Kenyan Newspapers: Despite the advent and spread of online news outlets, print media in Kenya has never gone down in a flush. Although worrying statistics about newspapers readership and print media consumption report that emerged early this year in March sends butterflies in the industry’s belly.
According to the Kenya Audience Research Foundation (KARF), only about 9.5% of the population read Kenyan newspapers. And the trend is a nightmare for magazines which just attract a paltry 0.2%.
Newspapers are still popular among Kenyans even today.
When it comes to the most adored newspapers, Daily Nation and the Standard have been passing each other the gong for decades now. In fact, ask someone about any newspapers they know and the two will be the first mentions.
Why?
Because they are the bestselling and have been on the scene for the longest time. Of course, delivering quality news across the country consistently.
However, this doesn’t mean that there are no other newspapers on the scene. Which is why I will be revealing a list of newspapers in this article.
So, are you interested to know beyond the two? Well, walk with me in the next parts for some interesting facts about 15 different newspapers in Kenya.
Here is a list of 15 Most Popular Kenyan Newspapers for Breaking News
1. Daily Nation Newspaper Kenya
The Daily Nation newspaper is a leader in the industry. This is a product by the Nation Media Group Limited and was founded by His Highness the Agha Khan way back in 1959.
The Nation Media Group has been trading on the Nairobi Stock Exchange from the ’70s till today. So you can guess this is a dedicated newspaper.
The newspaper conveys news from the political scene, social life, corporate circles, and sports and entertainment. With over 205,000 copies circulating daily in the country, it remains the most popular above all other newspapers not only in Kenya but also across the entire East Africa region.
The Daily Nation newspaper Kenya sits at the hearts of many people. I can tell you that some people won’t settle until they have a glimpse at this newspaper.
2. The Standard Newspaper Kenya
The Standard newspaper is produced by the Standard Group which is also the umbrella of KTN News and Home Televisions, Radio Maisha and the Standard Digital. It is one of the largest influencers in Kenya claiming 48% of the market share.
As early as 1910, the newspaper had been already founded. This already puts it up as the oldest newspapers in the country.
If you are keen on politics, business and sports, and entertainment, the Standard would be the perfect place to draw the news. Just like the Daily Nation, it sells cheap which is great for all Kenyans.
The newspaper has a special column or rather a magazine inside of it on Fridays. This focus on entertainment news and interviews – a feature that attracts many youths towards buying the newspaper.
3. Business Daily Newspaper Kenya
This is a publication of the Nation Media Group. The paper provides information, coverage, and analysis of business news across the country and beyond.
So, if you are an investor, this is the right paper to get you to the next level. It comes with insights and sights regarding business trends.
The Business Daily Newspaper is dedicated to offering a huge variety of news ranging from things that touch the economy, corporate, lifestyle, etc. I would say it’s exclusive for business people.
4. The Star Newspaper Kenya
The Star is also another well-known Kenya newspaper. The newspaper is owned by the Radio Africa Group that operates Kiss FM and Classic FM radio stations.
Other radio stations owned by the Radio Africa Group include Radio Jambo, East FM, and XFM.
Before the Star spread its presence to the print media, it had a strong online authority. The paper started by touching mostly on human interest stories but has since shifted to news regarding politics and general news including sports.
After acquiring its own printing press, the group would have the capacity to cover late-breaking stories.
5. East African Newspaper
East African Newspaper is another product of the Nation Media Group in Nairobi Kenya. The newspaper has both the online edition and the print media edition.
The newspaper can be found in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda as a weekly edition. So, this is not a daily newspaper.
The East African Newspaper covers the regional stories that affect the four countries mentioned above. It touches on politics and economy stories providing in-depth analysis.
The newspaper also covers international news.
6. The East African Standard Newspaper
The East African Standard newspaper is yet another one of the most sought after newspapers in Kenya. It’s an affiliate of the Standard Group and focuses on the news around the East African region.
The paper targets to pass the news to the residents of the four countries Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. This news includes politics, economy, business, entertainment, and sports.
7. The Nairobian Newspaper
This newspaper the Nairobian has not only broken the records as the fastest-selling newspaper, albeit being only a Nairobi edition, but the paper has also been recognized on the international scenes for its distinct style of reporting that it adopted.
It’s produced on a weekly basis. Actually, it is one of the most anticipated newspaper in Nairobi and now it’s spreading throughout the rest of Kenya.
The Nairobian is a project of the Standard Media Group and the scope of the news covered by this paper includes politics, lifestyle, exposes, international news, business, hottest news, fashion, etc.
8. Taifa Leo Newspaper
Taifa Leo is a Kiswahili of the Daily Nation. And it’s also a publication of the Nation Media Group Limited.
The paper was founded in 1958. This is a daily publication that runs from Monday to Sunday.
It is the most popular Kiswahili newspaper and actually only one in Kenya. The paper covers news to cater to the lovers and adorers of Kenya’s National Language.
