IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 19, Issue 9, Ver. IV (Sep. 2014), PP 85-90 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 85 | Page A Review of the Extent to Which Ethical Principles Are Considered In The Process Of Production of Newspapers by Print Media Houses in Kenya Jane Chebet Malel Assistant Lecturer, Department of Communication Studies, School of Human Resource Development, Moi University. Abstract: The general objective of the study was to find out factors underlying ethical considerations in the production of information and how the print mass media publish the information. This paper examines the extent to which ethical principles are considered in the process of productions of newspapers by Kenyan media houses. The study was guided by Roxborough’s Principle of Ethics theory of 1979, which holds that communication should always be guided by ethical principles which he points out as the principle of social responsibility. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the target population who are the staff of one media houses. Systematic random sampling was then used to choose respondents from five departments whereby a sample size of 160 respondents were selected. Data was collected by the use of questionnaires where drop and pick method was used. The primary data collected was analyzed with the help of SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Sciences) Program. The data collected was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study established that editors focus on ethical issues such as unnamed sources; confidentiality; misrepresentation; obscenity, taste and tone in reporting; paying for news articles; plagiarism; discrimination; covering ethnic, religious and sectarian conflict; recording interviews and telephone conversations; privacy; intrusion into grief and shock; sex discrimination; financial journalism, protection of children; victims of sexual crimes; use of pictures and names; innocent relatives and friends; acts of violence; editor’s responsibility, and advertisements. It was recommended that both the media houses and the public in Kenya should be sensitized on the complexities surrounding the concept of ethics in journalism. Keywords: Ethical Principles, Newspaper Production, Print Media, Kenya I. Introduction The free spread of information is an essential condition for human progress in any society. The role of the news media in disseminating information in the form of news is considered so important that a free media industry is taken to be an essential attribute of every civilized democratic society. However, information is useful only if it is accurate and objective. Arrangements must therefore be made by media houses to protect the public interest in accuracy and objectivity of news. This usually involves formal legal regulation imposed on the news media by the state and internal ethical observances stimulated from within the media industry with or without the sanction of the law. Just as excessive and oppressive legal controls can harm responsible journalism, so can lack of proper ethical observance (Owiro, 1992, p. 68). Using the mass media can be counterproductive if the channels used are not audience-appropriate, or if the message being delivered is too emotional, fear arousing/traumatising, or controversial. Undesirable side effects usually can be avoided through proper formative research, knowledge of the audience, experience in linking media channels to audiences, and message testing. This paper conceives mass media ethics as regarding all those moral values and professional codes of ethics that need to be considered in the process of collecting, producing and reporting information to the public by the media. The content of the information in the newspaper and the potential effect of the information on the society are important issues of concern to the author in understanding how mass media conflicts with the society in Kenya. II. Professionalism and Codes of Ethics The freedom of expression, which media operators everywhere long for and defend, should necessarily bring with it a sense of responsibility. Being free to do research and report means that journalists are also answerable for their reporting, because as they are professionals in their work. If journalists are answerable for their reporting, there needs to be some sort of reference point against which they can judge the goodness or badness of their professional activity. It is thus necessary to examine the codes of ethics and self-regulating mechanisms for media workers.