That media has an obligation to society is not an idle statement. That obligation is particularly crucial during critical moments. This election period presents such a moment for the Kenyan media, and with it a great responsibility.

It means that every decision that media managers make must be deliberate with the intention of adding value to society. Political talk shows provide just one such moment.  In the lead up to this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations, one national station executed what was a particularly poor job at this.

It hosted a knowledgeable academic and public servant of note but paired him with a young lady whose claim to fame was her title as a youth policy analyst. Also on the panel was a political analyst. It is not always clear where guests who appear on television generate their titles from, but some of the titles are particularly colourful.

The young lady was adamant that history is irrelevant, and the country need not be reminded of what happened in the past, instead should be focused on what she called “economic liberation” for the youth in the years to come.

She was exceptionally dismissive of the current regime and its record, considered some of the existing political formations inconsequential, and at one point even referred to some of the leading political lights as foreigners.  Her contribution was difficult to listen to especially on Madaraka day, a day of remembrance of the nation’s collective past.

What was especially irking was her inability to support any of the statements with facts. While the professor had facts and could refer to sources; for the lady, however, her opinion was the fact.  Her presence at the table made it difficult to appreciate any of the other contributions being made. It was a waste of precious time.

The host of the program, however, sat through it all and did not seem to notice that apart from providing local content for the station the show was hardly adding any value to the day’s glory being the Madaraka day.

It is understandable the necessity to diversify the range of guests being invited to the talk shows and the opinions being expressed. Knowledge and understanding is not a preserve of a specific age group or gender.

Indeed, there are as many knowledgeable young people as there are old ones. It is the duty of the host to identify such gems and bring them to the show to execute the media function of informing the public and providing a diversity of ideas.

A show host can hardly sit idly as a guest goes off the generally agreed parameters of common knowledge, decency and sacred topics. This is not an area covered by freedom of speech for freedom of speech has its boundaries. A function of the media is the storage of a people’s culture, collective histories, memories and national identity.

These are salient parameters of which much may not be said but if violated then it goes without saying that such a media house has no business being protected by the same nation it may disparage.

Not everybody walking down the streets with a title has earned the right to be heard and to spew forth their bile. Talk show hosts have a responsibility to shop for guests that meet the diversity test and who will then contribute positively to national discourse.

Like religion, every nation has its sacred heroes. That is the role Dedan Kimathi, Mekatilili wa Menza, and Kapenguria Six continue to play in our nation’s history.

One’s political persuasion notwithstanding Raila Odinga has his chapter reserved in this book. For the good of the nation, part of the function of the press is to hold up our national narrative.

We will still question and evaluate their contribution. However, such evaluation and questioning can only be done by people who have done their homework well and the media has the responsibility of approaching such potential revision of the history with caution.

— The writer is the dean, School of Communication, Daystar University