From TV to social media: How Kenyan women get news now

By  Moraa Obiria

Senior Gender Journalist

What you need to know:

• Television remains important, but social media and online news are increasingly changing how Kenyan women follow current affairs.
• WhatsApp, Facebook and online news platforms are becoming increasingly important sources of information for the women.

Grace Kamau has been a primary school teacher since 2012. For years, rushing home to catch the evening bulletin was one of her favourite rituals.

"There was always that eagerness of watching the 7pm news as you cooked,” she recalls. “At least the following day you’d have something to talk about with fellow teachers in the staffroom. It was just fun.”

Now, she admits, some of that fun has slipped away. Instead of waiting for the evening broadcast, Grace checks WhatsApp groups for updates and scrolls through Facebook to see what people are discussing.

• 

“While I still love watching the news at 7pm, I no longer have that rush home because the news has already been shared in WhatsApp groups for teachers, friends and chama,” she says. “You go to Facebook; you see everyone talking about something that has happened somewhere. But if it’s news about teachers, then I have to confirm that with TV.”

The shift

Grace’s experience reflects a wider shift in how Kenyan women consume news. Analysis of the Media Council of Kenya’s State of the Media reports from 2023 to 2025 shows television remains important, but social media and online outlets are steadily reshaping women’s routines. 

In 2023, television was still dominant, though 24 per cent of women did not watch compared with 21 per cent of men.

Radio was the second most preferred source of news among women. However, 26 per cent of women did not listen to the radio, compared with 23 per cent of men. Newspapers had the largest gender gap. Some 18 per cent of women read them, compared with 33 per cent of men. 

Social media accounted for 18 per cent of news consumption among both men and women, signalling the early stages of a shift towards digital news.

By 2024, those differences had narrowed considerably. Women and men were almost identical in their use of television, at 25.5 per cent and 25.6 per cent respectively. On radio, women were slightly ahead at 23.3 per cent compared with 22.9 per cent for men. Social media use was also close, with women at 24.1 per cent and men at 24.5 per cent. 

Newspapers had fallen sharply, with readership at just 4.9 per cent for both genders. Women were marginally ahead in blogs, at 3.5 per cent compared with 3.4 per cent for men.

But the 2025 figures show a clear shift towards digital news. Television remained the most preferred source, with women accounting for 45.6 per cent of viewers and men 54.4 per cent. But online news websites and social media overtook radio among women. 

Some 44.2 per cent of women got their news from online outlets. Another 44.9 per cent relied on social media. Radio, once dominant, fell to 42 per cent.

Risks

This shift, however, comes with risks. Dr George Nyabuga, an associate professor at Aga Khan University, says the growing use of social media for news raises questions about credibility.

Unlike traditional media, social media platforms are not bound by the same professional and ethical standards, he says. This, he notes, can allow misinformation to spread quickly, potentially shaping decisions and affecting society.

However, this shift presents opportunities for established news outlets. “Television content can be repurposed for social media, complementing digital consumption and ensuring that traditional strengths are carried into new spaces," he says.

Dr Nyabuga says the speed of social media has created pressure on journalists to verify and fact-check information quickly. But he stresses the need to educate the public about why that process can take time.

“We must educate the public to know that the verification process is long,” Dr Nyabuga says. “Because of law and ethics, you must always wait for, for example, the next of kin to be informed of, say, the death of a particular person before that information is published.” 

Portrayal of women

On the portrayal of women in the media, Dr Nyabuga argues that newsrooms must be deliberate in their approach. 

He calls for investment in gender desks and a commitment to covering women’s lives beyond the domestic sphere. This, he says, includes giving equal visibility to their leadership, professional roles and wider contributions to society.  

“But at the same time, it’s about employing people in newsrooms who are genuinely interested in women’s roles beyond the home, beyond caring for children,” he says.

“So that coverage reflects the breadth of women’s lives in society, from leadership to professional positions and other spheres of influence.”