Thanks Farida,<br><br>We should not consider the presence of lessos in ballot boxes in Kajiado or Kamukunji as evidence that your story was true. The pre-marking or ballots and the lesso story are what would be considered mutually exclusive events. The use of lessos as indicator of accuracy is at the very least speculative. The fact that [it is possible] for an election to be stolen does not mean that and election [will be] stolen.<br>
<br>For KTN/Standard, the more direct issues as you vouch for the integrity of your story would be:<br><br>1. Did you have [evidence] that the ballot boxes were stuffed with pre-marked ballot papers? or were you speculating because someone came forward as a "witness"?<br>
<br><br>2. Do you believe that the killings of the Administration Police in Nyanza were a direct result of the story you authorised? If so, what have you done to at least console the families of the bereaved policemen?<br>
<br><br>3. Did you have evidence that the Citi Hoppa buses that were carrying APs to various parts of the country were meant to be used for a rigging mission? and would you consider that your story was responsible for the burning of Citi Hoppa buses?<br>
<br><br>Most voters know that ballot boxes are checked before the start of voting and sealed infront of witnesses (agents, ECK officials etc). It is therefore unlikely that rigging would only take place is unless there is an elaborate conspiracy involving [all] officials/agents at a polling station.<br>
<br>Overall, the "vibes" KTN/Standard fraternity must contend with is not that they are a model of "free press" but that it is biased against the government or pro-ODM. The vibes stations such as Royal Media, Kameme and KBC contend with is that they have given Kenyans reason to be seen as pro-government/PNU. Those are the issues the press must address honestly and not hide behind tags and clich�s such as 'press freedom' and 'muzzling the press'. <br>
<br>NOTE: I work for a competing media house but that is not my motivation for the issues i have raised on KTN/Standard. I respect journalists for the effort that goes into writing even the simplest story. However, I am aware that media houses and journalists have continued to allow their political and other biases to influence the way they report stories. <br>
<br>Wainaina<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Feb 14, 2008 12:09 AM, Farida Karoney <<a href="mailto:fkaroney@ktnkenya.com">fkaroney@ktnkenya.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Wainaina</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">I personally authorised the story you are blaming
KTN for and can vouch for the integrity of that report any time. If indeed
you believe it is not possible to steal an election, how come that ballot boxes
were found with lessos, and election materials in some polling
stations?</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">We cannot resolve explosive issues by hiding
or supressing the truth, and no one is trying to exonerate the press. Let
us not pretend that we do not know why we are where we are, it is definately not
because of KTN or the Standard Group. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">And it is certainly not an academic
excercise, afterall most of us do not have another place to call home except
Kenya. Believe me, any Country which calls itself democratic must be able to
live with a free press, no matter how much of a nuisance it is.</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">By all means industry players need mechanisms to
promote responsible behaviour in the media but aggression against media
houses in light of the current political crisis is in my opinion
misplaced.</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">regards</font></div><font color="#888888">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Farida</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
</font><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px;"><div class="Ih2E3d">
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="background: rgb(228, 228, 228) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
<b>From:</b>
<a title="wainaina.mungai@gmail.com" href="mailto:wainaina.mungai@gmail.com" target="_blank">Wainaina Mungai</a> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>To:</b> <a title="fkaroney@ktnkenya.com" href="mailto:fkaroney@ktnkenya.com" target="_blank">fkaroney@ktnkenya.com</a> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Cc:</b> <a title="kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">KICTAnet ICT Policy
Discussions</a> </div></div><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, February 12, 2008 9:53
PM</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Subject:</b> Re: [kictanet] Kenya: The Media
is Not Innocent</div>
<div><br></div>Like Dorcas, I am not surprised that the media has for the
umpteenth time, failed to take responsibility for their role. Allow me to cut
to the chase on how the media fueled the conflict. <br><br>The issue of "self
regulation" has come up as journalists remind us how effective they were
during the election period. I would like to know what the Media Council would
say about KTN/Standard Group having published and aired sensational stories of
a very unlikely vote rigging two or so days before the election day. Editors
must have known that it is no longer possible to stuff ballot boxes prior to
the voting day and get away with it. That unsubstantiated story led to the
death of five Administrative Policemen. How would KTN/Standard Group justify
the deaths of the APs especially because the accuracy of that rigging story
was in doubt from the very moment it landed on the desk of the KTN/Standard
Editor. The "messenger" must have known that the story was, other than being
inaccurate, likely to ignite an explosive political confrontation. There are
many other examples.<br><br>The fact that politicians, ECK or church leaders
may be guilty does not exonerate the Press so the issue of "not working in
isolation" or being a powerless "messenger" does not arise. Hundreds of people
have been killed, hundreds of thousands more are now homeless and property
worth millions has been destroyed. The wounds inflicted on my country will
take decades to heal.<br><br>This is no longer an academic debate about Press
Freedom or self regulation.<br><br>Wainaina<br><br><br><br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Feb 13, 2008 3:59 AM, Farida Karoney <<a href="mailto:fkaroney@ktnkenya.com" target="_blank">fkaroney@ktnkenya.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Guys,<br><br> Pardon
me for joining the discussion rather late in the day. I do not think<br>that
blanket condemnation of the media is useful in moving the
Country<br>forward.<br><br>I do agree with Kanja that we need to audit
all the players in order to<br>establish where the rain started beating us.
