Advertising has for the longest time been a major revenue income for local dailies. Government institutions, private firms and organizations put up ads on the various newspapers for a wide reach.
Following amendments drafted by the Kenyan ministry of ICT and the office of the Attorney General, state organizations will be expected to advertise on online platforms as opposed to newspapers which have been previously the only platform to catch government advertisements. Acting laws bind state organizations to running advertisements in two national papers; Daily Nation and Standard news paper.
Speaking at a county government workshop, Ministry of ICT cabinet secretary Dr Fred Matiangāi said the government aims on cutting down the advertisement budget by more than 50 per cent this year and 70 per cent next year. The move is expected to save the government Ksh5 billion each year as well as promote the use of ICT.
Local dailies definitely have a lot to lose since only private organizations will be left to use the platform which has been dominated by state organization for long. However Matiangāi emphasizes on the switch from analogue to digital in all sectors of the national and county government.
The government in this case assumes more Kenyans have access to the internet other than the daily newspaper, saying it is cheaper for the audience too.
