Advertising and Censorship in East Africa’s Press
The printed word is thriving in parts of Africa, but advertisers’ clout means they can often quietly control what is published. By Tom Rhodes Kenyans read election coverage in the Mathare slum in Nairobi, the capital, on March 9, 2013. One reason that advertising revenue trumps circulation for East Africa’s newspapers is that readers often…
Kenya parliament passes draconian media laws
Nairobi, December 5, 2013–Kenya’s National Assembly today passed contentious anti-press legislation, the Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Act and the Media Council Act, which will effectively silence critical reporting through a new government-controlled regulator and the threat of hefty fines.
Kenya’s press takes to the streets against bill
“Mr. President, you gagged us!” said a banner tied to the gates of Parliament today. Kenya’s Editors Guild and the Kenya Correspondents’ Association organized peaceful demonstrations across the country to protest a media bill currently under parliamentary review. Protests were held in every county in the country, according to William Janak, chairman of the correspondents’…
Just the fear of draconian press laws is enough
Few in Kenya’s media could comprehend how a media bill, considered the most repressive in Kenya’s 50-year history, could sail so easily through Parliament last week. Fittingly, Parliament passed the Kenya Information and Communications Amendment Bill on Halloween. It is awaiting President Uhuru Kenyatta’s signature following a 14- day deliberation period.
Westgate siege shows press’ lack of security training
Rumor had it that thieves and police had exchanged gunfire during the robbery of a bank at the Westgate Mall. That was the word that first reached some Nairobi newsrooms that Saturday about the gunshots many Kenyans heard coming from the luxurious shopping mall.
Covering Westgate
The jumpy, cell phone clips of journalists and security officers crouching outside the upscale Westgate Shopping Mall in the capital, Nairobi, permeated the TV screens across Kenya for four days. Edgy local and foreign reporters hid behind vehicles as gunfire shots, repeated explosions and smoke emanated from a supermarket inside.
KTN reporter threatened for exposing hospital scandal
Nairobi, September 5, 2013–A TV journalist has received death threats twice this week following his coverage of wrongdoing at a hospital in the western Kenyan town of Bungoma, according to the journalist and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to immediately investigate the threats and ensure the reporter’s safety.
Journalists in exile 2013
Somalis, Syrians flee violence; Iran crackdown deepens Fifty-five journalists fled their homes in the past year with help from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The most common reason to go into exile was the threat of violence, such as in Somalia and Syria, two of the most deadly countries in the world for the profession.…