Media owners and managers have been scratching their heads about ways to sustain journalism in the face of increasing complex consumer behaviour and waning advertising revenues.

Traditionally, government was the main source of advertising for mainstream outlets. But with changing government attitudes, media houses have devised ways of producing credible journalism using reader-revenue and advertising from private businesses. Only recently, a government official withdrew advertising to a media house due its “unfavourable” reporting.  This was a clear case of government using its financial fiat to punish or reward outlets based on their reporting and suppress dissenting voices.

This is a clear threat to the sustainability of independent journalism and an attempt to undermine the role of the press as a watchdog in a democratic society. The Constitution guarantees press freedom, while Article 34 prohibits government interference in media operations.

As we have argued here, the Ruto administration is not only small-minded but also petty, paranoid and vindictive. Having failed to kill the media by withdrawing government adverts, it has now resorted to frustrating ad income from private industry. This is in addition to threats from the Communications Authority to withdraw the licences of “unfriendly” media outlets.

That is our interpretation of yesterday’s decision by the State to suspend all gambling ads for 30 days, an order disguised as a “move to curb irresponsible betting and protect vulnerable groups, especially minors”.

The Betting Control and Licensing Board announced the suspension on April 29, citing concerns about the proliferation of gambling activities and misleading advertising.

 The board ordered an immediate halt to all gambling-related ads and promotional content across all media platforms, including TV, radio, print, social media, billboards, SMS, email campaigns and influencer endorsements.

During the suspension period, all licensed gambling operators will have to submit their ads to the Kenya Film Classification Board for vetting and classification.

We reckon that the decision is both wrong and unlawful. It is part of a devious government scheme to set standards for the media through the backdoor.

The board can only issue instructions to its licensees, not the media, which has a statutory regulator.