[kictanet] Kenya: The Media is Not Innocent

[Alex Gakuru]

Alai:

I believe that we are past passionate tribal
accusations and now at the audit of the harm done by
media and related actors stage. All media outlets
including stations you have left out will be audited.

It would be incomplete to leave out new media; blogs, 
sms, and public mailing lists because this is where
raw hate was continually spewed to incite innocent
vulnerable people to turn on their best friends. The 
sources will be indisputably very clear. Bw. PS
reiterated that he only wants us to agree on the form
because the audit is a must to avoid going this route
ever again.  

on 21 May 2007, I sent a message to kictanet refereing
to http://www.yle.fi/ripe/Papers/Brants_Bardoel.pdf

"Death Duties: Kelly, Fortuyn, and the challenge to
media governance"

--excerpts--
"‘(t)he press is immensely competitive (
) As a result
of this (
), I don’t feel the media report the news.
They only report the news through a prism of
sensation, scandal and confrontation. The news as such
is not sufficiently interesting’. Alastair Campbell,
the former spokesman of Britain’s Prime Minister Tony
Blair, blamed the BBC for taking ‘a one-way road to
cynicism. When it dominates most judgements, the
media’s dominant role becomes the erosion of
confidence in politics’ 

‘The press serves as a watchdog for democracy, but a
watchdog that barks too often is useless. An
information channel that distorts the information
fulfils no function. In any other sector where the
product is so vital for society and the risk of a loss
of quality so great, the government would have
intervened. The principle of press freedom makes
this impossible. Consequently this is a task for the
press itself, given the potential danger and social
harm of media that behave as a political actor without
showing accountability’(Donner 2004; our translation –
KB&JB).

‘We have turned politics into a media circus. He who
looks attractive and formulates well can count on our
attention, but we cut their heads off when they
disappoint us’ (translation ours – KB&JB).

On the basis of a comparative case study of two
critical events in two different countries – the Kelly
suicide case in the UK and the subsequent debate about
the BBC’s role and responsibility, and the Fortuyn
murder in the Netherlands and the subsequent debate
about the lack of TV’s responsiveness and
accountability - the paper analyses the political,
institutional and professional responses, the
similarity and difference in the mechanisms proposed
to
reinvigorate trust, and how, in such different
political and media systems, broadcasting
organisations and journalists come to terms with
responsibility and accountability on the one
hand and professional freedom and autonomy on the
other."

The legitimacy of legally entrusting public media and
professionally entrusting journalists with the power
to define reality and interpret meaning, is based on
reciprocity, on trusting media and journalists to
dutifully and reliably live up to public expectations.
Trust that they aim at truth finding, at balanced and
pluralist reporting, at independence from political
and economic influence, at a sense of social
responsibility as well as responsiveness to society,
at their watchdog role being in the public interest
and not personally or
economically inspired, etc. That trust – built on and
earned by socially responsible behaviour - is being
challenged, while it is exactly in situations of
uncertainty that trust is necessary
(Luhmann, 1989).

I really recommend reading this short 20-page paper
and see how the media changed a government and caused
death.
   
--------

To Kanja's list could we also add;
  
- Critical review of media houses Editorial Policies 
and if they reflect (Re)public interests?
- International media prejudices...


Alex



--- Robert Alai <alai.robert at gmail.com> wrote:

