Integration: Why common code and standards for media can’t wait

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OPINION

By David Omwoyo

Nothing beats the power of a media ecosystem built on the foundation of effective regulation and commitment to protecting the public interest.

For any media system to flourish, it must be rooted in strong ethos achieved through professionalism, best practices and constant learning from peers.

Within the East African Community (EAC), the spirit of collaboration has been evident each time media stakeholders from member countries meet in Arusha, Tanzania, to share ideas and experiences. The last get-together was during the second Pan-African Media Councils’ Summit in July 2025.

What usually emerges from these interactions is that we are stronger together. Regulators and media actors working across borders demonstrate a greater understanding and capacity to tackle endemic challenges, with the desire to elevate professional standards.

Collective strength always wins. As 17th-century English poet and cleric John Donne once said: No man is an island. The interconnectedness of people is relevant to media regulation in more than enough ways. No country’s media ecosystem can operate in total isolation, not in today’s globalised and digitised world with a full dose of surprises.

An occurrence in one media space affects the others. In fact, it was this sense of shared responsibility that led to the formation of the East Africa Press Councils (EAPC), a regional lobby meant to promote and strengthen media regulatory agencies in East African countries.

EAPC’s mandate is clear. It seeks to raise awareness about the importance of self-regulation, expand press freedom and set standards for journalist protection and freedom of expression. By identifying with these principles, the region aims to prevent censorship or suppression and ensure that all member states are held to measurable standards.

Where we are now, the Fourth Estate faces complex challenges. From the rise of digital disruption, shifting consumer behaviours, dwindling revenues, misinformation and disinformation, the landscape is changing faster than many regulators can keep up with. These issues do not respect national borders.  Our responses should equally be universal.

In this day and age, regions and continents should pursue the harmonisation of media laws and regulations to the hilt. This is not simply a matter of convenience or efficiency as sceptics would want to say, but a strategic necessity for supporting regional integration, economic development and good governance in communications and media.

For the record, harmonised media standards allow for the alignment of legal frameworks across countries, ensuring media ethics, content guidelines, advertising rules, ownership transparency and public interest obligations are defined and mutually embraced. This reduces regulatory confusion, especially for media operators working across borders.

Similarly, a unified approach makes it easier for media firms to expand regionally without being frustrated by bureaucratic legal requirements. It encourages cross-border investment, facilitates innovation and promotes shared storytelling while observing privacy, data protection and ethical content creation that respects intellectual rights.

Merits of harmonisation exceed business and regulation. There’s the all-important issue of regional unity. Unified regulation fosters cooperation. A transparent and consistent standard will hand media houses a golden opportunity to advance public dialogue, speak truth to power, while also ensuring information flows unhindered.

The European Union’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) is a perfect example of what collaboration in regulation can achieve. It provides a model for agreed checks and balances. By synchronising laws among EU member states, it ensures consistent standards of content. The model could be adapted by East Africa or other regions and then tailored to local needs.

Within EAC, a harmonised media policy could open new frontiers for institutional cooperation. Regulators, such as the Media Council of Kenya, which I’m affiliated to, would be better positioned to enforce shared standards and safeguard media freedoms with a collective voice. This, in turn, would bolster public trust in media institutions.

Meanwhile, cross-border collaboration can enable joint ventures, co-productions and shared broadcasting rights that will, in the end, foster a stronger sense of regional identity. These ventures can serve as tools for peacebuilding, cultural exchange and social cohesion.

There’s no denying that we are at a critical juncture. The decisions we make today determine whether media landscapes in every region rise to the occasion or the future or falls victim to fragmentation and dangerous stagnation. Harmonising media regulation is the only sure bet towards building a resilient, credible and inclusive media ecosystem that works for all.

This is the moment to act. No solution will fall from the sky. Media stakeholders must unite and resolve to build a shared regional identity through unified media laws and narratives. The future of the media industry depends on it, and so does the future of regional integration efforts.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Contemporary challenges facing the media have presented a problem whose solution calls for collective thinking and new ideas.

The writer is the President of the World Association of Press Councils and chairman of East Africa Press Councils