) closed in Kampala with researchers from the region weighing the interplay of social and traditional media.

The group led by Dr. Monica Chibita the Head of the Mass Communications Department of the Uganda Christian University who doubles as the association president noted that social media has indeed made a mark on the spread of news.

"Social media has indeed changed the way news is gathered and the way it is formed with the coming of new efficient tools that did not exist in the pre-internet age," said Okuku Obomba, a lecturer at the Mukono-based Uganda Christian University.

Prof Aaron Mushengyezi the Dean of the Makerere University School of Languages, Literature and Communication said that despite the good in social media, it has made it hard to differentiate between truth and falsehoods.

"Not everybody on social media is media practitioner. Since social media largely diverts from the fundamental principles of media like truth, balance and the search for justice, we need to redirect the debate on media and what constitutes news," Mushengyezi said.

Mushengyezi proposed that countries develop programs that can teach the young generations how to get knowledge on issues of national importance using social media.

"Most young people we have engaged in interviews cannot answer questions on current affairs yet they have access to social media. We should help them to benefit from it," he said.

Shamsuddeen Mohammed, a delegate from the Department of Mass Communication at the Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria, said that the best way to get messages across is to make use of both social and traditional media.

This was the first time the conference was hosted by the Makerere University College of Humanities and Social Sciences and UCU since its launch in Nairobi in 2011. It attracted participants from South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan joined by others from Norway, Nigeria, USA, USA and Uganda.

The EACA was founded in 2011, according to Prof Murej Makocheng the founder from the Multimedia University of Kenya to bring together academia and policy makers in the field of communication in order to advance knowledge and practice in the same.

What others say about the trend

"To keep in step with the changing times, traditional media needs to be used simultaneously with social media to reach wider audiences." Barbara Nthoki, Multimedia University of Kenya.

"East Africa has a population of over 158 million citizens with over 55 million internet users. This is a massive audience for social media. So there has to be a change in the way news is presented on social media to reach these people," Ruth Owino, Kenya.