It also ensures that those who never had the opportunity to learn English are not left behind. The newspaper endeavors to cover news regarding human interest, politics and business news.
9. The People Newspaper
The People Newspaper is another of the top 15 Kenyan newspapers that you want to read. The paper is published by the Mediamax Network that owns K24 TV, Kameme TV, Milele FM, among others.
In 2014, the media company offered free newspapers to the readers across the country. This was a marketing strategy that would later fail to dispatch the established papers like the standard and daily nation.
Just like other paper reviewed above, this newspaper comes with updates in the politics of the country, economy, and finances, business and lifestyle among other areas.
10. Coast Weekly Newspaper
This newspaper covers news around the country but particularly at the Coast. The news covered by this paper includes entertainment, politics, tourism, and sports.
The news revolves around the towns of Malindi, Mombasa, and Lamu. And mostly inform tourists on the state of affairs in these tourist destinations.
It also provides columns for the letters to the editor. Furthermore, the newspaper also features classified ads and directory.
11. Kenya Gazette
The Kenya Gazette is an official publication by the Government of Kenya. It is used to communicate notices of new legislation, notices required to be published by law or policy and also features announcements for general public information.
The Kenya Gazette is not your daily publication; it only comes about weekly. Normally, this would be on Fridays.
Although in the case of supplementary editions, the publication can also be released in the middle of the week.
12. All Africa
All Africa is a collection of different newspapers online. The news covered are not just focused around Kenya only but across the continent of Africa.
AllAfrica was founded by the AllAfrica Global Media that has established offices in Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos, Monrovia, Nairobi, and Washington DC.
The mission of these newspapers is to be the voice of Africa. Once you are on the All Africa site, you simply need to enter your region of interest and you will see what’s happening in that place.
The aggregated news can focus on African culture, politics, sports, and entertainment. The newspaper versions exist both in English and French.
13. Kenya Today
This online newspaper comes to cover the latest news and in-depth coverage around the country’s business trends, politics, sports, global news, entertainment and more.
The Kenya Today newspaper is operated by staff situated in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Nairobi. The newspaper obtains its information from guest authors.
It has a very active Facebook Community.
14. Kenya Times
Kenya Times used to be one of the most read newspapers in the country during the Moi era. It was affiliated to the former ruling party, KANU that was led by the former President.
The newspaper is hardly known today. Perhaps, due to the emergence of multi-party politics, the project fell apart and since then, the paper lost its authority.
The Kenya Times today offers Kenyan local, regional international news that touch on different areas of life.
15. The Nairobi Star
The Nairobi Kenyan local newspaper is only a new entrant in this industry. The newspaper adopted its model from the SUN in the UK.
It is a 20-page tabloid that comes with interesting news, and mostly gossip about the country’s most influential people. That’s public figures and celebrities including musicians, politicians, and businessmen.
Obviously, gossip attracts the young generation. Which explains why most readers are young.
16. Bonus: The Daily Metro
Daily Metro, having been launched in 2007, stormed the Kenyan newspaper market. It is a medium-sized full-color newspaper.
It provides editorial news that can be read quickly. Like the Nairobi star, this newspaper also targets the younger readers because it features news around gossips, entertainment, and sports among others.
Online News Media Vs the Print Media.
It is good that I focus a bit on this competition between the two different versions of the news feed. Obviously, there is fierce competition between these two.
And the winner, according to reliable statistics, is the online news media.
The decline of newspaper consumption and the rise of online news reading is not only a mind-boggling trend in Kenya. The experience is all over the world.
But why aren’t people interested in the print news anymore? Is it because of the lack of interest in the news around the country and the world?
Are people no longer up to know what is going on with politics, culture, economics and all other types of industries?
That wouldn’t be true, for sure.
However, the paradigm shift has been due to the introduction of internet-enabled phones and devices. On these phones, you are able to google for news and you get it in a shot.
The android apps are nowadays spread all over the google play store. Just type in the name of the news media and they will pop up in huge numbers.
Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Whatsapp have all ganged together to make a platform where access to news is a breeze. People get the latest information on these apps before it’s printed the following day in the newspaper.
But even with this explanation, it’s quite interesting to learn that people would prefer to spend more than 100 bob to bundles each day compared to the 60 bob for a newspaper.
Is it time for a change of tactic for the print press?
Also Read: How To Use Viusasa Videos To Make Money
In Conclusion
There are many newspaper companies in the country. As you can see, the Kenyan newspapers come with a different type of news.
Although you will observe that common issues around politics, economies, sports and entertainment feature in most newspapers. A few touch exclusively on just entertainment and gossip.
Whether you want to take in a few antidotes on business or politics, the papers are all here to help you achieve your goal. Get yourself a newspaper of choice and be updated on the current issues in Kenya, and the rest of the region.