[kictanet] New Regulations & the Media: Broadcasting Regulations

[Rad!]

I think the point Makali is trying to make is that while indeed, there needs
to be some regulation, a *unilateral* approach to it by government is a
slippery slope to bigger problems down the road.

One needs to be reminded 'government' not only has its own interests,
government is in fact made up with people who as human beings also have
interests.

Let us take for example Honourable Mwakwere who on record confessed to
owning a pair of matatus. How then can he be seen to be making fair and
unbiased decisions in the transport ministry to do with the matatus?
Remember justice needs to not just be done, it needs to be seen to be done.

Let us take another example the occasional bungling in various ministries
(ferries, school funds, AIDS funds,land allocations etc). Let's be candid --
It is in the government's best interests that such things do not come to
light.

The media too has its own vested interests, and can, and indeed has been
partisan on numerous occasions.

So it is pretty clear that the media's ability to police itself meets with
the same skepticism as the police force's ability to police itself and that
of the government to police the media.

Perhaps there is a middle ground to be explored.

Who exactly constitutes the Media council?


On Wed, Jan 20, 2010 at 12:30 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Makali,
>
> I too have read thro your "thesis" and its not easy read but quite
> engaging. And just borrowing a journalistic cliche - "every story has two
> sides". From the government side we have heard the need to get rid of
> adult-content from our air-waves during Daytime/early evening and on that
> note I can tell you (without any scientific survey ;-) that the Public is
> fully in agreement. Indeed during my Dec holiday I did get subjected to an
> overload of such content during "family-hours" and it is high time it was
> stopped because obviously the media has failed to).
>
> But on the other hand, from your technical analysis you seem to claim that
> Government is hiding behind this high-sounding ideal to
> control(micro-manage) the rest of the Media content and basically take back
> the gains of Free-press that is the hallmark of a free and democratic
> society (read- getting Kenya back to the KANU days of the 1990s...)
>
> I do know the regulations are already gazetted and therefore enforceable
> (by law)  but I do wish we could get still get an "anti-thesis" from
> Government on this (without breaking the Secrecy act?). Better still, maybe
> Prof Waema may organize another  Town Hall meeting (i do like that ;-) -
> this time with our Converged Regulator CCK doing the "anti-thesis
> presentation"....
>
> walu.
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