[kictanet] Kenya: The Media is Not Innocent

Wed Feb 13 15:16:50 EAT 2008

Allow me to re-deflect the issue away from a specific media house and state
the following as a way forward:

1. Journalists must work with all Kenyans to make the press free from undue
influence from Media Owners. Press Freedom will not be achieved until we
liberate the journalists from the editorial biases of the media owners.

2. Editors must be held responsible when media houses publish/broadcast in
an unethical manner. For this to hold, we must ensure that the media owners
are not the 'final' editors.

3. Journalists/reporters have developed a culture of accepting inducements
in order to edit stories as requested. This must be treated as a crime due
to the privileges society accords the press.

4. Media houses must employ and retrain qualified and ethical staff. There
must be standards that ensure professionalism. Engineers, Doctors and others
submit to standards that the media continues to dodge.

5. Kenya needs a Media Council "with teeth"...that will be a watchdog that
acts in the interest of the public not as a affiliate lobby for Media
Owners.

The verdict should be a clear message to all of us in the media circles.
It's time to look inwards and liberate the profession of journalism from the
businessmen who own the media houses.

Wainaina

On 2/13/08, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina.mungai at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks Farida,
>
> We should not consider the presence of lessos in ballot boxes in Kajiado
> or Kamukunji as evidence that your story was true. The pre-marking or
> ballots and the lesso story are what would be considered mutually exclusive
> events. The use of lessos as indicator of accuracy is at the very least
> speculative. The fact that [it is possible] for an election to be stolen
> does not mean that and election [will be] stolen.
>
> For KTN/Standard, the more direct issues as you vouch for the integrity of
> your story would be:
>
> 1. Did you have [evidence] that the ballot boxes were stuffed with
> pre-marked ballot papers? or were you speculating because someone came
> forward as a "witness"?
>
>
> 2. Do you believe that the killings of the Administration Police in Nyanza
> were a direct result of the story you authorised? If so, what have you done
> to at least console the families of the bereaved policemen?
>
>
> 3. Did you have evidence that the Citi Hoppa buses that were carrying APs
> to various parts of the country were meant to be used for a rigging mission?
> and would you consider that your story was responsible for the burning of
> Citi Hoppa buses?
>
>
> Most voters know that ballot boxes are checked before the start of voting
> and sealed infront of witnesses (agents, ECK officials etc).  It is
> therefore unlikely that rigging would only take place is unless there is an
> elaborate conspiracy involving [all] officials/agents at a polling station.
>
> Overall, the "vibes" KTN/Standard fraternity must contend with is not that
> they are a model of "free press" but that it is biased against the
> government or pro-ODM. The vibes stations such as Royal Media, Kameme and
> KBC contend with is that they have given Kenyans reason to be seen as
> pro-government/PNU. Those are the issues the press must address honestly and
> not hide behind tags and clichés such as 'press freedom' and 'muzzling the
> press'.
>
> NOTE: I work for a competing media house but that is not my motivation for
> the issues i have raised on KTN/Standard. I respect journalists for the
> effort that goes into writing even the simplest story. However, I am aware
> that media houses and journalists have continued to allow their political
> and other biases to influence the way they report stories.
>
> Wainaina
>
> On Feb 14, 2008 12:09 AM, Farida Karoney <fkaroney at ktnkenya.com> wrote:
>
> >  Wainaina
> > I personally authorised the story you are blaming KTN for and can vouch
> > for the integrity of that report  any time. If indeed you believe it is not
> > possible to steal an election, how come that ballot boxes were found with
> > lessos, and election materials in some polling stations?
> >
> > We cannot resolve explosive issues by hiding or supressing  the truth,
> > and no one is trying to exonerate the press. Let us not pretend that we do
> > not know why we are where we are, it is definately not because of KTN or the
> > Standard Group.
> >
> > And it is certainly  not  an academic excercise, afterall most of us do
> > not have another place to call home except Kenya. Believe me, any Country
> > which calls itself democratic must be able to live with a free press, no
> > matter how much of a nuisance it is.
> >
> > By all means industry players need mechanisms to promote responsible
> > behaviour in the media but aggression against media houses in light of the
> > current political crisis is in my opinion misplaced.
> >
> > regards
> > Farida
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >  *From:* Wainaina Mungai <wainaina.mungai at gmail.com>
> > *To:* fkaroney at ktnkenya.com
> > *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> > *Sent:* Tuesday, February 12, 2008 9:53 PM
> > *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Kenya: The Media is Not Innocent
> >
> > Like Dorcas, I am not surprised that the media has for the umpteenth
> > time, failed to take responsibility for their role. Allow me to cut to the
> > chase on how the media fueled the conflict.
> >
> > The issue of "self regulation" has come up as journalists remind us how
> > effective they were during the election period. I would like to know what
> > the Media Council would say about KTN/Standard Group having published and
> > aired sensational stories of a very unlikely vote rigging two or so days
> > before the election day. Editors must have known that it is no longer