More importantly, we need to<br>ask ourselves as groups and as
individuals what we can do so that our<br>Country can never again find
itself in such a bind.<br><br>As a practising journalist and an editor, I
can confirm that the mainstream<br>media did alot in the way of self
regulation. Many of the things that were<br>available to us yet were never
aired nor printed are indeed shocking.<br><br>Let us not be quick to
condemn the messenger.<br>I think that by now, we all know that there
are issues much deeper that the<br>disputed presidential elections which the
Country needs to address in a<br>wholesome
manner<br><br>regards<br>Farida<br>
<div><br>----- Original Message -----<br>From: "Kanja Waruru"
<<a href="mailto:kanjawaruru@yahoo.com" target="_blank">kanjawaruru@yahoo.com</a>><br>To:
<<a href="mailto:fkaroney@ktnkenya.com" target="_blank">fkaroney@ktnkenya.com</a>><br>Cc:
"KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>Sent:
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 1:48 AM<br>Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kenya: The
Media is Not Innocent<br><br><br></div>
<div>
<div></div>
<div>Hi,<br>Please allow me to comment on this matter
and<br>apologize for dragging you back to an issue that had<br>been posted
and quickly dismissed.<br><br>The media did not operate in isolation during
and<br>after the elections. And before we point fingers at<br>the media and
blame it for everything under the sun,<br>perhaps we should first try to
understand who the real<br>players were in the elections and the general
genesis<br>of the crises. And in doing so we may need to ask<br>ourselves
these questions.<br><br>What role did politicians play in this
crises?<br>What about the churches and mosques?<br>What about the security
forces?<br>What about the Electoral Commission?<br>And finally what role did
the media play?<br><br>My view is that we need to have a task force
as<br>suggested by the minister of information probably<br>under the media
council of Kenya to audit all these<br>players, only then can we truly say
who was innocent<br>and who was guilty.<br><br>But i would also like to
bring in another issue.<br>During the elections the media was exercising the
self<br>regulation rule and a lot of the stories that were<br>filed during
this period were censored because they<br>were hate speeches and issues not
fit for printing but<br>we thought it would all die out after the
elections<br>and things would also get back to normal.<br><br>Now on
hindsight we ask ourselves should we have<br>censored those stories or
should we have reported them<br>as presented?<br><br>i will be happy to hear
your views the above.<br>cheers.<br>Kanja<br><br><br><br><br>--- alice
<<a href="mailto:alice@apc.org" target="_blank">alice@apc.org</a>> wrote:<br><br>>
<a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=41049" target="_blank">http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=41049</a><br>><br>>
KENYA:<br>> The Media Is Not Innocent<br>> Kwamboka
Oyaro<br>><br>> *NAIROBI, Feb 2 (IPS) - The media was partly
blamed<br>> for the Rwandan<br>> genocide 14 years ago which left
nearly one million<br>> people dead in 100<br>> days. "Kill the
Inkotanyi [cockroaches]!" a local<br>> radio station urged<br>> its
listeners at the time. *<br>><br>> "30 Days in Words and Pictures:
Media Response in<br>> Kenya During the<br>> Election Crisis" -- a
workshop organised here last<br>> week by<br>> California-based media
advocacy group Internews --<br>> enabled media<br>> professionals to
conduct a "self-audit" of the role<br>> local media played<br>> in the
post-election violence. The audit revealed<br>> that media --<br>>
especially vernacular radio stations -- might be<br>> partly to blame for
the<br>> on-going violence sparked off by the announcement of<br>>
Mwai Kibaki as<br>> winner of the Dec. 27 elections.<br>><br>> The
violence has reportedly claimed over 1,000 lives<br>> and displaced
some<br>> 250,000 people since the December election.<br>><br>>
David Ochami, a commissioner with the Media Council<br>> of Kenya, told
IPS<br>> that long before the elections were held, vernacular<br>>
radio stations had<br>> ignited ethnic consciousness among the
listeners<br>> "making them support<br>> leaders from their own tribe
and harbour bad<br>> feelings about people from<br>> other
communities."<br>><br>> "The ethnic hate our radio station was
propagating<br>> about those from<br>> outside the community was
unbelievable. I can't<br>> repeat any of those<br>> expressions at
this forum," said a journalist with a<br>> vernacular radio<br>>
station. "The unfortunate thing is we let these<br>> callers speak vile
and<br>> laughed about it."<br>><br>> "We took sides in the issue
and we became<br>> subjective, forgetting our<br>> professional tenet
