[kictanet] Media council Draft bill 2010 (Day Three--Composition of Council )

[toby at law-democracy.org]

Hi all,

Sorry for weighing in late on this one. I was travelling yesterday and of
course the questions went out late.

Generally speaking, although I am quite critical of the role of the Media
Council re. journalists, and even question the need for such a body, I
think the Bill does a pretty good job in terms of setting up the Council
and, in particular, of ensuring its independence.

Re. the question on areas of expertise, I find the list OK. Other areas
such as policy, technology and business might be added. I think expertise
on gender and human rights is a very important area. I don't think the
focus should be on professional status so much as having a wide range of
types of expertise that are relevant to the functions of the Council, most
importantly applying the Code of Conduct. For this, what is needed is
individuals who can, while understanding the importance of freedom of
expression and the way the media functions, for example assess whether
particular media output meets acceptable standards of taste (para. 9 of
the Code), covers ethnic conflict appropriately (para. 11), and respects
privacy (para. 13) - these are just random examples. I agree with Grace
that it would be useful to include a requirement of gender representation.

There was a suggestion that only journalists should be members. This is
not appropriate for in this case, it would be a cosy club assessing
itself. It is perhaps worth noting that in both of the two examples I gave
early (UK and Indonesia), the relevant bodies include non-media members.
The UK Press Complaints Commission always has a majority of members,
including the Chair, who do not come from the media (even though it was
established by the media) while the Indonesian Press Council has 5 members
representing journalists, 5 representing media owners and 5 representing
the general public (although again, like the PCC, all chosen by the
media).

Re. Chapter Six of the Constitution, I cannot claim to be an expert in
Kenyan constitutional law and I did not even have a change to read these
provisions. But when I read that provision in the Media Council Bill, I
assumed the chapter set out various objective requirements, such as
independent, integrity, etc. I don't think the intention is that members
of the Council will be officials (this is just not in keeping with the
whole tenor of the Bill). Furthermore, section 9(1)(g) of the Bill would
appear to specifically preclude this.

Re. distinguished career, I think the idea is to prevent nepotistic
appointments (this would provide a basis for challenging an appointee who
did not appear to be appropriate), rather than as a strict positive
requirement. To this extent, it is probably useful.

Toby


___________________________________
Toby Mendel
Executive Director

Centre for Law and Democracy
toby at law-democracy.org
Tel:  +1 902 431-3688
Fax: +1 902 431-3689
www.law-democracy.org




On 26 Jan 2011, at 04:27, Grace Githaiga wrote:

 Dear Listers

Welcome to day 3 of our discussion of the Media Bill in which will tackle
two issues namely Composition of the Council(article 6) and Qualifications
of Members (Article 7 (1)). Article 7 (2) on appointment of Chairperson
will be discussed tomorrow.

Today's debate

Article 6 states that the Council shall comprise seven members, appointed
in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Article 7 (1) states...A person is qualified for appointment
if such a
person (c ) have knowledge and experience of at least 10 years including
past or continuing membership to industry or other professional body in
matters relating to any of the fields:

i)                    Law
ii)                  Journalism
iii)                Finance
iv)                Gender and human rights
v)                  Performing arts; or
vi)                Advertising.

Questions:
·         Should other professions be considered?
·         Is gender and human rights relevant in this list considering
there is mention of one belonging to a professional body?
·         And is it necessary to actualize gender balance? If so, how?
·         Out of the seven council members (article 6), are there some who
are critical and must be represented in the Council?

(d) Meets the requirements of chapter six of the Constitution

Question: Chapter six of the constitution is on leadership and integrity
and relates to state officers. Is there an assumption then that the
council members will be considered state officers? Is this section
necessary?

(e) Has had a distinguished career in their respective fields.

Question: How workable is this?

Your suggestions are highly appreciated.

Rgds
Grace




___________________________________
Toby Mendel

Centre for Law and Democracy
toby at law-democracy.org
Tel:  +1 902 431-3688
Fax: +1 902 431-3689
www.law-democracy.org