[kictanet] how positive can foreign media be?

Tue Mar 12 00:23:28 EAT 2013

Andrea

Vielen dank fur ihre hilfe.

Not too thrilled with Michela Wrong's coverage. In terms of local media, I
enjoyed the *East African's* coverage.

http://digitaldemocracykenya.blogspot.com/2013/02/what-michela-wrong-got-right-and-wrong.html

I will check out the FT

Regards, Warigia

On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 4:20 PM, Warigia Bowman <warigia at gmail.com> wrote:

> Brian, Plus one (+1) ndugu
>
> Wenzangu,
>
> I am all for complete press freedom and I think I was outspoken about
> censorship on this very list before this election. Now that the election is
> over is certainly a legitimate time for us to uncover corruption and bad
> behavior.
>
> However, there is no need for the foreign press to focus obsessively on
> the 6 police persons who were killed, or that the winner is in front of the
> ICC.
>
> A selection from my (usually beloved) *New York Times* from this morning.
>
> Mr. Kenyatta, who has been accused by prosecutors at the International
> Criminal Court in The Hague of bankrolling death squads during Kenya’s last
> election crisis, cleared the 50 percent threshold and avoided a runoff by
> the thinnest of margins, about 8,000 votes out of 12 million, or .07
> percent.
>
> From my perspective as a "foreigner" with very strong Kenyan ties and
> roots, I think about 40 people should be in the Hague, and am dissapointed
> that only five or so are there! Al Jazeera and the Times can do a better
> job of reporting on this election, I think.
>
> Kind regards, Warigia
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> FYI
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe at gmail.com>
>> Date: Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 11:47 PM
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] how positive can foreign media be?
>> To: Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>
>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>
>>
>> Dear All,
>>
>> First and foremost let me go on record here (I have already done so
>> elsewhere) and congratulate/thank the local media for their part in
>> ensuring a peaceful election.
>>
>> As for the International media - I think that the tirade against them by
>> Kenyans is an indictment against the (foreign) fourth estate.
>>
>> The local media already went through their indictment in 2008 - and this
>> time round voluntarily opted to adhere to a code of conduct and certain
>> protocols.
>>
>> One example was not airing live any press statements by political parties
>> or aspirants and subjecting any such footage to strict vetting according to
>> the standards voluntarily adopted. The fact that international media aired
>> many of these press statements where their local counterparts did not is
>> (sufficient?) grounds for the sharp criticism launched against (all of)
>> them by Kenyans.
>>
>> Andrea - by now you should know that being a member of the fourth estate
>> means that you are right in there with the good, the bad and the ugly and
>> it is only one measuring stick that is used for all of you, so if enough of
>> you fall short - that is the measure that will be used for all. Pole sana
>> for your feeling under attack, this is exactly how local media who did not
>> propagate hate speech in 2007/2008 felt.
>>
>> Nevertheless, it is clear that the point that Kenyans made has sunk home
>> because there has been a clear change in the tone and language of pieces
>> coming from the foreign media.
>>
>> Power to the people!
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Brian
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 10:47 PM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Andrea
>>>
>>> I know it may not be a popular thing to say right now but I agree with
>>> you entirely. Let's not throw the baby with the bath water.
>>>
>>> I personally was very disappointed with the lack of creativity and use
>>> of data to extrapolate, analyze and give intelligent synopsis of what was
>>> happening. I felt let down by the fact that the information was there but
>>> none of the mainstream local media used it to give us more than what the
>>> IEBC was giving us on their screen. I found it particularly dumbfounding
>>> when we started counting the votes again when we had reached almost
>>> 4million votes. That was an opportunity for a good narrative that Kenyans
>>> needed to hear. But no..we focused so much on the message of peace (not
>>> that I am against peace) that we forgot that the whole process had to be so
>>> much above board as to render anyone who questioned the results seem like a
>>> joke. Unfortunately we lost that opportunity.
>>>
>>> Now we have another opportunity to stress test our new constitution and
>>> institutions. This may be a silver lining that God has given us so let
>>> those who are dissatisfied with the results have their day in court without
>>> them being vilified as being unpatriotic.
>>>
>>> My pesa nane..