of objectivity and neutrality. In<br>> fact, this<br>> polarization
was so bad in the newsrooms that some<br>> broadcast journalists<br>>
refused to cover or read news that wasn't favourable<br>> to the
candidate or<br>> party they supported," said a
journalist.<br>><br>> In fact, leading up to the elections the local
media<br>> conveyed<br>> inflammatory campaign messages as
advertisers'<br>> announcements.<br>><br>> "Both print and
broadcast media put money ahead of<br>> responsibility by<br>>
accepting and conveying paid-for hate material,"<br>> Mildred Baraza,
a<br>> Nairobi- based journalist told IPS. "This could have<br>>
incited the<br>> audience, and when they got a chance they avenged
as<br>> a result of the<br>> pre-election messages," she
said.<br>><br>> Redemtor Atieno, another Nairobi-based
journalist<br>> who also helped to<br>> organise the workshop, is
confident that the media's<br>> biased reporting<br>> contributed to
the mayhem in the country.<br>><br>> "Professionalism was thrown to
the dogs as tribe and<br>> partisanship<br>> carried the day. We
failed our audience by conveying<br>> interests of<br>> politicians
without questioning the impact of our<br>> stories," Atieno told<br>>
IPS.<br>><br>> Participants at the workshop also blamed media<br>>
owners for playing a<br>> major role in encouraging the violence. "They
had<br>> vested interests in<br>> either camp of the political
divide," a reporter<br>> with Kenya Broadcasting<br>> Corporation
(KBC) said, adding that he and his<br>> colleagues wanted to tell<br>>
the real story but they couldn't because the stories<br>> could portray
the<br>> government in a bad light.<br>><br>> "We had beautiful
clips and stories from the field,<br>> but we went back to<br>> the
newsroom knowing that the story would never be<br>> used," he
said.<br>><br>> Even privately owned media owners who backed<br>>
different political parties<br>> had a hand in the stories that were
carried. If it<br>> was about the party<br>> they supported, they
exaggerated the story and<br>> generally depicted the<br>> opponents
in negative ways.<br>><br>> "The media organizations refrained from
telling the<br>> world the truth<br>> about what was happening,"
Ochami told IPS. "There<br>> has been a tendency<br>> of portraying
the Kenyan crisis as a problem between<br>> two ethnic groups<br>> --
where one [Kibaki's Kikuyu] is victimized by<br>> another
[opposition<br>> leader Raila Odinga's Luo]. Any other story on
the<br>> contrary is<br>> downplayed or ignored," Ochami
explained.<br>><br>> There are those who believe the media is
innocent<br>> and the violence<br>> currently rocking the country was
bound to happen<br>> anyway -- that<br>> historical economic
inequalities among the Kenyan<br>> communities had to<br>> boil over
at some point in time.<br>><br>> "The public vented long bottled-up
anger. It was<br>> meant to explode<br>> whether the media encouraged
it or not," said a<br>> journalist at the<br>> workshop. "Many people
voted last year for change<br>> and it was a protest<br>> vote against
years of inequalities. When they<br>> realized this would not<br>>
happen when Kibaki was declared winner, they<br>>
exploded."<br>><br>> Mitch Odera the moderator of the workshop and
media<br>> consultant said one<br>> of the causes of Kenya's unrest is
the immaturity of<br>> its democracy.<br>> "There hasn't been
competitive democracy in our<br>> country. That is our<br>> problem,"
Odera told the participants at the<br>> workshop.<br>><br>> The
government was also blamed for the chaos because<br>> it slapped
a<br>> blanket ban on live broadcasters soon after violence<br>> broke
out in the<br>> country.<br>><br>> "The ban did not extend to
international media<br>> including the Internet<br>> which many
Kenyans accessed and spread the word.<br>> This led to skewed<br>>
information and hence panic and more destruction and<br>> deaths," said
one<br>> journalist from the electronic media.<br>><br>> The
Editors Guild -- an organization of editors from<br>> all media<br>>
organizations -- went to court this week to<br>> challenge the ban
on<br>> broadcasters.<br>><br>> Participants at the workshop also
heard the first<br>> hand experiences of<br>> journalists who covered
the post election violence.<br>> Practioners<br>> complained about
threats to their lives and<br>> complained that they felt<br>>
segregated from the rest of the country.<br>><br>> As the workshop was
taking place participants were<br>> well aware that<br>> several
political writers and analysts had received<br>> death threats
for<br>> writing stories that were viewed as unfavourable<br>> towards
the government.<br>><br>> (END/2008)<br>><br>>
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