Print Media Coverage of the 2006 Standard Group Raid: a Content Analysis of the Standard and Daily Nation

Abstract

The media are a very powerful tool in society and should ideally be free of any government control and interference. The Kenyan Constitution upholds press freedom and thus anytime the government interferes with the media, it will be infringing on their constitutional right. Regardless of this constitutional provision, the Kenyan government has sometimes sought to interfere with the media operations. This study seeks to find out how the two leading newspapers in the country reported on the Standard Group raid of 2006. The main objective of this study was to find out how the Daily Nation and the Standard covered the Standard Group raid of 2006.The study also sought to find out the themes that came out in the stories done on the raid and to establish the sources of the stories done on the raid. This study used the qualitative research approach and content analysis as the data collection method. The method of analysis that was used by this study was thematic analysis. The mass communication theory used by this study was the Agenda Setting theory. The population used in this study was all the stories on the Daily Nation and Standard newspapers for the month of March 2006, from 1st March to 31st March. The sample used for the study was a census of all the stories on the Standard Group Raid. The data collected was presented in form of tables and graphs. The study found out that most of the stories on the raid were done by the Standard. It also found that the Daily Nation had no editorial and the Standard had only one editorial. The study found that majority of the stories on the Standard Group raid were news stories. The study concluded that the Standard and Nation newspapers had covered the Standard Group raid adequately but had downplayed the affected parties that are journalists and media owners. The political angle of coverage of the Standard Group raid had taken prominence during the reporting on the raid by the Nation and Standard newspapers. The study recommended that the Nation and Standard should have had more editorials to show their strong standpoint against the raid. Another recommendation was for the two dailies to minimize politicization of the raid when reporting on similar incidents in the future