>>>
>>> Ali Hussein
>>>
>>> +254 773/713 601113
>>>
>>> "The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>> On Mar 11, 2013, at 9:52 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <
>>> andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Maybe Kenya would have been important enough anyway to cover the
>>> elections? And I know of many Kenyans who also stocked up on food as well
>>> (when they haven't left the country) - you just needed to spend a bit of
>>> time in supermarket queues before the elections to see that it was a very
>>> solid mix of everyone who lives here.
>>>
>>> Any Kenyan would rightly take offense with being wholesale painted as
>>> tribal murderers based on 1,500 people having died in 2007/early 08. But
>>> what you do is turn around and do exactly the same thing to 'foreign
>>> media'.
>>>
>>> Yes, there were completely idiotic, wrong, stereotypical articles, and
>>> they should be ridiculed every single one. But there were also many
>>> competent, insightful, sober pieces. And there are many members of the
>>> international who don't just swoop in for elections, but actually live
>>> here. Maybe we can judge them one by one rather than condemning all of them
>>> wholesale?
>>>
>>> In this forum, it will probably be a tricky argument to make that some
>>> of the international media actually still (soberly, factually) reported
>>> where the local media just shut up. So I won't make it.
>>>
>>> And in the meantime, I hope that everyone who's so irritated with the
>>> international media will apply the same amount of scrutiny and criticism to
>>> the local media and the corruption inside that system.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 11 March 2013 20:18, Warigia Bowman <warigia at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Personally, I am feeling very angry at the foreign media. Thanks Evans
>>>> for this shocking ridiculousness. we need to expose them!
>>>>
>>>> I wrote this yesterday.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://digitaldemocracykenya.blogspot.com/2013/03/feeling-frustrated-with-change-in-press.html
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 5:30 AM, Evans Ikua <ikua.evans at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>  Wow, this is a gem from Time:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "At this election, with a new 2010 constitution, and a new electoral
>>>>> body with a new — though not glitch-free — electronic voting system,
>>>>> Kenyans’ determination to hold a peaceful election has been palpable.
>>>>> *The popular mood has also been notably anti-Western. Foreign
>>>>> diplomats have been warned of blood-curdling revenge should they interfere
>>>>> in the poll*. *Foreign journalists have been publicly ridiculed and
>>>>> denounced as prejudiced if they predicted chaos and disaster.* And a
>>>>> central message of most candidates’ campaigns was strident, patriotic
>>>>> self-determination."
>>>>>
>>>>> Read more:
>>>>> http://world.time.com/2013/03/09/kenyas-election-what-uhuru-kenyattas-victory-means-for-africa/#ixzz2NE3fBw4v
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> *----------------------------------------------------
>>>>> Kind Regards,
>>>>> Evans Ikua,*
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Dr. Warigia Bowman
>>>> Assistant Professor
>>>> Clinton School of Public Service
>>>> University of Arkansas
>>>> wbowman at clintonschool.uasys.edu
>>>> http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
>>>> -------------------------------------------------
>>>> View my research on my SSRN Author page:
>>>> http://ssrn.com/author=1479660
>>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
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>>>>
>>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>>
>>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
>>> Publisher
>>>
>>> www.ratio-magazine.com
>>> www.africa-assets.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
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>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
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>>>
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Dr. Warigia Bowman
> Assistant Professor
> Clinton School of Public Service
> University of Arkansas
> wbowman at clintonschool.uasys.edu
> http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
> -------------------------------------------------
> View my research on my SSRN Author page:
> http://ssrn.com/author=1479660
> --------------------------------------------------
>

-- 
Dr. Warigia Bowman
Assistant Professor
Clinton School of Public Service
University of Arkansas
wbowman at clintonschool.uasys.edu
http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
-------------------------------------------------
View my research on my SSRN Author page:
http://ssrn.com/author=1479660
--------------------------------------------------
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