Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo has called for a discussion on media sustainability amid harsh economic times.
He said sustainability of the media must remain a matter of primary concern to all people of goodwill.
"Joint conversations between the government and the Media, including Media owners, is of the essence," he said.
Owalo was speaking on Wednesday during World Press Freedom Day summit at Safari Park hotel in Nairobi.
The CS said emerging challenges are leading to cashflow shrinkage in the industry.
"We are witnessing diminished print runs in the print media and returns on investment on the one hand and staff downsising and retrenchment," he said.
Owalo said it is difficult to reconcile the increased training and production of high level media professionals on the one hand and the diminishing employment opportunities on the other.
However, the ICT CS noted that the government remains the biggest employer of journalists in the country.
He said the government has a foot in the Media through the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and the Kenya News Agency (KNA).
Owalo said he has received a number of proposals from stakeholders including the Media Council of Kenya on the need to table in Parliament legislative proposals that respond to the current world trends on media development.
The legislative proposals include legal and regulatory framework, plurality and diversity of media.
"We will continue upholding Media freedom. We will ensure that the legal and regulatory environment is favourable to this freedom," the CS said.