> Wainaina
> 
> This is funny. On one hand you are describing how
> KTN/Standard did incite
> the public and ignore the fact that All Royal Media
> outlets including
> RamogiFM, Kameme, and KBC have gone to become Kikuyu
> chauvinist and not
> ready to protect the interest of Kenya. On another
> hand you claim ho the
> current Kenyan problem is political. *THE PROBLEM IS
> NOT POLITICAL BUT
> ETHNIC. *I have just come from a tour which took me
> from Tigoni, Juja,
> Nyeri, Naivasha, Eldoret, Kisumu, Yala and Busia. I
> travelled with the IDPs
> and listened and cried of what I heard. Kenyans are
> being denied their
> rights because they are not Kikuyu. I have the word
> of MPs and confirmed
> with IOM that the government explicitly informed the
> Redcross and IOM not to
> serve some communities. I have horror tales of women
> whose husbands were
> hacked with pangas inside Tigoni police station and
> the police couldnt save
> because they are not Kikuyu. I have talked to Abbas
> of IOM of how different
> Redcross is treating IDPs. kikuyu IDPs are treated
> with all care and others
> ignored. I personally snatched blankets from Pamela
> who is the regional
> redcross manager in Kisumu when she refused to give
> them to mothers and
> chidren I transported from tigoni and naivasha. I
> brought 17 buses and
> called redcross and informed them of my mission. I
> had a meeting with Dr
> Simiyu and Abbas Guled and they agreed to prepare
> the ground. After a whole
> day travel I got redcross not ready and when they
> saw the buses is when they
> started cutting the mbogas and meat. We handed over
> 4 children whose mother
> was admitted to Agha khan with serious illness and
> redcross took the
> children to a police station in Siaya.
> 
> Kenyan problem is tribal and not political. We
> cannot have one tribe running
> roughshod and even the religious leaders from Kikuyu
> preaching the Kikuyu
> superiority. We cannot have one tribe killing and
> maiming Kenyans while
> claiming there is a genocide against Kikuyus. No
> Kikuyu was killed in
> Kisumu. Infact they were protected and even I have
> Mwangi, and Kuria who are
> my friends living and working in Kisumu even now
> when they cant work
> anywhere else. But Kibaki is ordering NGOs not to
> serve non Kikuyus. Kikuyus
> enjoy greater access to loans and even humanitarian
> assistance. Go to
> Kondele in Kisumu where the Kikuyu IDPs are housed.
> You will find that there
> is a bigger difference with Moi stadium where
> redcross dont want to even put
> basic facilities forcing the local community in
> Kisumu to house the IDPs at
> St Stephens.
> 
> kenyans, these theories of Bitange and Wainaina only
> works for the few they
> serve. Bitange was key in selling 51percent shares
> of Telkom Kenya to the
> french consortium at 26 Billion Ksh. Before that the
> government cleared a
> debt of 69 billion. if 51% shares were sold at 26 it
> menas that Telkom Kenya
> was just worht 52 Billion. Why settle a debt of 69
> billion? What is the
> mathematics here? telkom Kenya was worthless? Shame
> on you Bitange. Only
> people who dont know your inner dealings will
> respect what you say. You
> really like to please masters and never acts
> proffesionaly.
> 
> Alai
> 
> On Thu, Feb 14, 2008 at 7:03 PM, Wainaina Mungai
> <wainaina at madeinkenya.org>
> wrote:
> 
> > I believe Waruru has raised an important question
> especially as relates to
> > .....should Media houses be partisan? or must
> Media houses remain neutral
> > independent of the preference of their owners?
> >
> > My take is that Media is too critical as a part of
> society that it must
> > not be partisan. We call the Press the "Fourth
> Estate" and we should make
> > the press non-partisan  just as we require the
> judiciary or other statutory
> > bodies to be non-partisan  even though the
> individuals running those
> > institutions may be free to support different
> political leanings.
> >
> > Dear Alai, let's all admit we have erred no matter
> what party or ideology
> > we support. The political bias of the media is the
> problem we turn our focus
> > to as it has brought us to the crisis we find
> ourselves in. My example of
> > KTN/Standard also pointed out that other media
> houses (the same that you
> > mentioned), have to deal with the fact that they
> are perceived as partisan
> > in favour of the establishment. I also chose to
> deflect the debate to "way
> > forward". Please let us not trivialise it as a
> matter of tribal chauvinism
> > coz we will lose sight of the issues at hand.
> Let's work together for a
> > win-win solution.
> >
> > I would like to venture into analysing the role of
> SMS and the Internet
> > but that would divert my atention from the
> unsolved problem of a Media that
> > can destroy Kenya if left untempered.
> >
> >
> >   On 2/13/08, Robert Alai <alai.robert at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > >   Kenyans and Friends of Kenya
> > >
> > > The Media shuldnt have media council. The media
> must go the way of the
> > > SA broadcast complaints commision which must be
> independent of the media and
> > > the gvernment. And guys and especially Wainaina.
> Please dont bring the PNU
> > > vs ODM politics in this forum. We are going to
> that direction and it wont
> > > help us. Lets all know that KTN has a duty to
> inform people just the way
> > > Royal Media and KBC and the Kameme 24 has been
> sending Kikuyu enthnic
> > > chauvinism in our ears. We have situations in
> this country where even
> > > Redcross and IOM have been called and informed
> by the government not to
> > > transport some IDPs. Please know that Kenya cant
> be in an imagined peace
> > > state. And peace exist only where justice is.
> Even if Raila and Kibaki
> > > agrees know that thre will be no peace without
> the people's right protected.
> > >
> > > Alai
> > >
> > >  On Feb 13, 2008 2:49 PM, Kanja Waruru
> <kanjawaruru at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > hi all,
> > > > i like mungai's line of thought and i would
> like to
> > > > contribute an additional point.
> > > >
> > > > for media houses to be transparent during
> elections
> > > > the media council should insist that each
> media house
> > > > state their position's publicly and declare
> the
> > > > parties/presidential candidates that they
> > > > support/endorse or if they intend to remain
> neutral
> > > > and independent.
> > > >
> > > > this way the public will be making informed
> decision
> > > > when they tune/buy into a particular media.
> > > > Kanja
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- Wainaina Mungai <wainaina at madeinkenya.org>
> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Allow me to re-deflect the issue away from a
> > > > > specific media house and state
> > > > > the following as a way forward:
> > > > >
> 
=== message truncated ===>
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