Media and Conflict in Kenya: an Analysis of the Print Media Reportage of the Post Election Violence
Abstract
This is a content analysis study that set out to examine the print media reporting of the post election violence in Kenya. It was limited to the period January 2008 and the Nation, Standard and Nairobi Star newspapers. The objectives of the study sought to examine how newspapers covered the 'Violence including framing, and its contribution to the escalation or mitigation of the conflict, and the capacity of journalists to adhere to the set ethics and code of conduct when reporting conflict and particularly when they are involved in it. In order to achieve this, news items, editorials, analyses and opinion pieces were analyzed.
The study was guided by the agenda setting, personal influence, decision making and information processing theories of mass communication in its interpretation and discussion of the findings. The study found that inasmuch as newspaper reporting of the post election violence influenced readers' attitudes and contributed to' the escalation of the same, the print media also played a signifIcant role in mitigation and reconciliation. Further, the media was influenced by external forces and this was reflected in a lapse in keeping to the expected journalistic standards.
Publisher
University of Nairobi, Kenya