The major ethical issue that apparently affects devolution reporting in Kenya is moon lighting, a media consultant has claimed.
According to Communication specialist and media consultant Joe Kadhi, of the United States International University (USIU), the vice was an ethical breach that needed to be addressed urgently to save the media industry from getting irrelevant.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, Kadhi revealed that various county governments had engaged most seasonal journalists across the nation to manage their communication departments and governors' communications and press units.
He added that this compromised ethics of the journalists arguing most of them who doubled as either editors in their media houses, mostly mainstream or senior reporters practice their extra - jobs in clandestine manner to impress their bosses.
The specialist said the journalists were consequently used by governors who had lots of money, resources and massive powers to bribe other journalists to effect either bias or Public Relations reporting.
"Corruption going on in the counties can not be reported as rewards to some journalists are massive including being offered parcels of land," said Kadhi.
Kadhi said despite the fact that moon lighting was an ethical breach, it was also killing independence of journalists, some of who he revealed had been put up for houses by certain county governments.
He said there was no way a journalist could retain his job within specific media house alongside being in pay roll of a county government and be ethically responsible in journalistic practice.
The media guru therefore called on the journalists to refrain from being brain washed by the governors and stick to their professional code of ethics, advising those attracted to counties terms and services to resign from their media employers and pick up county jobs to avoid moon lighting.