Journalists across the country have been urged by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) to embrace technology and monetize their content.

Media Council of Kenya Director of media training and development Victor Bwire said time has come to phase out media practitioners depending on brown envelops from their sources to sustain their lives.

Bwire was speaking in Mombasa during the launch of Mombasa Press Club, the third in the region after MCK recently launched the Kilifi and Kwale press clubs.

“We need to be engaging in a professional manner, we cannot be members of the fourth estate who follow people for brown envelops,” said Bwire.

He said through the press clubs and media hubs being launched by MCK, they intend to train journalist on how to monetize their content to help them make money in a dignified and professional manner through working on content and selling.

“The biggest business for any journalist is content. “If you don’t sell what you produce, where do you expect to get money?”

"We must look at selling the item you are trained to produce which is news,” he said.

So far, MCK has opened 13 press clubs since last year with four media hubs. Mombasa is also set to acquire a media hub to bring the total of media hubs to five.

Kenya he said is considered to have one of the most highly trained journalists in the world with an average age of 24 years, competing with the likes of Nigeria and South Africa in the continent.

"We have so many Kenyan journalist making good money selling content at the international level,” he said.

He further called for unity among journalists as he emphasized on the need to work together to hep each other grow.

The chief guest at the event, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir urged the media fraternity to be patriotic and sell their counties in their stories.

“We have had our challenges and achievements as a county. It will not be a bad idea to sell our counties as we do our stories,” said Nassir.

He added that the media is the mirror of the society, and as such it will be paramount to give it a clear wipe so that people can be able to see themselves clearly through it.

Mombasa deputy governor Francis Thoya on his part challenged journalists to entrench professionalism calling for indepth analysis and being factual in reporting stories.

He lauded the formation of press clubs and media hubs saying that this will bring journalist together to have shared values.

"I used to talk about problems facing Mombasa through my pen when I was a journalist. Many years later, I now seat on the side of those supposed to provide solutions to these problems”

“Be factual in your reporting and do thorough research,” said thoya.

He further challenged journalists to focus on human interest stories catalyzing change in the society.

"Ask yourselves this question, how is the news we are writing impacting the community?” Thoya posed.

Kenya Maritime Authority board of directors chairman Hamisi Mwaguya reiterated the need for professionalism as he pledged the support of KMA in covering Blue Economy and Maritime affairs stories.

"You to be professional in your discharge of duties. I assure you that we (KMA) shall work with you in your endeavor to entrench professionalism in media practice in Mombasa.”

Also present during the launch was SwahiliPot Hub founder and chief mentor Mahmoud Noor who emphasized the need for journalists to embrace new technology.

He said that failure to do so, one will be locked out of many opportunities in the ever evolving world of technology..

Noor said that journalists also need to be self-sustained for them to be able to be fair, truthful, be independent and earn the trust of wananchi as they discharge their duties.

“The biggest challenge is when people are hustling not knowing how they will survive the next day and there is somebody trying to convince them to write a story in their favor to earn something”

"That is why the press club is very important to look at the welfare of its members. Once we are able to empower journalists through the press club, then it means independence will come,” he said.