A critical analysis of the role of Kenyan Print Media in Conflict Management: Using 2007 Post Election Violence as a case study

Abstract

The coverage of the pre- and post-election violence phases is negligible at best and only a few armed conflicts are covered in the violence phase. In Kenya, the media has been accused of exacerbating conflicts in most of the cases by mostly presenting their information in favor of some players in the political arena and exaggerating the ethnic and political divides in the country. The Post-Election Violence (PEV) that rocked the country in 2008 was as a result of the disputed 2007 Presidential Elections. This research focusing on print media in conflict management was a modest attempt to bridge this gap.

It was an effort to bring to light the influence and insights into print media operating in Kenya and the role they play in conflict management where the Post-Election Violence of 2007/2008 was the context of focus. This research was a descriptive study aimed at analyzing the role of Kenyan print media in conflict management with particular reference to the Post Election Violence of 2007-2008. The target population of this study was the staff working in the Nation Newspaper. This involved the top, middle and low level management staff since they are the ones conversant with the role of Kenyan print media in conflict management with particular reference to the Post Election Violence of 2007 -2008.