The Agenda setting function of the media and its impact in environmental conservation in Kenya: a case study of Mau forest

Abstract

This study assesses the' agenda-setting function of the print media and pattern of coverage on environmental conservation in Kenya. It argues that the print Media can set an agenda by exposing certain event through repeated news and by giving extensive. coverage on editorial pages. This study assesses the media's coverage of the Mau forest and reasons for the coverage accorded the issue. It concludes that Mau forest was well covered by the media. There was an indication that even media itself was for the idea of conserving Mau complex despite some complaints from some quarters who claim that the effort to evict people who were residing in the forest was political.

The research found out that readers of newspapers consistently wrote supporting the evictions and the conservation of the forest. The study finds that media impacts environmental conservation by consistently exposing issues touching on the environment. Many of the issues for public discussion concerning the environment originated from the coverage provided by the journalists. The media's focus on encroachment and destruction of Mau forest by the resident who illegally acquired land in Mau led to the formation of a Task Force to lead state and non-state actors' efforts to conserve the forest. This somewhat reinforce the idea that the media have effects, and that by setting the agenda, the media can play a critical role in the conservation of the environment in Kenya.