Just like in the US, Kenyan media executives should strive to equally accord LGBTQIA+ talent fair coverage through featuring editorial pieces spotlighting queer voices, news features, TV shows, films and documentaries.
Rotten Tomatoes, an American review-aggregation website for film and television, recently announced a significant addition to its film and ranking system, introducing a new and elevated distinction to its Verified Audience Score: “Verified Hot.”
The company is the world’s most trusted recommendation resource for quality entertainment. As the leading online aggregator of movie and TV show reviews from thousands of critics, it provides fans with a comprehensive guide to what’s ‘Fresh’ – and what’s ‘Rotten’ – in theatres and at home.
In 2024, it celebrated Pride Month with brand-new editorial content including a spotlight on LGBTQIA+ publications from archival curations and a look at trans and non-binary rising stars.
For the past few years, the American media company has used its archives to spotlight queer outlets amplifying what LGBTQIA+ critics have said about movies and television since the industry’s inception. It has featured LGBTQIA+ Outlets from regional archives across the US.
An LGBTQIA+ flag. /WIKI FANDOM
These outlets include Boston’s Gay Community News, created in 1973 by eight activists and ran until 1999, and OUT FRONT Magazine, one of America’s oldest remaining active LGBTQIA+ outlets since its debut publication in 1976, to name a few. While many may believe that queer publications are a more contemporary type of journalism, these outlets have been here all along, proudly providing a unique inclusive perspective on the latest entertainment offerings.
Just like in the US, Kenyan media executives should strive to equally accord LGBTQIA+ talent fair coverage through featuring editorial pieces spotlighting queer voices, news features, TV shows, films and documentaries.
Our local and regional media houses and film studios must conduct themselves ethically. They must remain champions of family values, sanctity of life, equality, inclusion, and common ethical standards.
The LGBTQI+ community is here to stay, they are all over the newsrooms and even film studios too, but very afraid to pitch the brilliant creative content ideas they have. Stories about them for editorial consideration. Why? Because the moral card only stands in the way their ‘morally upright’ colleagues will perceive them as fellow human beings who deserve love and compassion.
In many cases, most of the conservative Kenyan journalists have been using their platforms to promote partisan agendas rather than uphold the principles of unbiased reporting. This shift from neutral observer to ‘moral corps’ undermines the media’s credibility and distorts the information being presented to the public. This worrisome trend has become increasingly pronounced, leading to widespread concern.
This so-called morality often comes tightly packaged in good intentions but overall, it often serves to fortify feelings of intolerance and prejudice.
While it’s not inherently wrong for a journalist to have ideological leanings, the issue arises when these affiliations compromise their objectivity and integrity as storytellers. These ethical lapses compromise the media’s role as the fourth estate, meant to hold power to account and inform the public.
“What’s the moral of the story?” is a common question asked at the end of almost every story told. It doesn’t matter if the story is conveyed by the fireside, in books, magazines, newspapers, websites, radio, film or television. This question always comes up inviting the consumer with virtues the story teaches. The kind of virtues that pass the litmus test of morality.
Where do compassion and basic humanity lie on the spectrum of good storytelling? Looking at editorial content from a societal moral angle all the time stops film and media executives from practising objectivity. It stops media practitioners from exercising humanity as life is not just what’s right or wrong.
The consequences of this canker are far-reaching, as a compromised media landscape can weaken democratic institutions and hinder informed public discourse. Addressing this issue requires a renewed commitment to the core values of journalism, such as accuracy, fairness, and independence, to restore the integrity of the profession and safeguard its crucial role in society.
Ooro George is a Kenyan journalist, art critic, digital stories, and cross-cultural curator. You can reach him via LinkedIn here, through email: [email protected] and on X @OoroGeorge
Do you have an opinion article to share with us? Reach us on [email protected]