> > possible to stuff ballot boxes prior to the voting day and get away with it.
> > That unsubstantiated story led to the death of five Administrative
> > Policemen. How would KTN/Standard Group justify the deaths of the APs
> > especially because the accuracy of that rigging story was in doubt from the
> > very moment it landed on the desk of the KTN/Standard Editor. The
> > "messenger" must have known that the story was, other than being inaccurate,
> > likely to ignite an explosive political confrontation. There are many other
> > examples.
> >
> > The fact that politicians, ECK or church leaders may be guilty does not
> > exonerate the Press so the issue of "not working in isolation" or being a
> > powerless "messenger" does not arise. Hundreds of people have been killed,
> > hundreds of thousands more are now homeless and property worth millions has
> > been destroyed. The wounds inflicted on my country will take decades to
> > heal.
> >
> > This is no longer an academic debate about Press Freedom or self
> > regulation.
> >
> > Wainaina
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Feb 13, 2008 3:59 AM, Farida Karoney <fkaroney at ktnkenya.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Guys,
> > >
> > >  Pardon me for joining the discussion rather late in the day. I do not
> > > think
> > > that blanket condemnation of the media is useful in moving the Country
> > > forward.
> > >
> > > I do agree with Kanja that  we need to audit all the players in order
> > > to
> > > establish where the rain started beating us. More importantly,  we
> > > need to
> > > ask ourselves as groups and as individuals what we can do so  that our
> > > Country can never again find itself in such a bind.
> > >
> > > As a practising journalist and an editor, I can confirm that the
> > > mainstream
> > > media did alot in the way of self regulation. Many of the things that
> > > were
> > > available to us yet were never aired nor printed are indeed shocking.
> > >
> > > Let us not  be quick to condemn the messenger.
> > > I think that by now,  we all know that there are issues much deeper
> > > that the
> > > disputed presidential elections which the Country needs to address in
> > > a
> > > wholesome manner
> > >
> > > regards
> > > Farida
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Kanja Waruru" <kanjawaruru at yahoo.com>
> > > To: <fkaroney at ktnkenya.com>
> > > Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> > > Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 1:48 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kenya: The Media is Not Innocent
> > >
> > >
> > >  Hi,
> > > Please allow me to comment on this matter and
> > > apologize for dragging you back to an issue that had
> > > been posted and quickly dismissed.
> > >
> > > The media did not operate in isolation during and
> > > after the elections. And before we point fingers at
> > > the media and blame it for everything under the sun,
> > > perhaps we should first try to understand who the real
> > > players were in the elections and the general genesis
> > > of the crises. And in doing so we may need to ask
> > > ourselves these questions.
> > >
> > > What role did politicians play in this crises?
> > > What about the churches and mosques?
> > > What about the security forces?
> > > What about the Electoral Commission?
> > > And finally what role did the media play?
> > >
> > > My view is that we need to have a task force as
> > > suggested by the minister of information probably
> > > under the media council of Kenya to audit all these
> > > players, only then can we truly say who was innocent
> > > and who was guilty.
> > >
> > > But i would also like to bring in another issue.
> > > During the elections the media was exercising the self
> > > regulation rule and a lot of the stories that were
> > > filed during this period were censored because they
> > > were hate speeches and issues not fit for printing but
> > > we thought it would all die out after the elections
> > > and things would also get back to normal.
> > >
> > > Now on hindsight we ask ourselves should we have
> > > censored those stories or should we have reported them
> > > as presented?
> > >
> > > i will be happy to hear your views the above.
> > > cheers.
> > > Kanja
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- alice <alice at apc.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > > http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=41049
> > > >
> > > > KENYA:
> > > > The Media Is Not Innocent
> > > > Kwamboka Oyaro
> > > >
> > > > *NAIROBI, Feb 2 (IPS) - The media was partly blamed
> > > > for the Rwandan
> > > > genocide 14 years ago which left nearly one million
> > > > people dead in 100
> > > > days. "Kill the Inkotanyi [cockroaches]!" a local
> > > > radio station urged
> > > > its listeners at the time. *
> > > >
> > > > "30 Days in Words and Pictures: Media Response in
> > > > Kenya During the
> > > > Election Crisis" -- a workshop organised here last
> > > > week by
> > > > California-based media advocacy group Internews --
> > > > enabled media
> > > > professionals to conduct a "self-audit" of the role
> > > > local media played
> > > > in the post-election violence. The audit revealed
> > > > that media --
> > > > especially vernacular radio stations -- might be
> > > > partly to blame for the
> > > > on-going violence sparked off by the announcement of
> > > > Mwai Kibaki as
> > > > winner of the Dec. 27 elections.
> > > >
> > > > The violence has reportedly claimed over 1,000 lives
> > > > and displaced some
> > > > 250,000 people since the December election.
> > > >
> > > > David Ochami, a commissioner with the Media Council
> > > > of Kenya, told IPS
> > > > that long before the elections were held, vernacular
> > > > radio stations had
> > > > ignited ethnic consciousness among the listeners
