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MEDIA CULPA? NAIROBI COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS AND THE POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE

Mercier, Hélène (2009) MIDM70 20091
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract
Community radio stations are a new phenomenon in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. While the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2008 recognizes them as a media category, confusion remains around questions of ownership, funding and roles. Following the volatile post-election situation of December 2007, the government imposed a month-long live media ban. Media has been blamed by politicians for inflaming passion and they have received criticism from media professionals for preaching peace. The study explores how the post-election violence has affected community media practitioner’s perceptions of their roles and responsibilities and highlights the debate on the universality of media ethics. The title of this thesis, Media Culpa, is making... (More)
Community radio stations are a new phenomenon in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. While the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2008 recognizes them as a media category, confusion remains around questions of ownership, funding and roles. Following the volatile post-election situation of December 2007, the government imposed a month-long live media ban. Media has been blamed by politicians for inflaming passion and they have received criticism from media professionals for preaching peace. The study explores how the post-election violence has affected community media practitioner’s perceptions of their roles and responsibilities and highlights the debate on the universality of media ethics. The title of this thesis, Media Culpa, is making reference to while questioning the heavy criticism that ‘the media’ received during the post-election violence. The well-known Latin phrase mea culpa, translates into English as ‘ my fault’, ‘my own fault’. The analysis shows to a large extent that community radio practitioners believe in the pre-eminence of the ‘Do no harm’ ethical standard over the ‘Seek truth and report it as fully as possible’ responsibility. Kenyan media specialists demand a recontextualization of media morals. The study is built on questionnaire, nineteen semi-structured interviews and observations conducted in Nairobi, between September and January 08-09. The thesis conveys and is related to ideas within the communitarianism theory and the realist approach applied to news journalism. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Mercier, Hélène
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM70 20091
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Community Radio, Media, Kenya, Peace-Journalism, Media Ethics, Post-Election Violence
language
English
additional info
“Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.”
Henry Anatole Grunwald
Editor in chief of Time inc., 1979-1987




This research has been possible with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the help of the staff of the Lund University Master in International Development (LUMID). Thanks to the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) in Uppsala for providing a pleasant and stimulating environment. A warm thanks to Isaac Sagalaopti, my dedicated and self-motivated research-assistant. I would also like to thank the organization INTERNEWS Kenya for its warm welcome. Finally, to Pamoja FM, Ghetto FM and Koch FM, who opened their studios and shared their stories with another researcher: Asante sana.
id
1432155
date added to LUP
2009-08-13 16:49:51
date last changed
2010-05-07 13:16:36
@misc{1432155,
  abstract     = {{Community radio stations are a new phenomenon in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. While the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2008 recognizes them as a media category, confusion remains around questions of ownership, funding and roles. Following the volatile post-election situation of December 2007, the government imposed a month-long live media ban. Media has been blamed by politicians for inflaming passion and they have received criticism from media professionals for preaching peace. The study explores how the post-election violence has affected community media practitioner’s perceptions of their roles and responsibilities and highlights the debate on the universality of media ethics. The title of this thesis, Media Culpa, is making reference to while questioning the heavy criticism that ‘the media’ received during the post-election violence. The well-known Latin phrase mea culpa, translates into English as ‘ my fault’, ‘my own fault’. The analysis shows to a large extent that community radio practitioners believe in the pre-eminence of the ‘Do no harm’ ethical standard over the ‘Seek truth and report it as fully as possible’ responsibility. Kenyan media specialists demand a recontextualization of media morals. The study is built on questionnaire, nineteen semi-structured interviews and observations conducted in Nairobi, between September and January 08-09. The thesis conveys and is related to ideas within the communitarianism theory and the realist approach applied to news journalism.}},
  author       = {{Mercier, Hélène}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{MEDIA CULPA? NAIROBI COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS AND THE POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}