[kictanet] New Regulations & the Media

Fri Jan 15 20:16:38 EAT 2010

I've watched a few of the tv stations and I didn't see much mention of
todays demo by Muslims in town that turned ugly. From the way the same
is being discussed on social media, it could become a big
inter-religious conflict if not properly handled.
Its encouraging to see that so far the media has handled the situation
maturely...

On 1/15/10, Wamuyu Gatheru <wamuyulearn at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> Alice, thanks for giving the bigger picture to regulating the media in a
> fully digitised environment. I want to believe our media is savvy enough to
> see these issues of convergence (and hopefully they like that end of the
> regulations) but are rightly worried about politics. Their response is a
> natural one in a fledgling democracy. We experience significant freedoms in
> Kenya, but where the rubber meets the road, things become very grey - just
> take a close look at trade union governance in Kenya. The poor leadership of
> COTU, for example, is by government design.
>
> I think the media need to demonstrate self regulation maturity if there are
> to obtain popular support (that will eventually help them win political
> battles). Right now with the close to pornographic broadcasting (that causes
> a lot of concern to parents) and our still vivid memories of 2008 (when the
> media failed to internalise that we were in a conflict environment - results
> that could not verified were reported with action type music in the
> background and then all that blood and gore) the public will not rush to the
> support of the media.
>
> But that said, I would not dismiss the media case off hand. The oppressive
> political forces are not asleep and government is not apolitical. For
> example using Section 43 1, can the media independently declare a situation
> to be an emergency (remember when govt used to underplay famine for
> political reasons). What if the 'emergency' was of a partisan nature to
> undermine political opponents (like the shifta wars of the '60s), would be
> media be obliged to report because the govt has said so?
>
> regards, Wamuyu
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: alice <alice at apc.org>
> To: wamuyulearn at yahoo.co.uk
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Sent: Thu, 14 January, 2010 20:01:14
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] New Regulations & the Media
>
> But what happened to the right to receive accurate and honest information?
> On the current coverage of the broadcast regulation, the media seems to be
> focusing on the political/economic self interest aspect only rather than the
> broader interplay between technology, markets, government and political
> self-interest and I have not seen/heard or read anything on the benefits to
> the public, (viewers/consumers).
>
> There is also some misrepresentation of for example section 43 1. Some of
> the TV and radio stations have reported that the new regulations will limit
> broadcast and reporting of emergencies: But that section (43 1 of the "Kenya
> gazette supplement number 86 of December 2009) in fact compels broadcast
> service providers to provide notice of public emergencies:
>
> '43 1) all broadcasting service providers shall provide a public notice of
> an emergency or a public disaster announcement upon the request of a person
> authorized by the Government'
>
> And did you know that the recent STATUTE LAW (MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS)
> BILL, 2009 *deleted* the much contested section 88 of the Kenya
> Communications Act 1998, which gave the minister powers to "take temporary
> possession of any telecommunication apparatus or any radio communication
> station apparatus within Kenya? If you recall the drama at the beginning of
> the year, when media stuck to reporting, erroneously, that this section was
> contained in the new KCA amendment act 2009, while it had been in existence
> since 1998.
>
> The genesis of the broadcast regulation is not just limited to politics;
> rather, it has been influenced by the rapid evolution of broadcasting
> technology, and especially the recent move from analogue to digital which
> will transform our broadcast landscape beyond recognition. Digitisation will
> enable grater compression of content into what spectrum we have available,
> so scarcity will no longer be the issue for new entrants, it will also
> enable viewers to decide on what content they care about to watch or listen
> to and will depend less on the platform used for transmission of the
> content. The same content can be viewed/listened to on mobiles, computers,
> internet sites, etc other factors include bundling of attractive content
> with advertising, unlike analogue, viewers can block the adverts, which may
> make the traditional way of financing content unsustainable, but will make
> processing (technical aspects) of information/content cheaper.
>
> The changes for broadcasters have major implications for regulators, for
> example, while digitisation will introduce more competition, diverse market
> for broadcast content and enhance viewing decision making, issues of piracy,
> abuse of intellectual property (because of the ease at which digitisation
> will provide for copying of content) is likely to rise. Further, there will
> be need for vigilance on market power of bigger broadcasters, or new
> broadcasters, particularly those who have the resources to corner the market
> with say premium content like football matches, etc. So it’s not just about
> politics, there is much much more...
>
>
> Views expressed are personal and not a reflection of any of the
> institutions/organisations I am affiliated with.
>
> Best, Alice
>
>
>
> Leonard Mware wrote:
>> Spot on Barak! Tumechoka! The sooner something is done the better, Bwana
>> Ndemo.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On *Thu, 1/14/10, Barrack Otieno /<otieno.barrack at gmail.com>/* wrote:
>>
>>
>>    From: Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com>
>>    Subject: Re: [kictanet] New Regulations & the Media
>>    To: mleonardo at yahoo.com
>>    Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>    Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 12:22 PM
>>
>>    Bwana Wainaina tumechoka!
>>
>>    I was just listening to Classic 105 this morning in a matatu and i was
>>    ashamed of what i was hearing at 9.00 am, i thought we used to have
>>    such programs after 11 PM (late night ) as they were called at this
>>    rate life expectancy might as well be reduced to 30 (i have no
>>    scientific justification or research to support this). The problem is
>>    not freedom, the issue is what to do with the freedom, if i heard Dr
>>    Ndemo correctly when he did a press briefing, he mentioned the fact
>>    that he had invited all the stakeholders in the media fraternity to
>>    deliberate on the issue but they are either reluctant or non-commital,
>>    i see the media as a double edged sword, it can liberate and it can
>>    kill, can the media council and the media owners get their act right
>>    in so far as content regulation is concerned, otherwise we might end
>>    up with a scenario akin to the Matatu Industry madness which is
>>    holding our nation at ransom. (and by the way did anyone do some
>>    research on how much we lost during the two day strike?)
>>    We shall overcome
>>
>>    On 1/14/10, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina at madeinkenya.org
>>
>> <http://us.mc552.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>>
>>    wrote:
>>    > Hi all,
>>    >
>>    > When Dr. Ndemo published the new media regulations a few days
>>    ago, the
>>    > Media Owners complained..... naturally.
>>    >
>>    > However, there has been no debate on KICTANet and the press seems
>>    > unsure on whether to fight this time round.
>>    >
>>    > I am surprised at the very loud silence on the issue. Is it a sign
>>    > there is a major storm brewing?
>>    >
>>    > Wainaina
>>    >
>>    > --
>>    > Sent from my mobile device
>>    >
>>    > ---
>>    > http://www.bungesms.com <http://www.bungesms.com/>
>>    > http://www.madeinkenya.org <http://www.madeinkenya.org/>
>>    > http://www.wainainamungai.com <http://www.wainainamungai.com/>
>>    >
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>>
>>
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>
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-- 
Sent from my mobile device

Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu)
+254721898732
+254736091242
 Kenya