> > > > "making them support
> > > > leaders from their own tribe and harbour bad
> > > > feelings about people from
> > > > other communities."
> > > >
> > > > "The ethnic hate our radio station was propagating
> > > > about those from
> > > > outside the community was unbelievable. I can't
> > > > repeat any of those
> > > > expressions at this forum," said a journalist with a
> > > > vernacular radio
> > > > station. "The unfortunate thing is we let these
> > > > callers speak vile and
> > > > laughed about it."
> > > >
> > > > "We took sides in the issue and we became
> > > > subjective, forgetting our
> > > > professional tenet of objectivity and neutrality. In
> > > > fact, this
> > > > polarization was so bad in the newsrooms that some
> > > > broadcast journalists
> > > > refused to cover or read news that wasn't favourable
> > > > to the candidate or
> > > > party they supported," said a journalist.
> > > >
> > > > In fact, leading up to the elections the local media
> > > > conveyed
> > > > inflammatory campaign messages as advertisers'
> > > > announcements.
> > > >
> > > > "Both print and broadcast media put money ahead of
> > > > responsibility by
> > > > accepting and conveying paid-for hate material,"
> > > > Mildred Baraza, a
> > > > Nairobi- based journalist told IPS. "This could have
> > > > incited the
> > > > audience, and when they got a chance they avenged as
> > > > a result of the
> > > > pre-election messages," she said.
> > > >
> > > > Redemtor Atieno, another Nairobi-based journalist
> > > > who also helped to
> > > > organise the workshop, is confident that the media's
> > > > biased reporting
> > > > contributed to the mayhem in the country.
> > > >
> > > > "Professionalism was thrown to the dogs as tribe and
> > > > partisanship
> > > > carried the day. We failed our audience by conveying
> > > > interests of
> > > > politicians without questioning the impact of our
> > > > stories," Atieno told
> > > > IPS.
> > > >
> > > > Participants at the workshop also blamed media
> > > > owners for playing a
> > > > major role in encouraging the violence. "They had
> > > > vested interests in
> > > > either camp of the political divide," a reporter
> > > > with Kenya Broadcasting
> > > > Corporation (KBC) said, adding that he and his
> > > > colleagues wanted to tell
> > > > the real story but they couldn't because the stories
> > > > could portray the
> > > > government in a bad light.
> > > >
> > > > "We had beautiful clips and stories from the field,
> > > > but we went back to
> > > > the newsroom knowing that the story would never be
> > > > used," he said.
> > > >
> > > > Even privately owned media owners who backed
> > > > different political parties
> > > > had a hand in the stories that were carried. If it
> > > > was about the party
> > > > they supported, they exaggerated the story and
> > > > generally depicted the
> > > > opponents in negative ways.
> > > >
> > > > "The media organizations refrained from telling the
> > > > world the truth
> > > > about what was happening," Ochami told IPS. "There
> > > > has been a tendency
> > > > of portraying the Kenyan crisis as a problem between
> > > > two ethnic groups
> > > > -- where one [Kibaki's Kikuyu] is victimized by
> > > > another [opposition
> > > > leader Raila Odinga's Luo]. Any other story on the
> > > > contrary is
> > > > downplayed or ignored," Ochami explained.
> > > >
> > > > There are those who believe the media is innocent
> > > > and the violence
> > > > currently rocking the country was bound to happen
> > > > anyway -- that
> > > > historical economic inequalities among the Kenyan
> > > > communities had to
> > > > boil over at some point in time.
> > > >
> > > > "The public vented long bottled-up anger. It was
> > > > meant to explode
> > > > whether the media encouraged it or not," said a
> > > > journalist at the
> > > > workshop. "Many people voted last year for change
> > > > and it was a protest
> > > > vote against years of inequalities. When they
> > > > realized this would not
> > > > happen when Kibaki was declared winner, they
> > > > exploded."
> > > >
> > > > Mitch Odera the moderator of the workshop and media
> > > > consultant said one
> > > > of the causes of Kenya's unrest is the immaturity of
> > > > its democracy.
> > > > "There hasn't been competitive democracy in our
> > > > country. That is our
> > > > problem," Odera told the participants at the
> > > > workshop.
> > > >
> > > > The government was also blamed for the chaos because
> > > > it slapped a
> > > > blanket ban on live broadcasters soon after violence
> > > > broke out in the
> > > > country.
> > > >
> > > > "The ban did not extend to international media
> > > > including the Internet
> > > > which many Kenyans accessed and spread the word.
> > > > This led to skewed
> > > > information and hence panic and more destruction and
> > > > deaths," said one
> > > > journalist from the electronic media.
> > > >
> > > > The Editors Guild -- an organization of editors from
> > > > all media
> > > > organizations -- went to court this week to
> > > > challenge the ban on
> > > > broadcasters.
> > > >
> > > > Participants at the workshop also heard the first
> > > > hand experiences of
> > > > journalists who covered the post election violence.
> > > > Practioners
> > > > complained about threats to their lives and
> > > > complained that they felt
> > > > segregated from the rest of the country.
> > > >
> > > > As the workshop was taking place participants were
> > > > well aware that
> > > > several political writers and analysts had received
> > > > death threats for
> > > > writing stories that were viewed as unfavourable
> > > > towards the government.
> > > >
> > > > (END/2008)
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
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